G.R. No. 211159 March 18, 2015
People of the Philippines, Plaintiff-appellee, vs. Marcelino Oloverio, Accused-appellant.

FACTS

An Information charged Marcelino Oloverio with Murder for stabbing Rodulfo Gulane with a bolo on October 2, 2003, in Brgy. Belen, Palompon, Leyte. During arraignment, Oloverio pleaded not guilty. The prosecution presented witnesses Rudipico Pogay and Dominador Panday, who testified that they saw Oloverio tap Gulane’s shoulder and then hack him multiple times with a bolo, after which Oloverio took Gulane’s money and shouted, “Patay na ang datu sa Brgy. San Pablo!” Gulane, before dying, said, “Man luba ka man, Ling?” In his defense, Oloverio claimed that Gulane had been accusing him of having an incestuous relationship with his mother, mocking him loudly, and that Gulane attempted to draw his bolo, leading to a struggle during which Oloverio ended up stabbing Gulane. Oloverio surrendered to authorities afterward. Romulo Lamoste, the Barangay Captain, testified about a prior altercation between the two stemming from Gulane’s insulting remarks. The Regional Trial Court found Oloverio guilty of Murder, appreciating the mitigating circumstance of voluntary surrender but not passion and obfuscation, and sentenced him to reclusion perpetua. The Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction but modified the damages awarded. Oloverio appealed to the Supreme Court.

ISSUE

Whether the qualifying circumstance of treachery was present to convict Oloverio of Murder, and whether the mitigating circumstances of passion and obfuscation and voluntary surrender should be appreciated.

RULING

The Supreme Court modified the decision of the Court of Appeals. It held that the prosecution failed to sufficiently establish the presence of treachery. The eyewitness accounts did not detail the precise manner of attack to show that Gulane was utterly defenseless. The attack was frontal, and Gulane was able to speak after being stabbed, indicating some opportunity for awareness. Consequently, Oloverio is guilty only of Homicide under Article 249 of the Revised Penal Code, not Murder. The Court appreciated the mitigating circumstances of passion and obfuscation, as the insulting remarks about an incestuous relationship constituted a lawful and sufficient provocation that produced obfuscation, which need not occur immediately before the act but can build up over time. The mitigating circumstance of voluntary surrender was also appreciated. With these two mitigating circumstances and no aggravating circumstances, the penalty for Homicide (reclusion temporal) was imposed in its minimum period. Applying the Indeterminate Sentence Law, Oloverio was sentenced to an indeterminate penalty of six (6) years of prision correcional, as minimum, to twelve (12) years and one (1) day of reclusion temporal, as maximum. The awards for civil indemnity, moral damages, and temperate damages were affirmed, but exemplary damages were deleted due to the absence of aggravating circumstances.