C_My Digest of Consolidated Case of People vs Villamor and Maghilom

Case Case:: Art. Art.14 14,, Par Par.. 6 -That the act be committed with with trea treach cher ery y. Ther There e is treac treache hery ry when when the the offend offender er commi commits ts any any of the crime crimess agai against nst the person, employing means, methods or forms in the executi execution on thereof thereof which which tend directly directly and speciall specially y to insure its execution, without risk to himself arising from the defense defense which the offended offended party party might might make. Kind of Aggrava Aggravating ting Circumsta Circumstance: nce:   Qualifying Aggravating Aggravating Circumsta Circumstance nce those that change change the nature nature of the crime. crime. In this case, treachery treachery and evident evident premedi premeditat tation ion qualifie qualifiess the killing killing of a person person to murder murder,, hence hence a graver graver penalty, penalty, instead instead of merely merely homicide. Keyword Keyword:: Imbis Imbis Ben and and erry, erry, e!ord and erry erry "a!ang "a!ang :-# Conso!idated Conso!idated cases: Peo$!e of t%e P%i!i$$ines vs. P&' (enato )i!!amor and essie *ag%i!om +.(. "os. 144-/, anuary 10, 2 and Peo$!e of t%e P%i!i$$ines vs. P&' (enato )i!!amor and essie *ag%i!om +.(. "os. 1413/-3, anuary 10, 2 acts: At aroun around d dusk dusk of ovem ovember ber !", !", #$$%, #$$%, broth brothers ers &erry &erry 'ele 'ele(, (, who was was drivin driving g the motor motorcy cycl cle, e, and &elord 'ele( were on their way home to )arangay *itakas, )aliangao, *isamis +ccidental, after having dinner dinner at a friend friendss house at )arangay )arangay -anding, -anding, )alianga )aliangao, o, *isamis +ccident +ccidental. al. As they neared neared the  unction of )arangays )arangays -usot and *itakas, *itakas, they heard a speeding motorcycle motorcycle fast approaching approaching from behind. behind. The brothers brothers ignored ignored the other other motorcyc motorcycle, le, which caught caught up with with them. As they were about about to cross cross the bridge bridge leading leading to their home, gunshots gunshots rang out from behind them. They abruptly abruptly turned the motorcycle motorcycle around towards towards the direction of the gunfire. The light of their motorcycles motorcycles headlamp fell on their their attack attacker ers, s, aboard aboard the second second motorc motorcyc ycle. le. &erry &erry saw 'illamo 'illamorr and *aghil *aghilom om on board board the motorcycle behind them. *aghilom was driving the motorcycle while 'illamor was holding a short gun poin pointe ted d at them them.. The The assa assail ilan ants ts fire fired d at them them a seco second nd time time and and fled fled towa toward rdss the the dire direct ctio ion n of Calamba, Calamba, *isamis +ccident +ccidental. al. &erry &erry sustaine sustained d gunshot gunshot wounds on the abdomen abdomen and left elbow, elbow, but surv surviv ived ed.. /e got got a good good look look at the their assa assailan ilants ts.. &err &erry y sens sensed ed tha that &elo &elord rds grip grip on his his bac back slackened. slackened. &elord fell fell off the motorcycle motorcycle and died on the spot. spot. As &erry neared the the bridge, 'illamor again again fired fired at &erry, &erry, hitting hitting him on the abdomen. abdomen. The two assaila assailants nts drove drove away away. 0hen &erry &erry arrived arrived at their house, house, he told his other other brother brother,, &elvis, &elvis, about the incident incident.. They rushed rushed &elord &elord to the Calamba Calamba 1istrict 1istrict /ospit /ospital al,, but he was was tran transf sfer erre red d to the *isam *isamis is +ccid +ccident ental al 2rov 2rovinc incial ial /ospt /osptia ial, l, +roqu +roquiet ieta a City City.. *eanwhile, &erry was treated at the 2rovincial /ospital and, later at the *etro Cebu /ospital. The autopsy conducted by 1r. elson 3abrine(, 2ublic /ealth +fficer of )aliangao, on the cadaver of &elo &elord rd 'ele( ele( show showed ed seve severa rall woun wounds ds on the the ches chest, t, mid mid clav clavic icul ular ar area area,, abdo abdome men n and and righ rightt diaphr diaphrag agm. m. The caus cause e of death death was indica indicated ted as multi multiple ple gunsho gunshott wounds. wounds. +n the other other hand, hand, 1r. 1r. +lay(ar +lay(ar 4ecamadas 4ecamadas of the 2rovinc 2rovincial ial /ospital /ospital examined examined &erry &erry 'ele( 'ele( and found found that he sustain sustained ed 5a gunshot gunshot wound wound 6on the7 left quadran quadrantt abdomen abdomen penetrating penetrating abdomina abdominall cavity cavity with inury to stomac stomach, h, mesentery mesentery transverse transverse colon, hemoperitoneum. hemoperitoneum.88 1r. 1r. 4ecamadas 4ecamadas testified that without prompt medical attendance, attendance, &erry could have died of 5(ero9(ero :;9;< blood pressure. pressure. =or the deadly assault on the 'ele( brothers, 2+> 4enato =. 'illamor and &essie 5&oy8 *aghilom were indicted for *urder in Criminal Case o. #>#!9>?9#" in an Information which reads@ Accused Accused 2+> 4enato 4enato =. 'illamor 'illamor,, public public officer officer,, being being a member member of the 2hilippi 2hilippine ne ationa ationall 2olice 2olice,, consp conspiri iring ng and and conf confed eder erat ating ing with with accus accused ed &essie &essie 5&oy8 5&oy8 *aghi *aghilom lom,, likew likewise ise a public public offic officer er,, being being a )arang )arangay ay Councilman, Councilman, with treacher treachery y and intent intent to kill, did then and there,wi there,wilful lfully ly,, unlawfull unlawfully y and feloniously shoot &elord 'ele(, inflicting upon him mortal wounds that caused his death.

+n the other hand, 1r. +lay(ar 4ecamadas of the 2rovincial /ospital examined &erry 'ele( and found that he sustained 5a gunshot wound 6on the7 left quadrant abdomen penetrating abdominal cavity with inury to stomach, mesentery transverse colon, hemoperitoneum.8 1r. 4ecamadas testified that without prompt medical attendance, &erry could have died of 5(ero9(ero :;9;< blood pressure.8

Accused c!aimed t%e fo!!owing a!ibis: 5%e Court did not acce$t %is a!ibis. #. on ovember !", #$$%, at around %@;; p.m., he was in )arangay -anding as security escort of  *ayor Agapito ap III. !. +n same date and At around %@;; p.m., accused9appellant went home to take his child, who was suffering from diarrhea, to the clinic for treatment. /e arrived at the ap Clinic but was advised to go to the Calamba 1istrict /ospital. #is$ositive: 78(8&(8,   in view of the foregoing, the decision of the 4egional Trial Court of Calamba, *isamis +ccidental in Criminal Cases os. #>#!9>?9#" and ?>#9#"9?B9>?9>, finding accused9appellant guilty beyond reasonable doubt of *urder and =rustrated *urder, respectively, is A==I4*D1 with *+1I=ICATI+. As modified, accused9appellant 2+> 4enato =.'illamor is sentenced to suffer the penalty of   Reclusion Perpetua   for *urder in Criminal Case o. #>#!9>?9#"E and to suffer an indeterminate penalty of Dight :B< ears and +ne :#< 1ay of Prision Mayor,  as minimum, to =ourteen :#"< ears, Dight :B< *onths and +ne :#< 1ay of  Reclusion Temporal,  as maximum, for =rustrated *urder in Criminal Case o. ?>#9#"9?B9>?. Accused9appellant is +41D4D1 to pay the heirs of the victim &elord 'ele( the sum of 2%;,;;;.;; by way of moral damages, in addition to the civil indemnity of 2%;,;;;.;; and funeral expenses of  2>$,?%!.%! awarded by the trial court. The award of medical expenses to &erry 'ele( in the amount of  2",$%%.;; is A==I4*D1.

Issues9(u!ing: A. Can an alibi prevail over a positive witness in the charge of murderF 7e!d: Accused9appellants profession of innocence cannot prevail  vis-à-vis   his positive identification as the gunman by eyewitness9victim &erry 'ele(. 1espite repeated attempts by the defense counsel to throw him off track during cross9examination, &erry remained resolute and unflinching in his account that he and his brother were fired upon by accused. It must be stressed in this regard that the testimony of a single witness is sufficient to establish the guilt of the accused for evidence is weighed not counted. Indeed, the testimony of a single witness, if positive and credible, is sufficient to convict the appellant even in a murder charge. The Court has consistently looked upon the defense of alibi with suspicion and received it with caution not only because it is inherently weak and unreliable, but also because it can be easily fabricated. Gnless supported by clear and convincing evidence, the same cannot overcome the positive declarations of the victim who, in a simple and straightforward manner, convincingly identified the accused9appellant as one of the perpetrators of the crime. ). 0hat circumstance was taken into account by the Court in arriving at the penalty of reclusion perpetua for 'illamor and *aghilomF /eld@ The killing of &elord 'ele( was attended by treachery or  alevosia. There is treachery when the offender commits any of the crimes against persons, employing means, methods or forms in the execution thereof which tend directly and specially to insure its execution, without risk to himself arising from the defense which the offended party might make. The qualifying circumstance of treachery attended the killing inasmuch as the two conditions for the same are present,  i.e.,  :#< that at the time of the attack, the victim was not in a position to defend himself, and :!< that the offender consciously adopted the particular means, method or form of attack employed by him. The essence of treachery is the swift, sudden and unexpected attack by the aggressor on an unsuspecting victim, depriving the latter of any real chance to

defend himself, thereby ensuring its commission without risk to the aggressor, and without the slightest provocation on the part of the victim. 'illamor and &essie  “Joy”  *aghilom perpetrated the crime. not only by the sudden and unexpected attack upon the unsuspecting and apparently unarmed victims but also by the deliberate manner in which the assault was perpetrated. In this case, a totally unsuspecting &elord 'ele( held onto his brother &erry on board their motorcycle on their way home blissfully unaware of the onrushing peril behind them. C. Can the victims not invoke the aggravating circumstance of the offenders taking advantage of their public positions as members of the 2hilippine ational 2oliceF 7e!d: o. To appreciate this aggravating circumstance, the public officer must use the influence, prestige or ascendancy which his office gives him as a means by which he reali(es his purpose. The essence of the matter is presented in the inquiry 51id the accused  abuse  his office to commit the crimeF In this case, there was no showing that accused9appellant took advantage of his being a policeman to shoot &elord 'ele( or that he used his 5influence, prestige or ascendancy8 in killing the victim. Accused9appellant could have shot 'ele( even without being a policeman. In other words, if the accused could have perpetrated the crime even without occupying his position, there is no abuse of public position.