GR L 29935; (January, 1972) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-29935 January 31, 1972
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. FEDERICO C. TOREJAS alias “BEN” and BONIFACIO C. TOREJAS alias “QUILINO”, defendants-appellants.
FACTS
The appellants, brothers Federico and Bonifacio Torejas, were convicted of murder for the stabbing death of Artemio Dasalla and sentenced to reclusion perpetua. The prosecution’s case rested on the testimony of a lone eyewitness, Federico Rivera, who claimed he saw Bonifacio hit the victim with a bottle and Federico stab him with a bolo, after which Bonifacio pursued and further stabbed the fleeing victim. The trial court rejected the defense of self-defense asserted by Bonifacio, who claimed the deceased attacked him first with a Batangas knife, and Federico’s claim of non-participation. The court found the qualifying circumstance of treachery and the aggravating circumstance of evident premeditation, appreciating no mitigating circumstances.
ISSUE
Whether the trial court correctly convicted both appellants of murder, qualified by treachery, with the aggravating circumstance of evident premeditation and without any mitigating circumstance.
RULING
The Supreme Court modified the trial court’s judgment. It held that the lone eyewitness account was insufficient to establish treachery, as the attack did not clearly demonstrate a deliberate adoption of means to ensure the victim’s defenselessness. The claim of evident premeditation was also not proven with concrete evidence of planning. Crucially, the Court found the trial court erred in not appreciating the mitigating circumstance of voluntary surrender, which was established by the unbiased testimony of a police corporal. Furthermore, the evidence did not support Federico’s conviction as a principal. His mere presence at the scene, without proof of direct participation or conspiracy, warranted his classification only as an accomplice. Consequently, Bonifacio’s conviction was modified from murder to homicide, with the mitigating circumstance of voluntary surrender applied, reducing his penalty. Federico’s liability was downgraded to that of an accomplice to homicide, with a correspondingly lower penalty. The indemnity to the heirs was also reduced.