G.R. No. 97472 -73 November 20, 2000
People of the Philippines vs. Vicente Pacaña, Bernardo Pacaña, Virgilio Pacaña, and Victoriano Pacaña

FACTS

The case stemmed from a violent incident on January 28, 1979, in Cebu City. A fistfight occurred between Vicente Pacaña and Edwin Sormillon. Later, Felizardo del Solo and his cousin, Raul Leyson, approached Vicente to mediate. Vicente brought them to a house where they were met by his co-accused Victoriano, Virgilio, and Bernardo. A confrontation ensued, during which Vicente suddenly struck Felizardo. Bernardo then stabbed Felizardo in the chest after an initial attempt was parried. Meanwhile, as Raul tried to intervene, Victoriano struck him on the neck with a lead pipe. Bernardo, Vicente, and Virgilio then ganged up on and stabbed Raul, with Victoriano also stabbing him in the back. Felizardo survived after medical treatment, but Raul was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.
The four accused were charged with Murder for Raul’s death and Frustrated Murder for the attack on Felizardo. After trial, the Regional Trial Court convicted all accused of both crimes. During the appeal, appellants Vicente and Virgilio withdrew their appeals, and Bernardo was found to have died pending appeal. Only Victoriano actively pursued the appeal before the Supreme Court.

ISSUE

The primary issue is whether the guilt of accused-appellant Victoriano Pacaña for the crimes of Murder and Frustrated Murder was proven beyond reasonable doubt.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed Victoriano Pacaña’s conviction but modified the penalties. The Court found the prosecution evidence, primarily the credible and consistent testimony of surviving victim Felizardo del Solo, sufficient to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The attack on the unarmed victims, who were merely attempting to settle a prior quarrel, was sudden and executed by multiple armed assailants, constituting treachery which qualified the killing to Murder. For the Frustrated Murder charge, all acts of execution were performed, and only timely medical intervention prevented Felizardo’s death.
However, the Court modified the penalties. For Murder, the proper penalty is reclusion perpetua, as the crime was committed in 1979 before the death penalty was reinstated. For Frustrated Murder, applying the Indeterminate Sentence Law, the penalty was reduced to an indeterminate sentence of six years and one day of prision mayor as minimum, to twelve years and one day of reclusion temporal as maximum. Civil indemnities were also increased to P50,000 for Raul’s heirs and P30,000 plus P4,000 actual damages for Felizardo. The appeal of the deceased Bernardo was dismissed, extinguishing his criminal and civil liabilities. The Court ordered Victoriano’s bail forfeited and a warrant for his arrest issued.