GR L 53586; (January, 1982) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-53586 January 30, 1982
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. PONCIANO LUMAGUE, JR., MARIO LUMAGUE, ROLANDO LUMAGUE and JUANITO LUMAGUE, accused.
FACTS
This case involves the brutal murder of Antonio Regalado in Marikina on July 25, 1977. The victim sustained thirty-six wounds from bladed, blunt, and pointed instruments, inflicted by multiple assailants. The initial police investigation was unsuccessful, leading the victim’s widow to seek the assistance of the Philippine Constabulary. Subsequently, the four Lumague brothers—Ponciano Jr., Mario, Rolando, and Juanito—along with their brother-in-law Rodolfo de la Cruz (at large), were charged with murder. Three brothers (Ponciano, Mario, and Rolando) were tried jointly, while Juanito was tried separately after his later arrest. The prosecution’s case hinged on the testimonies of eyewitness Roberto Asuncion, a companion of the victim, and Virgilio Pacunayen, a neighbor. They identified the accused as the perpetrators who attacked Regalado and his companions.
ISSUE
The primary issue for review is the correctness of the conviction for murder and the imposition of the death penalty upon the accused Lumague brothers.
RULING
The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction for murder but modified the penalty. The Court found the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses credible and sufficient to establish the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt. The qualifying circumstance of treachery was present, as the attack was sudden and unexpected, rendering the victim defenseless. However, the Court, in its per curiam decision, held that the aggravating circumstance of cruelty was not proven with the requisite certainty. The mere number of wounds (36), inflicted by multiple assailants in a concerted attack, does not per se establish that the accused deliberately and inhumanly increased the victim’s suffering to outrage or scoff at his person. Following precedent, cruelty requires proof of deliberate prolongation of suffering or other inhuman acts beyond what is necessary to commit the crime. Consequently, with treachery as the sole qualifying circumstance and no other aggravating circumstances duly proven, the proper penalty is reclusion perpetua, not death. The case was remanded to the trial court for the reception of additional evidence for Juanito Lumague, whose separate trial was incomplete.