GR 96687; (July, 1994) (Digest)
G.R. No. 96687 July 20, 1994
People of the Philippines, plaintiff-appellee, vs. Domingo Bongadillo y Sharon, accused-appellant.
FACTS
Domingo Bongadillo was charged with Murder before the Regional Trial Court of Tabaco, Albay, for hacking to death his stepmother’s second husband, Maximino Bual, on June 1, 1989. The prosecution presented witnesses: Bonifacio Bongat, an eyewitness who saw the accused hacking a man from a distance of about fifteen meters; Dominga Bustamante, who testified that the accused threatened to kill the victim the day before over an alleged affair with the accused’s girlfriend; Asuncion Bual, the victim’s widow and accused’s stepmother, who also witnessed the threat; Dr. Audwin Azada, who conducted the autopsy and found fourteen hack wounds; and Vicente Burce, the barangay captain. The defense consisted of the accused’s testimony, claiming his hands were injured from an accident the day before, making it impossible for him to commit the crime, supported by two police officers who stated his hands were injured when he was brought to the station. The trial court found the accused guilty of Murder, qualified by abuse of superior strength, and sentenced him to reclusion perpetua and indemnity of P30,000.
ISSUE
The main issues raised on appeal are: (1) whether the trial court erred in giving credence to the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses; (2) whether the trial court erred in not giving weight to the defense of alibi and denial based on injured hands; and (3) whether the trial court erred in finding the accused guilty of Murder beyond reasonable doubt.
RULING
The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of conviction. It held that the positive identification by eyewitness Bonifacio Bongat, who knew the accused and was only fifteen meters away, was credible and prevailed over the defense of alibi. The Court found the defense of injured hands improbable and unsupported by evidence, noting the accused was seen wearing clean clothes and eating with his bare hands shortly after the incident. The killing was qualified as Murder due to the circumstance of abuse of superior strength, considering the accused was a young, robust 33-year-old man armed with a bolo, and the victim was a 63-year-old man. The Court increased the civil indemnity from P30,000 to P50,000 in line with prevailing jurisprudence.