G.R. No. 197039 - PEOPLE PHILIPPINES, OF THE, VS. ARIEL CALARA Y ABALOS, ACCUSED-.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE, premises considered, this Court finds accused Ariel Calara y Abalos GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of the offense of murder and hereby sentenced to suffer the penalty of imprisonment for a period of TWENTY (20) years and ONE (1) day to FORTY (40) years. The accused is likewise adjudged civilly liable and ordered to pay the heirs of the victim Sgt. Francisco Dulay the following damages: 1) Death indemnity Php. 50,000.00; 2) Actual damages Php. 109,300.00; 3) Moral damages Php. 100,000.00; 4) Exemplary damages Php. 100,000.00; and 5) Loss of earning capacity Php. 3,227,360.00. [18] Appellant filed an appeal before the Court of Appeals assigning in his Brief the following errors allegedly committed by the trial court: I. THE COURT A QUO GRAVELY ERRED IN GIVING FULL WEIGHT AND CREDENCE TO THE HIGHLY INCONSISTENT TESTIMONIES OF THE PROSECUTION WITNESSES. II. THE COURT A QUO GRAVELY ERRED IN CONSIDERING THE QUALIFYING CIRCUMSTANCE OF TREACHERY. III. THE COURT A QUO GRAVELY ERRED IN AWARDING P109,300.00 ACTUAL DAMAGES, [P]100,000.00 MORAL DAMAGES, P100,000.00 EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, AND [P]3,227,360.00 LOSS OF EARNING CAPACITY. [19] The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) filed its Brief and refuted the allegations of appellant. The OSG dismissed the alleged inconsistencies as minor details which should not affect the integrity of the eyewitnesses testimonies. The OSG defended the presence of treachery by the mere fact that Francisco was stabbed from behind. And finally, the OSG supported the award of damages, which amounts are duly supported by law and evidence. In a Decision dated 26 November 2010, the Court of Appeals affirmed with modification the decision of the trial court. The dispositive portion reads: WHEREFORE, premises considered, the assailed decision dated March 12, 2009 of the RTC, Branch 35, Santiago City in Criminal Case No. 35-4781 is hereby AFFIRMED with MODIFICATION in that the award of moral damages is reduced from P100,000.00 to P50,000.00 while exemplary damages is likewise reduced from P100,000.00 to P25,000.00. The loss of earning capacity is reduced to P3,220,355.00. The rest of the decision stand[s]. [20] On 15 December 2010, appellant filed a notice of appeal. In a Resolution dated 5 September 2011, the Court directed the parties to file supplemental briefs, if they so desire. Both parties manifested that they were no longer filing their supplemental briefs. [21] Appellant is appealing for the reversal of his conviction. He denies stabbing Francisco and instead points to a certain Dugong as the perpetrator, but in the same breadth, he harps on the absence of treachery to qualify the crime to murder. Appellant points out several inconsistencies and incredulities in the testimonies of Dante and Fernando. Appellant notes that Dante and Fernando contradicted themselves when they initially testified that Francisco was paying the bill at the lugawan when he was stabbed, but later stated that Francisco was about to board the