G.R. No. 218946, September 05, 2018
People of the Philippines, Plaintiff-Appellee, vs. Ricky Gonzales y Cos and Rene Gonzales y Cos, Accused, Ricky Gonzales y Cos, Accused-Appellant.

FACTS

Accused-appellant Ricky Gonzales and his brother Rene were charged with Murder for the stabbing death of their uncle, Bobby Solomon. The prosecution’s eyewitness, Leo Garcia, testified that in the early morning of January 23, 2005, he witnessed a commotion outside Bobby’s house. Rene and Bobby were taunting each other, leading to Rene punching Bobby. Ricky then suddenly emerged from a nearby plaza and, without warning, stabbed Bobby three times with a knife. The victim sustained fatal injuries, including perforations to his intestines. Ricky and Rene fled but Ricky later surrendered to a barangay official.
Ricky admitted to the killing but claimed self-defense. He testified that as he passed by Bobby’s house after leaving a dance, Bobby stared at him menacingly and was about to strike him with a knife. Ricky claimed he preemptively stabbed Bobby to defend himself. The Regional Trial Court convicted Ricky of Murder, qualified by treachery, and sentenced him to reclusion perpetua. The Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction but modified the damages awarded.

ISSUE

The core issue is whether the killing constituted Murder, qualified by treachery, or the lesser crime of Homicide, and whether Ricky’s claim of self-defense is valid.

RULING

The Supreme Court partially granted the appeal. It upheld the rejection of Ricky’s claim of self-defense. When an accused admits the killing and invokes self-defense, the burden of proof shifts to him to establish its elements by clear and convincing evidence. Ricky failed to do so. His claim of an unlawful aggression by the victim—that Bobby was about to stab him—was uncorroborated and belied by the credible testimony of the eyewitness, who saw Ricky launch a sudden and unprovoked attack.
However, the Court found that the qualifying circumstance of treachery was not proven beyond reasonable doubt. For treachery to exist, the prosecution must prove that the means of execution were deliberately adopted to ensure the attack without risk to the assailant. The evidence showed that the attack was sudden, but the prosecution did not adequately establish that Ricky consciously employed such method to facilitate the killing without any defense from the victim. The incident arose from a prior altercation involving Ricky’s brother, and the attack, while swift, was not shown to be the product of a calculated plan. Absent treachery, the crime is Homicide, not Murder.
Considering the mitigating circumstance of voluntary surrender, which was duly proven, the Court imposed an indeterminate penalty of six (6) years and one (1) day of prision mayor, 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 set at P50,000.00 each, with legal interest.