GR L 31818; (July, 1982) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-31818 July 30, 1982
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff, vs. EDMUNDO GADIANO, accused.
FACTS
On the evening of October 8, 1964, in Cabadbaran, Agusan, accused Edmundo Gadiano was drinking at a store. An altercation ensued when Gadiano threw beer at a friend, Benedicto Nakila. Nakila complained to Patrolman Leodegario Secote, who was present. Secote, performing his duty, instructed Gadiano to accompany him to the municipal building regarding the complaint. While en route, Gadiano was permitted to pass by his house. At the house, the fatal incident occurred. The prosecution’s witnesses, fellow policemen, testified that while Secote waited at the foot of the stairs, Gadiano suddenly descended and stabbed Secote in the chest without warning, causing injuries that led to Secote’s death two days later.
Gadiano admitted to the killing but pleaded self-defense. He claimed that at his house, Secote grabbed him, beat him with a club, and drew his pistol. Gadiano alleged he seized a knife and stabbed Secote during this struggle. After the stabbing, he fled to his kitchen but was subsequently apprehended with the aid of his father and other officers.
ISSUE
Whether the trial court correctly convicted Gadiano of the complex crime of murder with assault upon an agent of a person in authority.
RULING
The Supreme Court modified the conviction. The Court held that Gadiano failed to prove his claim of self-defense by clear and convincing evidence, as required by jurisprudence. The burden of proof was on him, and his testimony was insufficient to overcome the prosecution’s evidence. However, the qualifying circumstance of treachery necessary for murder was not established. The prosecution evidence indicated a face-to-face confrontation, and the suddenness of the attack did not constitute the deliberate adoption of a method ensuring the victim’s defenselessness required for treachery. Thus, the crime committed was homicide, not murder.
Since the victim, Patrolman Secote, was an agent of a person in authority engaged in official duty at the time, the homicide was complexed with assault upon such an agent under Article 148 of the Revised Penal Code. Applying Article 48, the penalty for the most serious crime (homicide) was imposed in its maximum period. With no aggravating or mitigating circumstances, the Court imposed an indeterminate sentence of 7 years, 4 months, and 1 day of prision mayor as minimum, to 17 years, 4 months, and 1 day of reclusion temporal as maximum, with increased indemnity. The death penalty was eliminated.