GR 137347; (March, 2004) (Digest)
G.R. No. 137347 , March 4, 2004
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, appellee, vs. PO3 FERDINAND FALLORINA y FERNANDO, appellant.
FACTS
On September 26, 1998, in Quezon City, eleven-year-old Vincent Jorojoro, Jr. was playing with his kite on the roof of an abandoned carinderia with his friend. Appellant PO3 Ferdinand Fallorina, a police officer on detached service with the MMDA, arrived on his motorcycle. Witness Ricardo Salvo, who was playing basketball nearby and knew the appellant disliked children on the roof, warned the boys to come down. The appellant shouted expletives at them. The friend immediately jumped down. As Vincent stood up and turned to descend, the appellant pointed his .45 caliber pistol and shot him in the head. The victim fell and later died in the hospital.
The appellant initially fled but later surrendered with his service firearm. The prosecution presented eyewitness Ricardo Salvo, who was enrolled in the Witness Protection Program, and medico-legal findings confirming the fatal gunshot wound. The defense claimed the shooting was accidental, alleging the gun discharged when the appellant stumbled while trying to holster it after merely intending to scare the children. The trial court convicted the appellant of murder qualified by treachery and sentenced him to death.
ISSUE
Whether the trial court correctly convicted the appellant of the crime of murder.
RULING
Yes, the Supreme Court affirmed the conviction for murder but modified the penalty to reclusion perpetua. The Court found the prosecution evidence, particularly the credible and straightforward testimony of eyewitness Ricardo Salvo, sufficient to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt. Salvo clearly saw the appellant deliberately point his gun at the unarmed victim, who was in the act of complying with the order to come down, and fire the fatal shot. This act constituted a direct assault, not a mere scare tactic.
The Court rejected the defense of accident. The claim of stumbling was inherently improbable and unsupported by evidence. The trajectory of the bullet, entering the left parietal area and exiting the right, was inconsistent with a downward accidental discharge while holstering the weapon. The positive identification by a credible witness prevailed over the appellant’s bare denial. The killing was attended by treachery (alevosia). The victim, an eleven-year-old child, was shot from behind while he was turning to get down from the roof, rendering him defenseless and unable to retaliate. The appellant consciously adopted this method of attack to ensure the execution without risk to himself. However, as no modifying circumstances attended the crime, the proper penalty is reclusion perpetua, not death. The Court also awarded damages to the victim’s heirs.