G.R. No. 95259 October 26, 1992
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. BERNARDO PERAN, FELIX PIQUERO, accused-appellants.

FACTS

On May 10, 1988, an altercation occurred between Jose Namoc and accused-appellant Bernardo Peran over a puppy. Later that morning, prosecution eyewitness Roberto Cawasan, a 16-year-old boy, saw Peran and his co-accused Fortunato “Junior” Narido and Felix Piquero heading towards Namoc’s house. Cawasan hid and witnessed Peran and Narido take hold of Namoc’s arms and lead him to a creek. There, Peran hit Namoc on the forehead with a piece of wood, causing him to fall. Narido then hit the fallen victim on the forehead with a stone. Finally, Piquero hit the victim on the mouth with his fist. Cawasan fled and remained silent out of fear. Namoc’s decomposed body was found 47 days later near Calabasa Waterfalls, with a broken forehead and missing teeth. Cawasan later reported the crime to the Barangay Captain, implicating the three accused. Peran was questioned and initially confessed to the killing, implicating his co-accused, but later repudiated the confession at trial, claiming the victim died in an accidental fall while they were catching frogs. The Regional Trial Court convicted all three accused of Murder qualified by conspiracy, treachery, and abuse of superior strength.

ISSUE

The main issues, distilled from the assigned errors, are: (1) whether the trial court erred in finding the testimony of eyewitness Roberto Cawasan credible; (2) whether the prosecution proved the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt; (3) whether the crime committed was Murder or Homicide; and (4) the proper penalty to be imposed.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction but modified the crime from Murder to Homicide and adjusted the penalty. The Court upheld the trial court’s findings on credibility, ruling that Cawasan’s delay in reporting the crime was justified by fear of reprisal, and minor inconsistencies in his testimony did not impair his credibility. The defense of alibi by Narido and Piquero failed against Cawasan’s positive identification. The Court found the killing was not attended by treachery, as the initial attack (being held and led to the creek) was not shown to be consciously adopted to ensure the execution without risk to the assailants. However, the circumstance of abuse of superior strength was present, as the force used (hitting the head with wood and stone) was clearly excessive. This circumstance could not qualify the killing to Murder because it was not alleged in the information; it could only be considered as a generic aggravating circumstance. The qualifying circumstance alleged in the information (“employing means to weaken the defense”) was not proven. Consequently, the accused were found guilty of Homicide, aggravated by abuse of superior strength. The penalty was modified to an indeterminate sentence of 10 years and 1 day of prision mayor as minimum to 17 years, 4 months and 1 day of reclusion temporal as maximum. The indemnity to the heirs was increased to P50,000.00.