G.R. No. L-97027 March 11, 1994
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. LUISITO ISRAEL y VILLANUEVA, accused-appellant.

FACTS

Accused-appellant Luisito Israel was convicted of Murder by the Regional Trial Court of Manila. The prosecution established that in the early morning of January 1, 1988, the victim, Jose Dimacali, Jr., was asleep on a bench in front of his house in Tondo, Manila. At around 4:00 AM, Israel, together with three male companions, surrounded the sleeping victim. Israel, holding a butcher’s knife about one and a half feet long, stabbed Dimacali, Jr. on the neck and chest. The victim staggered into his house, and when asked by his father, Jose Dimacali, Sr., who stabbed him, the victim identified “Si Sitong” (Israel) and said he had companions. The victim died on the way to the hospital. An autopsy confirmed fatal stab wounds. Two eyewitnesses, neighbors Clarita Sampang Pelayo and Remedios Italiano, testified to seeing Israel stab the sleeping victim. The defense presented an alibi, claiming Israel was in Los Baños, Laguna, at the time, working and celebrating New Year’s at a construction site with a co-worker, Alberto Turiaga. The trial court rejected the alibi and convicted Israel, sentencing him to Reclusion Perpetua.

ISSUE

The main issue is whether the prosecution proved the guilt of the accused-appellant beyond reasonable doubt, specifically concerning the admissibility and credibility of the victim’s dying declaration and the eyewitness testimonies, and the validity of the defense of alibi.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction. The Court held that the victim’s statement to his father identifying “Sitong” as his assailant was inadmissible as a dying declaration because the prosecution failed to prove the victim was conscious of his impending death when he made the statement. However, the statement was admissible as part of the res gestae because it was made spontaneously after a startling occurrence (the stabbing) and before the victim had time to contrive or devise. The Court found the testimonies of the two eyewitnesses credible, consistent, and sufficient to establish Israel’s guilt. Their positive identification prevailed over the defense of alibi, which was not physically impossible for Israel to have been at the crime scene. The Court also found that treachery (alevosia) attended the killing, as the attack was made on a sleeping, defenseless victim, qualifying the crime as Murder. The penalty of Reclusion Perpetua was affirmed, but the award of damages was modified to P50,000.00 as civil indemnity.