G.R. No. 139576 - PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. ROGER

Ruling

WHEREFORE, judgment is hereby rendered finding accused Rogelio Puedan guilty beyond reasonable doubt of murder qualified by treachery. In the absence of any other aggravating and/or a mitigating circumstance, accused is hereby sentenced to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua , and to indemnify the heirs of his victim Florencio Ilar the sum of P50,000.00. [2] The Information [3] dated June 20, 1995, charged appellant in these words: That on or about the 21st day of February, 1995, in the morning, at Purok 2, [B]arangay Paitan, Municipality of Quezon, [P]rovince of Bukidnon, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, with intent to kill [and] by means of treachery and evident premeditation, armed with a sharp bladed instrument (flamingo), did then and there wilfully, unlawfully and criminally attack, assault and stab FLORENCIO ILAR, hitting and inflicting upon the latter the following, to wit: - Multiple stab wounds which caused the instant[an]eous death of FLORENCIO ILAR, to the damage and prejudice of the legal heirs of FLORENCIO ILAR in such amount as may be allowed by law. [4] Upon his arraignment on June 9, 1998, [5] appellant, assisted by his counsel, [6] pleaded not guilty. After trial in due course, the court a quo rendered the assailed Decision. The Facts Version of the Prosecution In its Brief, [7] the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) presents the prosecutions version of the facts as follows: In the morning of February 21, 1995, Florencio Ilar, accompanied by his six-year old grandson, Reymark Anthony Ilar, went to the house of Luceno Tulo to buy a piglet. Luceno Tulo was fashioning out a mortar (for pounding palay) near his house when Florencio and his grandson arrived. Florencio told Luceno that he wanted to buy a piglet from him. Appellant Roger Puedan suddenly arrived and stabbed Florencio five (5) times, first in the abdomen, with a sharp, pointed knife locally known as plamingco. Terrified of what he witnessed, Luceno fled towards the house of his neighbor. Young Reymark ran back to his parents house and told his mother, Erlinda Ilar, what transpired. Erlinda Ilar ran swiftly to Lucenos place but Florencio was already dead when she arrived. Florencio was bathed in his own blood and lying by the side of the rice paddy. The body of Florencio Ilar remained where it had fallen until the arrival of the police later that day. [8] (Citations omitted) Version of the Defense Appellant contends that he deserves acquittal, because the killing falls under the exceptional circumstance referred to in Article 247 of the Revised Penal Code. He claims to have surprised his spouse whom he had caught in the act of committing sexual intercourse with another person. Appellant narrates his version of the facts in the following manner: The defense had a different version of the incident that led to the death of Florencio Ilar. To lay the basis of the questionable character of the de