G.R. No. L-56358 October 26, 1990
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. LUIS B. TORING, DIOSDADO BERDON and CARMELO B. BERDIN, accused-appellants.

FACTS

The prosecution established that on the evening of May 25, 1980, during a benefit dance in Lapu-Lapu City, accused-appellants Luis Toring, Diosdado Berdon, and Carmelo Berdin conspired to attack Samuel Augusto. After Augusto’s daughter won a contest, Augusto stepped out of the dance area. Witnesses saw Berdon hand a knife to Toring. Toring then approached Augusto from behind, held his left hand, and stabbed him in the abdomen. Berdon and Berdin were positioned nearby, poised to deliver blows. The assailants fled, and Augusto died from the wound. The knife was later recovered from Toring’s house after Berdin led the police to it.
The defense presented a different version. Toring claimed he acted in self-defense, alleging that Augusto, armed with a shotgun, was aggressively assaulting his friends. Toring testified that he intervened, wrestled with Augusto for the shotgun, and during the struggle, his own knife, which was tucked in his waist, accidentally stabbed Augusto. He denied any conspiracy with Berdon and Berdin, who also denied involvement, asserting they were merely present at the dance.

ISSUE

The core issues were: (1) whether the killing was murder qualified by treachery; (2) whether conspiracy existed among the three accused; and (3) the correct criminal liability and penalties for each accused.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction of Luis Toring for Murder and Diosdado Berdon as an accomplice, but acquitted Carmelo Berdin. The Court found treachery (alevosia) present because Toring attacked Augusto from behind without any warning, employing a method that ensured the victim had no opportunity to defend himself. This manner of attack directly and specifically ensured the execution of the crime without risk to the assailant.
Conspiracy was not proven among all three. The act of Berdon in handing the knife to Toring immediately before the stabbing, coupled with his poised position to attack, demonstrated a conscious and intentional cooperation in the felonious design, making him an accomplice. However, for Carmelo Berdin, the evidence was insufficient. His mere presence at the scene and his act of later retrieving the knife from Toring’s house, which he frequented, did not constitute proof of prior conspiracy or intentional concealment as an accessory after the fact. His ready cooperation with the police was deemed inconsistent with guilt.
The penalties were modified. For Toring, the mitigating circumstance of voluntary surrender and the aggravating circumstance of nighttime offset each other, resulting in the penalty for murder being imposed in its medium period. The Court imposed an indeterminate sentence. For Berdon, as an accomplice without mitigating or aggravating circumstances, the penalty was one degree lower than that for Toring, also imposed indeterminately. The indemnity to the heirs was increased to P30,000.00. Berdin was acquitted on reasonable doubt.