G.R. No. 130501 - PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. ISABELO PEREZ Y HALOG, DEOGRACIAS MENDOZA Y PEREZ, DENNIS MENDOZA, GEORGE VALDEZ AND “BOYET,” ACCUSED, ISABELO PEREZ Y HALOG.

Ruling

WHEREFORE, the Court finds [A]ccused ISABELO PEREZ Y HALOG and DENNIS MENDOZA guilty beyond reasonable doubt as principals by direct participation in the crime [of m]urder, qualified by treachery, and hereby sentences them to suffer imprisonment [for] the period of RECLUSION PERPETUA and, to pay jointly and solidarily the heirs of MARIO PEROL the sum of P50,000.00 for the death of said victim" [5] Hence, this appeal. [6] The Facts Version of the Prosecution In its Brief, [7] the Office of the Solicitor General presents the following narration of facts: On January 1, 1991, Deogracias or 'Domeng' Mendoza and his son Dennis Mendoza went to Mario Perol's house at Brgy. 9, Payompon, Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro and invited the latter and one Fermin Verwel to a drinking spree. During the course of the drinking spree, Deogracias offered Mario the amount of Ten Thousand (P10,000.00) Pesos if the latter would kill a certain Gregg. Mario rejected the offer. (TSN, Sept. 17, 1991, pp. 3, 9-12) A few days later, this Gregg passed by Mario's house. Mario told Gregg about Deogracias' proposal. While the two were conversing by the door of Mario's house, Deogracias was apparently staring at them (Ibid, pp. 16-17). On January 6, 1991, at around 8:00 p.m., Deogracias and Billy Perez were seen by Mario's wife Gliceria Perol drinking in Deogracias house. Deogracias then shouted for Mario to come out of his house. Afterwards, Deogracias went inside Mario's house, woke Mario up and asked the latter to come with him to settle their differences (Ibid, pp. 19-21). At around 9:00 p.m. of the same day, Domingo Bernardo Jr. and his friend Nelson Magpantay were walking along Bansutan St., Payompon, Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro going towards Dennis Mendoza's house. About 6 meters before reaching the said house, the two saw Deogracias angrily pointing and shouting invectives at Mario stating, 'patayin iyan, patayin iyan, babayaran iyan.' They heard Mario reply, 'Huwag kang magbiro ng ganyan Kuya Doming' (TSN, Sept. 16, 1991, pp. 7-11). At that precise moment, Isabelo Perez held the right hand of Mario and twisted it towards the latter's back while Deogracias took a sledgehammer and struck Mario's left eyebrow. Dennis Mendoza and George Valdez took lead pipes which they used in beating Mario while one alias 'Boyet' and two unidentified persons mauled Mario. When the latter lay prostrate on the ground, Domingo saw Isabelo strike Mario with the use of a sledge hammer (Ibid., pp. 12-15). Afraid of what they witnessed, Domingo and Nelson decided to go straight to their respective homes that night. On January 10, 1991, the two (2) executed their joint sworn statement, 'Pinagsamang Salaysay' which became the basis of the present charge of [m]urder against appellant and his co-accused (Ibid., pp. 15 & 18). [8] Version of the Defense For his part, appellant presents the following version of the facts as culled from the testimonies of the defense witnesses: [9] Olive Mendoza x x