G.R. No. L-25989 September 30, 1969
The People of the Philippines, plaintiff-appellee, vs. Armingol Hanasan y Nuñez alias Jose N. Literal, defendant-appellant.

FACTS

Armingol Hanasan befriended Guillermo Literal, an illiterate man, and convinced him to live in his house and work as a helper. Hanasan then prevailed upon Literal to apply for a life insurance policy for P10,000 with the Philippine American Life Insurance Company on March 5, 1965, designating Hanasan (using the alias Jose N. Literal) as the principal beneficiary. On March 25, 1965, Hanasan poisoned Literal by pouring an arsenic solution, made more potent with lye, onto Literal’s rice and “paksiw na galunggong” during lunch. After consuming the food, Literal experienced vomiting and loose bowels. Hanasan brought him to a doctor but did not disclose the poisoning. Literal’s condition worsened, and he died in the early morning of March 27, 1965. Hanasan was charged with murder. Upon arraignment, he voluntarily pleaded guilty. The trial court received evidence on aggravating and mitigating circumstances and found him guilty of murder by means of poison, with aggravating circumstances of evident premeditation and abuse of confidence, and the mitigating circumstance of voluntary plea of guilty, sentencing him to death.

ISSUE

1. Whether the lower court erred in finding that Guillermo Literal died from arsenic poisoning.
2. Whether the lower court erred in discounting the mitigating circumstance of voluntary surrender and appreciating only the plea of guilty, thereby failing to offset the two aggravating circumstances.

RULING

1. The Supreme Court affirmed the lower court’s finding that the cause of death was arsenic poisoning. The Court found the proof indubitable, based on Hanasan’s sworn extrajudicial confession where he admitted poisoning the food, the toxicology report from the NBI which found traces of arsenic in the exhumed remains, and the testimony of an NBI toxicologist. The mention of “gastro-enteritis” in the death certificate did not negate the finding, as arsenic poisoning causes such symptoms.
2. The Supreme Court held that the mitigating circumstance of voluntary surrender was not present. Hanasan’s act of going to the NBI on December 8, 1965, was not a surrender but a response to an invitation for questioning, and he was already a suspect. The Court upheld the appreciation of the aggravating circumstances of evident premeditation (shown by the planning from the insurance application to the poisoning) and abuse of confidence (Hanasan gained the victim’s trust to facilitate the crime). Only the mitigating circumstance of voluntary plea of guilty was present, which offset one aggravating circumstance. The penalty of death was affirmed. The civil indemnity was increased to P12,000.