G.R. No. 134505 - PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. ALEJANDRO GO-OD (DECEASED) NESTOR GO-OD, SANCHO GO-OD, RUFO GO-OD AND EMPE GO-OD, ACCUSED, NESTOR GO-OD, ACCUSED-.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

ACCORDINGLY, the Court finds the accused NESTOR GO-OD guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of MURDER and hereby imposes upon him the penalty of RECLUSION PERPETUA, with all the accessory penalties under the code, and shall indemnify the legal heirs the amount of P396,000 as loss of net earnings, P50,000 for the death of Aladino Ygot, P30,000 as moral damages and P20,000 as exemplary damages. [2] In an information [3] dated August 9, 1991, accused-appellant Nestor Go-od, together with his father Alejandro, his cousins Sancho and Empe, and his younger brother Rufo, all surnamed Go-od, were charged with murder committed as follows: "That on or about the 8th day of May, 1991 at about 5:30 oclock in the afternoon, at the boundary of Barangays Osmeña and Cadulawan, Municipality of Cataingan, province of Masbate, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, with intent to kill, with treachery and evident premeditation, conspiring together, confederating with and mutually helping one another, did then and there willfully, unlawfully and feloniously attack, assault and stab and hack Aladino Ygot y Monsalud, hitting the latter in the different parts of his body which caused his instantaneous death. CONTRARY TO LAW." Assisted by counsel, only Nestor and Alejandro Go-od were arraigned on October 9, 1991 [4] , wherein both entered a plea of not guilty. Trial thus ensued as to them. The other accused, namely, Sancho, Empe and Rufo Go-od all remained at large. Alejandro died before judgment on May 6, 1997 while in detention at the Matiporon Provincial Jail in Milagros, Masbate. [5] The trial court summarized the evidence for the prosecution as follows: "At more or less five-thirty oclock in the afternoon of May 8, 1991, at Cadulawan, Cataingan, Masbate, accused Alejandro Go-od, Nestor Go-od, Sancho Go-od, Rufo Go-od and Empe Go-od ganged up on Aladino Ygot near Leoncia Susons house while the latter was looking for his goat. All the accused after coming out from the banana plants attacked at once and simultaneously hacked Aladino Ygot with their bolos many times hitting him on different parts of the body until he had fallen on the ground. The victim was also struck by a spear at the back by Alejandro Go-od. Admittedly, the victim had suspected the accused of having stolen the goat. While protecting himself from the rapid onslaught of the five accused the victim was able to get hold of a bolo which in the process wounded Nestor Go-od. The incident was reported to the barangay captain immediately. Very near from the scene of the crime Anecia Monsalud and Gaudioso Suson had seen actually the killing (tsn, pp. 2-15, March 5, 1992; tsn, pp. 2-12, April 8, 1992). The victim died on the spot suffering fifteen hack wounds (Exh. "B", Post Mortem Examination Report) on the body, viz: Findings: 1. Wound, stab 1.0 in. long, penetrating the eyeball left. 2. Wound, stab, 1.0 in. long, penetrating the eyeball, right. 3. W