G.R. No. L-60370 April 17, 1984
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. ARNEL DAMO, defendant-appellant.

FACTS

Arnel Damo, a tricycle driver, was charged with robbery with homicide. The information alleged that on November 27, 1981, in Laoag City, with evident premeditation and treachery, he strangled Lucretia D. Calina to death, dumped her body into a well, and took her belongings and cash. Upon arraignment, Damo, assisted by counsel, pleaded guilty. The trial court nevertheless conducted a hearing to ascertain his understanding of the plea and the circumstances.
The evidence established that Damo met the victim, a recent overseas returnee, at a bus terminal early in the morning. He offered to drive her to her destination but instead brought her to a vacant house. There, he had sexual intercourse with her, which she initially resisted but later consented to. Afterward, while waiting outside, Damo returned to the house, met the victim at the kitchen door, and suddenly strangled her to death. He then disposed of her body and her belongings.

ISSUE

The core issue for automatic review was whether the trial court correctly imposed the death penalty, specifically concerning the appreciation of aggravating and mitigating circumstances.

RULING

The Supreme Court modified the penalty from death to reclusion perpetua. The Court meticulously analyzed the alleged aggravating circumstances. It agreed with the Solicitor General that evident premeditation was absent, as the plan to kill arose only after the sexual act, without sufficient time for cool reflection. Nocturnity was also not present, as the meeting was accidental and not purposely sought by the accused to facilitate the crime.
However, the Court upheld the presence of treachery. The attack was sudden and unexpected, executed when the victim had no reason to anticipate lethal violence from the man with whom she had just been intimate. The Court cited precedent that treachery can exist even in a face-to-face confrontation if the attack is sudden. In robbery with homicide, treachery is a generic aggravating circumstance, not a qualifying one. This circumstance was properly offset by the mitigating circumstance of Damo’s plea of guilty. The claim of intoxication as a mitigating circumstance was rejected for lack of proof that it impaired his mental faculties, given his deliberate and sequential actions.
Applying Article 294 of the Revised Penal Code, which prescribes reclusion perpetua to death for robbery with homicide, and with the lone aggravating circumstance offset by the mitigating circumstance, the imposable penalty is reclusion perpetua. The Court also increased the civil indemnity to P30,000.00.