GR 139822; (December, 2000) (Digest)
G.R. No. 139822 ; December 6, 2000
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. SALVADOR CAGUING, accused-appellant.
FACTS
Accused-appellant Salvador Caguing was charged with Murder for shooting Allan Dominguez in the head with a shotgun on December 12, 1989, in Cabatuan, Iloilo. The prosecution, through witnesses Guillermo and Annalyn Dominguez, presented a version where Caguing, after inquiring about the victim’s identity inside a house, suddenly and without provocation shot the seated victim. The defense, however, claimed self-defense. Caguing testified that he shot the victim only after the latter attacked him with a knife following an altercation. The Regional Trial Court convicted Caguing of Murder, sentenced him to reclusion perpetua, and ordered him to pay damages.
ISSUE
The core issues are: (1) whether the accused-appellant acted in self-defense, and (2) whether the qualifying circumstance of treachery was proven to elevate the killing to Murder.
RULING
The Supreme Court modified the RTC decision, convicting Caguing of Homicide instead of Murder. On the claim of self-defense, the Court ruled that the burden of proof lies with the accused. Caguing failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence the essential element of unlawful aggression on the part of the victim. His own admission that he shot the victim established the killing, and his unsubstantiated claim of a knife attack was insufficient to discharge his burden, leading to the rejection of the self-defense plea.
Regarding treachery, the Court held it was not proven. Treachery requires that the means, method, or form of execution was deliberately adopted by the offender to ensure the killing without risk to himself from any defense the victim might make. The prosecution’s evidence did not distinctly establish the manner of assault. The mere fact of a sudden attack does not automatically constitute treachery without proof that the mode of attack was consciously chosen to eliminate any chance of defense. Since the qualifying circumstance was not established, the crime is Homicide under Article 249 of the Revised Penal Code. The penalty was modified to an indeterminate sentence of 12 years of prision mayor, as minimum, to 17 years and 4 months of reclusion temporal, as maximum. The awards were adjusted: P50,000.00 as civil indemnity, P50,000.00 as moral damages, and P9,250.00 as actual damages, while the exemplary damages were deleted for lack of an aggravating circumstance.