G.R. No. 203435 - PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. MARDY AQUINO, MARIO AQUINO, RECTO AQUINO, INYONG NARVANTE, ROMY FERNANDEZ, FELIX SAPLAN, BONIFACIO CAGUIOA AND JUANITO AQUINO, ACCUSED, MARDY MARIO AQUINO, ACCUSED-.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE, the prosecution having established beyond iota of doubt the guilt of the accused of the crimes of Murder in Criminal Case No. 6575 and Frustrated Murder in Criminal Case No. 6576, this Court in the absence of any modifying circumstance hereby sentences all the accused in the crime of Murder to suffer each the penalty of RECLUSION PERPETUA, to indemnify the legal heirs of the victim the amount of Php50,000.00 and to pay actual damages in the amount of Php70,000.00 for the wake and funeral expenses; Php40,000.00 as attorney's fees and Php100,000.00 as moral damages for the wounded feelings and moral shock suffered by the mother of victim Jackie Caguioa plus costs of suit; and in the crime of Frustrated Murder all the accused to suffer each the indeterminate prison term of five (5) years and one (1) day of Prision Correccional as minimum to twelve (12) years of Prision Mayor as maximum and to pay the victim actual damages in the amount of Php15,000.00; and attorney's fees in the amount of Php15,000.00 plus costs of suit. The period of preventive imprisonment suffered by the accused shall be credited in full in the service of their sentence in accordance with Article 29 of the Revised Penal Code. As far as accused Recto Aquino, Inyong Narvante, Romy Fernandez, Felix Saplan and Bonifacio Caguioa who are still at large are concerned, let this case be ARCHIVED. [17] Aggrieved, Mario and Mardy ( accused-appellants ) appealed before the CA. The Court of Appeals Ruling In its decision, the CA affirmed the conviction of accused-appellants but modified the penalty for frustrated murder and the amount of damages awarded. As regards the contention that the prosecution failed to prove intent to kill, the CA opined that the use of a deadly weapon and the number of wounds inflicted demonstrated a deliberate and determined assault with intent to kill. It farther held that a finding of abuse of superior strength was not negated by the fact that some of the accused suffered injuries. The appellate court declared that the prosecution sufficiently proved the presence of conspiracy considering that the victims were simultaneously restrained and stabbed by the accused. It, however, ruled that actual damages should be reduced to P20,000.00 because the receipts submitted by the prosecution showed that the heirs of Jackie incurred only P20,000.00 as funeral expenses and not P70,000.00 as awarded by the trial court. The CA disposed the case in this wise: WHEREFORE, premises considered, the instant appeal is DENIED for lack of merit. But while the assailed July 23, 2008 Joint Decision is AFFIRMED, the same is however MODIFIED as follows: (1) In the case of Frustrated Murder, accused-appellants are hereby sentenced to suffer the indeterminate sentence of 6 years and 1 day of prision mayor as minimum to 14 years, 8 months and 1 day of reclusion temporal as maximum; (2) In the case of Murder: a. The award of civil indemnity in increased to P75,000.00; b. The award of