G.R. No. 189328 ; July 24, 2009
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Appellee, vs. ARNOLD PELIS, Appellant.

FACTS

On April 27, 2004, appellant Arnold Pelis and his co-accused Mario Lito Entura (at large) were charged with Murder before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Quezon City. The Information alleged that on February 19, 2004, in Quezon City, the accused, conspiring and mutually helping each other, with intent to kill qualified by evident premeditation and treachery and abuse of superior strength, stabbed Rolando Juan y San Diego, causing his death. The appellant pleaded not guilty. Prosecution eyewitness Mario Makahilig testified that at about 10:00 p.m. on February 19, 2004, inside the Top 40 Videoke Bar, the appellant and Entura, acting together and using knives, stabbed the victim; the appellant stabbed the victim once in the abdomen, while Entura stabbed the victim’s upper left chest. The victim died the next day. The postmortem examination confirmed the injuries and identified the stab wound at the thorax as the cause of death. Receipts showed the victim’s family incurred ₱30,000.00 in funeral expenses. The appellant interposed the defense of alibi, claiming he was asleep at his house at the time of the incident.
The RTC, in its March 9, 2007 Decision, found the appellant guilty beyond reasonable doubt of Murder. It gave credence to the positive testimony of eyewitness Mario Makahilig, finding no ill motive to falsely testify, and disbelieved the appellant’s alibi as his house was within walking distance of the crime scene. The RTC appreciated conspiracy based on the accused’s synchronized acts and treachery because the appellant stabbed the unarmed victim without warning while he was sitting. It disregarded evident premeditation and abuse of superior strength for lack of evidence. The court imposed reclusion perpetua and ordered the appellant to pay the victim’s heirs ₱50,000.00 as civil indemnity, ₱30,000.00 as actual damages, and ₱50,000.00 as moral damages. The Court of Appeals (CA) fully affirmed the RTC decision.

ISSUE

Whether the Court of Appeals erred in affirming the appellant’s conviction for Murder.

RULING

No. The Supreme Court affirmed the appellant’s conviction for Murder with modification as to damages.
The Court found no reason to disturb the factual findings of the RTC, as affirmed by the CA. The positive, categorical, and consistent identification by eyewitness Mario Makahilig, absent any showing of ill motive, prevails over the appellant’s alibi and denial, especially since the appellant failed to demonstrate the physical impossibility of his presence at the crime scene. Conspiracy was correctly appreciated as the simultaneous stabbing acts disclosed a unity of objective. Treachery qualified the killing to murder because the attack, although frontal, was unexpected and launched against an unarmed victim who was in no position to repel it. With no aggravating or mitigating circumstances, the penalty of reclusion perpetua was proper.
The Court modified the civil liability. Since the killing was attended by treachery, the heirs are entitled to exemplary damages. Accordingly, the Court affirmed the CA Decision with modification, sentencing the appellant to reclusion perpetua and ordering him to pay the heirs of Rolando Juan y San Diego ₱50,000.00 as civil indemnity ex delicto, ₱30,000.00 as actual damages, ₱50,000.00 as moral damages, and an additional ₱30,000.00 as exemplary damages.