G.R. No. 122099 ; July 5, 2000
People of the Philippines, plaintiff-appellee, vs. Agapito Listerio y Prado and Samson Dela Torre y Esquela, accused, Agapito Listerio y Prado, accused-appellant.

FACTS

Accused Agapito Listerio, along with several others, was charged with Murder for the death of Jeonito Araque and Frustrated Murder for the attack on Marlon Araque. The prosecution evidence, primarily from eyewitness Marlon Araque, established that on August 14, 1991, he and his brother Jeonito were ambushed by a group including Listerio. The group, armed with bladed weapons and lead pipes, attacked them. Listerio and others stabbed Jeonito from behind, causing fatal wounds, while Marlon was beaten with lead pipes, sustaining injuries. Only Listerio and co-accused Samson dela Torre were arraigned; dela Torre later escaped during trial, leaving Listerio as the sole accused tried.
The trial court convicted Listerio of Murder and Frustrated Homicide (modified from Frustrated Murder), sentencing him to reclusion perpetua for Murder and an indeterminate prison term for Frustrated Homicide, plus damages. Listerio appealed, arguing the prosecution failed to prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt and that the evidence did not establish conspiracy or the qualifying circumstance of treachery for Murder.

ISSUE

The core issues were: (1) whether the prosecution proved Listerio’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt, and (2) whether the crimes were properly qualified as Murder with treachery and Frustrated Murder.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction but modified the crimes and penalties. On the first issue, the Court found the positive identification by eyewitness Marlon Araque credible and sufficient to establish Listerio’s participation. Marlon’s testimony was consistent and corroborated by medical findings. The defense of denial could not prevail over this positive identification.
Regarding the second issue, the Court agreed with the appellant that treachery was not proven. The prosecution failed to show how the attack was commenced; there was no evidence that the assailants employed means to ensure the victims had no opportunity to defend themselves. The attack was frontal and sudden, but suddenness alone does not constitute treachery without proof of the method of execution deliberately eliminating risk to the attackers. Consequently, the killing of Jeonito was properly Homicide, not Murder. For the attack on Marlon, the Court found the intent to kill was not established beyond reasonable doubt, as his wounds were not fatal. Thus, the crime was Physical Injuries, not Frustrated Homicide.
The Court modified the judgment: for Jeonito’s death, Listerio is guilty of Homicide under Article 249 of the Revised Penal Code, with an indeterminate penalty; for injuring Marlon, he is guilty of Serious Physical Injuries under Article 263, with a corresponding penalty. Civil indemnities were also adjusted accordingly.