G.R. No. 126281 - PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. SERGIO A. CARATAO.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE, in the light of the foregoing findings of facts and law, with the attendan[ce] of the qualifying circumstance of treachery, the court finds the accused Sergio A. Caratao guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of murder under Art. 248, Revised Penal Code. Republic Act No. 7659 defining heinous crimes was not yet passed and effective at the time of the commission of the crime. Accused Sergio A. Caratao is hereby sentenced to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua , with all the accessory penalties provided for in Art. 41, Revised Penal Code. Further, the knife used in the commission of the crime is hereby declared confiscated and forfeited in favor of the government. Furthermore, he is ordered to indemnify the heirs of the deceased Edgardo "Tado" Bulawin, the following: (1) P50,000.00 for the death of Edgardo "Tado" Bulawin; (2) P22,050.00 as actual damages ; and - (3) P20,000.00 as moral damages. And also to pay the costs. [1] On July 21, 1992, appellant was charged under an amended information, thus: That on or about the 27 th day of April, 1992, at, more or less, 4:20 o'clock in the evening, at Nalco Commissary Compound, Hill Top Village, Nasipit, Agusan del Norte, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-name[d] accused, armed with a bladed weapon, with intent to kill and with evident premeditation and treachery and with cruelty, did then and there willfully, unlawfully, and feloniously attack, assault and stab Edgardo Bulawin, thus inflicting upon him stab wounds on the different parts of his body, which directly caused his death. CONTRARY TO LAW: (Article 248, of the Revised Penal Code). [2] Upon his arraignment on August 11, 1992, appellant, assisted by his counsel, entered a plea of not guilty. [3] Trial thereafter ensued and the court a quo rendered the assailed decision. The prosecution relies on the eyewitness accounts of Martin Sugala, Eugenio Agudera and Roberto Mangmang. The widow of the deceased, Moreta Bulawin, testified to prove civil damages. Their testimonies are summarized below. Martin Sugala , a rice dispatching checker employed with Nasipit Agusan Lumber Company (NALCO) at Nasipit, Agusan del Norte, testified that at around 4:00 p.m., appellant and his wife entered the commissary canteen of NALCO. Appellant's wife approached Sugala and told him that her husband was angry. Sugala asked appellant about this. Appellant replied, saying that he was not given additional rice vale by the victim Edgardo "Tado" Bulawin, NALCO's rice vale issuer. After checking that there was extra rice available, Sugala assured appellant that he would give him an additional 25 kilos. Shortly thereafter, Sugala saw the victim walk out of the canteen. Sensing that appellant was about to rush to the victim, the witness restrained him and said, "Do not do anything harsh because we are all brothers here, anyway I am giving you [an] additional 25 kilos of rice." He placed his arm around appellant an