G.R. No. 169082 - PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. ERNESTO DE GUZMAN Y ELEMENCIO. D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE, having found guilty of Murder beyond reasonable doubt, accused Ernesto de Guzman is sentenced to suffer the penalty of Reclusion Perpetua. And the said accused is further condemned to indemnify the heirs of Felicito Rodrigo the sum of Fifty Thousand Pesos (P50,000.00), for moral damages and another Fifty Thousand Pesos (P50,000.00) for actual damages. [2] The accusatory portion of the Information filed against appellant reads: x x x x That on or about the 14 th day of June 1997, at around 1:00 o'clock [sic] in the morning, in Barangay San Vicente, Municipality of Gapan, Province of Nueva Ecija and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, with intent to kill and with treachery and cruelty, by deliberately and inhumanly augmenting the suffering of the victim thru repeated stabs after the victim fell down and the use of superior strength, did then and there, willfully, unlawfully and feloniously attack, assault and stab Felicito Rodrigo hitting him at the chest and different parts of his body causing his death, to the damage and prejudice of his heirs. x x x x [3] From the evidence for the prosecution, the following version is culled: On June 14, 1997, around 1:00 a.m., while appellant was conversing with Felicito Rodrigo (the victim), Enrico Garcia (Garcia), Ferdinand Garces (Garces), Wilson Malgapo (Malgapo) and Orlando Navarro at Riverside, Barangay San Vicente, Gapan, Nueva Ecija, he told the victim "Eto, gusto mo bang hiramin ito?" immediately after which he stabbed him (the victim) with a kitchen knife. The victim thereupon fled. Appellant ran after and caught up with the victim, however, and continued stabbing him. As the victim fell on the ground facing down, appellant stabbed him three (3) more times at the back. Appellant thereafter left. Garcia at once reported to the police. The policemen immediately proceeded to the crime scene and conducted an investigation, after which they repaired to the residence of appellant and arrested him at around 5:00 a.m. of the same day. The autopsy conducted on the victim's body by Dr. Paquito Alarilla, Medico-Legal Officer and Rural Health Physician of Gapan, revealed the following findings: Autopsy Findings (1) Stab wound 1 inch x .2 inch above right nipple (2) Stab wound 4 ½ inches x 1 inch anterior chest hitting the heart, liver and lung (3) Stab wound ½ inch below the left scapula (4) Stab wound ½ inch level of vertebral column (5) Stab wound .1 inch below the right scapula (6) Lacerated wound 1 ½ inch in length left forearm. No other physical findings noted. Cause of Death Shock, stab wound of the chest, heart, liver and lung. Severe Hemorrhage [4] (Underscoring supplied) Dr. Alarilla opined that Stab Wound No. 2, which hit vital organs ½ the heart, liver and lung, could have caused the death of the victim in only about five (5) minutes. He opined too that it was possible that the victim was already dead when he sustained the succeeding stab wounds. [5] App