GR 38511; (October, 1933) (Digest)
G.R. No. 38511; October 6, 1933
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, plaintiff-appellee, vs. FRANCISCO CAGOCO Y RAMONES, defendant-appellant.
FACTS
The accused, Francisco Cagoco, was charged with asesinato (murder) for the death of Yu Lon. On the night of July 24, 1932, Yu Lon was talking with his son, Yu Yee, on a sidewalk in Manila. The accused, who had been passing back and forth behind Yu Lon, approached him from behind and without warning struck him with a fist on the back of the head. Yu Lon fell, hitting his head on the pavement, and died from cerebral hemorrhage. The accused fled but was later identified by Yu Yee and two other eyewitnesses, Chin Sam and Yee Fung. Yu Yee positively identified the accused from a police lineup. The trial court convicted the accused of murder qualified by alevosia (treachery) and sentenced him to reclusion perpetua.
ISSUE
1. Whether the identity of the appellant as the assailant was established.
2. Whether the manner of attack constituted alevosia (treachery).
3. Whether the crime committed is murder or merely maltreatment.
RULING
The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction but modified the penalty.
1. The identity of the appellant as the assailant was fully established. The eyewitnesses, particularly Yu Yee who had a clear view and promptly identified the appellant in a lineup, provided credible and consistent testimony. The defense’s alibi was found unworthy of credit.
2. The attack constituted alevosia. The appellant struck the victim from behind without warning, employing means that directly ensured the execution of the act without risk to himself from any defense the victim might make, satisfying the definition under Article 14(16) of the Revised Penal Code.
3. The crime is murder, not simple maltreatment. The presence of alevosia qualifies the killing as murder. The Court rejected the argument that there was no intent to kill, holding that alevosia can coexist with the mitigating circumstance of lack of intent to commit so grave a wrong. The penalty for murder is reclusion temporal in its maximum period to death. With one mitigating circumstance (lack of intent to commit so grave a wrong) and no aggravating circumstances, the penalty was reduced to seventeen years, four months, and one day of reclusion temporal. The judgment was affirmed as modified.
AI Generated by Armztrong.