G.R. No. 131866 ; August 20, 2001
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. CARLOS DOCTOLERO, SR., accused-appellant.

FACTS

Accused-appellant Carlos Doctolero, Sr. was convicted of Murder by the Regional Trial Court of Baguio City for the killing of Vicente Ganongan, Jr. on November 20, 1996. The information alleged he shot the victim with intent to kill and with treachery. Upon arraignment, he pleaded not guilty. Prosecution evidence established that in the evening of November 20, 1996, the victim Vicente Ganongan, Jr. and his friends were walking home after drinking. They were stopped by Carlos Garcia, who pointed a gun at them. Doctolero was present. After an interaction where Doctolero put his arm on witness Regie Daodaoan, who then shoved it away, Doctolero stepped back and fired twice at Daodaoan but missed. When Ganongan turned to run, Doctolero fired at him, hitting him twice. The victim was rushed to the hospital where he died. The medico-legal report indicated gunshot wounds, including one at the back. In his defense, Doctolero claimed he only fired warning shots upwards and towards the ground after being called to help pacify a commotion, and that he fell, dropping his gun. He alleged the fatal shots came from Carlos Garcia. The trial court found him guilty, sentenced him to reclusion perpetua, and ordered him to pay indemnity and damages.

ISSUE

The primary issue is whether the prosecution proved the guilt of accused-appellant Carlos Doctolero, Sr. for the crime of Murder beyond reasonable doubt. This encompasses the sub-issues of the credibility of witnesses, the presence of treachery, and the correctness of the conviction.

RULING

The Supreme Court modified the trial court’s decision. It held that the prosecution proved Doctolero’s guilt for homicide, but not for murder. The Court found the testimonies of prosecution eyewitnesses Oliver Alimani and Jeffrey Alimani credible and consistent with the medico-legal findings, positively identifying Doctolero as the shooter. However, the qualifying circumstance of treachery was not proven. The attack was not shown to be deliberate and adopted to ensure the execution without risk to the assailant, as the shooting occurred during a commotion and after an initial altercation with another person (Daodaoan). The victim was shot as he turned to run, which did not constitute alevosia. Consequently, Doctolero is guilty only of Homicide. The penalty was reduced to an indeterminate prison term of eight (8) years and one (1) day of prision mayor, as minimum, to fourteen (14) years, eight (8) months and one (1) day of reclusion temporal, as maximum. The award of damages was also modified: P50,000.00 as civil indemnity, P50,000.00 as moral damages, and P112,413.40 as actual damages (replacing the original awards).