G.R. No. 138914 - THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. EFREN MANTES AND DANILO, FLORES, ACCUSED-.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE, foregoing considered, the prosecution having proven beyond reasonable doubt the guilt of accused Efren Mantes and Danilo Flores, this Court finds accused Efren Mantes and Danilo Flores GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of murder and hereby sentences both accused to suffer the penalty of DEATH; to jointly pay the amount of One Hundred Thousand Pesos (P100,000.00) to the heirs of the victim for the death of Elicazar Napili and One Hundred Twenty Thousand Pesos (P120,000.00) as actual damages; P50,000.00 as moral damages; and the amount of Fourteen Thousand Three Hundred Pesos (P14,300.00) as funeral expenses. (Rollo, pp. 24.) With the imposition upon appellants of the supreme penalty of death, the case is now before this Court on automatic review pursuant to Article 47 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended by Section 22 of Republic Act No. 7659. The Information filed against appellants on January 7, 1995 charged: That on or about the 7 th day of July 1994, at around 7:30 o'clock in the evening, at Sitio Potrero, Barangay Bancal, Municipality of Carmona, Province of Cavite, Philippines and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, conspiring, confederating and mutually helping and aiding one another, with intent to kill, being then armed with bolos, and with treachery and evident premeditation, did, then and there, wilfully, unlawfully and feloniously, attack, assault stab and hack the person of one Elicazar Napili with the said bladed weapons, inflicting upon the said victim mortal wounds on the different parts of his body thereby causing his subsequent death, to the damage and prejudice of his legal heirs. (Rollo, p. 4.) Upon appellants' arraignment on February 27, 1995 (for Flores) and March 22, 1995 (for Mantes), both entered a plea of not guilty. Trial thereafter ensued, following which the judgment of conviction was rendered. Hence the instant review. The version of the prosecution, as culled from the testimony of its witnesses Elizabeth Napili, the wife of the victim; Violeta Latagan, a resident of the house near where the victim was allegedly killed; Roberto de Salit, the barangay captain of Bancal; Julio de Salit, a barangay investigator; Rogelio Manabat, a barangay councilor; and Dr. Rolando A. Poblete, the physician who performed the autopsy on the victim, may be synthesized as follows: On July 7, 1994, at about 7:30 P.M., appellants Efren Mantes and Danilo Flores barged inside the house of Elicazar Napili while the latter was having supper with his wife Elizabeth and their children. Appellants, armed with guns and bolos, introduced themselves as men of the barangay captain and told Elicazar that he was being summoned by the barangay captain. Cowed by their arms, Elicazar went with the two. When his wife Elizabeth tried to follow, Danilo tried to hack her so she returned to their house. Thirty minutes after the three had left, Elizabeth Napili went to the barangay captain to inquire as