G.R. No. 223961 - SSGT. ERWIN Z. APLACADOR, VS. THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS, MARIETTA A. QUILANG, AND PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES. - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE, in light of the foregoing, this Court finds the accused ERWIN APLACADOR y ZALUN [guilty] beyond reasonable doubt of the complex crime of Qualified Direct Assault with Homicide, defined and penalized under Article[s] 148 and 248, in relation to Article 48, of the Revised Penal Code, and hereby sentences him: To suffer an indeterminate prison sentence ranging from twelve (12) years of prision mayor maximum as minimum to twenty (20) years of reclusion temporal maximum as maximum; and, To pay the heirs of Timmy Quilang the amounts of: a. [PHP] 50.000.00 as death indemnity; b. [PHP] 50,000.00 as moral damages; c. [PHP] 4,446.702.67 as compensatory damages for lost earnings; and d. [PHP] 78,000.00 as actual damages; and, To pay the costs. SO ORDERED . [16] (Emphasis in the original) The RTC rejected Aplacador's claim of self-defense, finding that he failed to prove unlawful aggression on the part of the victim. The trial court noted that Quilang, the deceased victim, was a first sergeant and chief operation Non-Commissioned Officer of the MIG 2 and, as stipulated, was a person in authority pursuant to Article 152 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended. The RTC, however, ruled that since treachery was not sufficiently proven, Aplacador was liable for the complex crime of qualified direct assault with homicide. [17] Aplacador appealed his conviction to the CA. Ruling of the CA The CA denied Aplacador's appeal and affirmed with modification the decision of the RTC in its own Decision [18] dated August 27, 2015, the dispositive portion of which reads: WHEREFORE, the Appeal is hereby DENIED . The Judgment of the Regional Trial Couti, Second Judicial Region, Tuguegarao City, Branch 03, in Criminal Case No. 14101, is AFFIRMED with MODIFICATION . Accused-appellant Erwin Aplacador y Zalun is sentenced to suffer the penalty of imprisonment of reclusion perpetua and is not eligible for parole. In addition to the damages adjudged by the court a quo, accused-appellant is ORDERED to pay the heirs of Msgt. Jimmy Quilang the amount of [PHP] 75,000.00 as civil indemnity, and [PHP] 30,000.00 as exemplary damages, all with interest at the rate of six percent (6%) per annum from date of finality of this judgment until fully paid. SO ORDERED . [19] (Emphasis in the original) The CA found Aplacador guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the complex crime of direct assault with murder. The appellate court ruled that the killing of Quilang was attended with treachery as shown by Aplacador's act of deliberately shooting the victim at the back of his head while the latter was alone and entirely helpless to defend himself. The CA held that the manner of Aplacador's attack, the number of wounds sustained by the victim, and the location of the fatal wounds were enough to show that Aplacador deliberately and consciously aimed at a vital spot of Quilang's body, illustrating the manner in which treachery was employed. [20] Consequently, the CA ruled that Aplacador was guilty of