GR 134940; (April, 2003) (Digest)
G.R. No. 134940; April 30, 2003
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, appellee, vs. CATALINO MELENDRES, JR., BERNARDINO KIRIT and TEODULO KITAY, appellants.
FACTS
On July 23, 1992, in Sitio Balatican, Siaton, Negros Oriental, appellants Catalino Melendres, Jr., Bernardino Kirit, and Teodulo Kitay entered the house of Pacifico Gualingco where victims Syrel and Exor Balasabas were sleeping. Eyewitnesses Rodrigo Hungoy and Mardie Balasabas, who were also in the house, were awakened by a barking dog, saw the three appellants enter, and hid. From their hiding place, they clearly saw the appellants, illuminated by a kerosene lamp, hack the sleeping victims to death with bolos. The witnesses then fled and reported the crime the following day.
The appellants were charged with double murder. At trial, they interposed the defense of alibi, claiming they were together at Catalino’s house, approximately ten kilometers away, nursing him as he was sick with measles during the time of the incident. They presented witnesses, including Juan Pahayat, to corroborate their presence elsewhere.
ISSUE
Whether the guilt of appellants for the crime of double murder was proven beyond reasonable doubt.
RULING
Yes, the Supreme Court affirmed the conviction. The positive identification by two credible eyewitnesses, who had a clear view of the appellants under sufficient illumination and from a short distance, prevails over the weak defense of alibi. The Court found the testimonies of Rodrigo Hungoy and Mardie Balasabas to be consistent, straightforward, and credible. Their presence at the scene was natural, and their failure to immediately report the crime was satisfactorily explained by their well-grounded fear for their lives.
The defense of alibi must be rejected as it was not physically impossible for the appellants to have been at the crime scene. The distance of ten kilometers was not an insurmountable obstacle, and the corroborating testimony was deemed unreliable. The qualifying circumstances of treachery and abuse of superior strength were duly proven, as the attack was sudden and employed against sleeping, unarmed victims, ensuring the execution of the crime without risk to the appellants. The penalty imposed by the trial court was modified. For each murder, the penalty is reclusion perpetua. Appellants were ordered to pay civil indemnity, moral damages, and temperate damages to the heirs of each victim.