G.R. Nos. 103604-05 September 23, 1993
People of the Philippines, plaintiff-appellee, vs. Engracio Valeriano y Tumahig, Macario E. Acabal @ “Momong,” Juanito Rismundo, Abundio Nahid and John Does, accused. Macario E. Acabal, Juanito Rismundo and Abundio Nahid, accused-appellants.

FACTS

Accused Engracio Valeriano, Juanito Rismundo, Macario Acabal, Abundio Nahid, and several John Does were charged with Murder and Frustrated Murder for events on the evening of January 28, 1980, in Nagbinlud, Sta. Catalina, Negros Oriental. The murder charge (Criminal Case No. 4585) alleged that the accused, armed with bolos and “pinuti,” conspired to attack Rizalina Apatan Silvano, inflicting hack wounds and setting her house on fire while she was inside, causing her death. The frustrated murder charge (Criminal Case No. 4584) alleged that immediately after, the accused hacked Wilson Silvano, Rizalina’s son, inflicting multiple wounds that would have been fatal without medical aid. The informations cited qualifying and aggravating circumstances including treachery, nighttime, and by a band. All identified accused pleaded not guilty, and a joint trial was ordered. The trial court’s records were burned in 1987 and later reconstituted. Accused Engracio Valeriano jumped bail and remained at large. The prosecution presented witnesses: Barangay Captain Antonio Silvano testified that on the night of January 28, 1980, accused Juanito Rismundo, Engracio Valeriano, and Macario Acabal came to his house, made threats related to the upcoming election, and later, Abundio Nahid set fire to his store. When his wife Rizalina fell from the roof, Macario Acabal, Juanito Rismundo, and Engracio Valeriano each hacked her once, and Abundio Nahid hit her four times. Visitacion Silvano, Wilson’s wife, testified she saw Engracio Valeriano hack Wilson and saw the other accused-appellants near the burning house. Dr. Avelino Torres testified that Rizalina’s body had hack wounds inflicted before burning and that Wilson’s wounds were potentially fatal. Atty. Castulo Caballes and Atty. Elson Bustamante testified regarding affidavits taken from Juanito Rismundo on February 7, 1980, which implicated a political opponent, Jose Napigkit. Fiscal Jufelinito Pareja testified that Macario Acabal subscribed to a similar sworn statement on February 18, 1980. The accused-appellants presented alibis: Macario Acabal claimed he was at a wake; Juanito Rismundo claimed he was grinding corn; Abundio Nahid claimed he was at a dance. They also alleged they were coerced into giving their sworn statements. The trial court convicted the accused-appellants of Murder and Frustrated Murder, sentencing them to reclusion perpetua for murder and an indeterminate penalty for frustrated murder, with civil liabilities. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court.

ISSUE

The primary issue is whether the guilt of the accused-appellants for the crimes of Murder and Frustrated Murder was proven beyond reasonable doubt.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s decision with modifications. The Court found the prosecution’s evidence, particularly the positive identification by eyewitness Antonio Silvano, credible and sufficient to establish the accused-appellants’ guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The defense of alibi was rejected as it could not prevail over positive identification. The Court also found that the sworn statements (Exhibits “D,” “E,” “F,” and “G”) were inadmissible as they were obtained through coercion and were not corroborated by other evidence, thus they were excluded. The Court held that the killing of Rizalina was attended by treachery, qualifying it as murder, as the attack was sudden and she was defenseless. The aggravating circumstances of nighttime and by a band were also present. For the frustrated murder of Wilson, the Court found treachery was present as he was attacked suddenly while responding to the emergency. The Court modified the civil indemnity for Rizalina’s death to P50,000.00 and awarded moral damages to Wilson Silvano. The penalties were affirmed: reclusion perpetua for murder and an indeterminate penalty of 8 years and 1 day of prision mayor as minimum to 14 years, 8 months and 1 day of reclusion temporal as maximum for frustrated murder.