[G.R. No. 137457. November 21, 2001]
Facts:
Christian Bermudez was beaten to death and the taxicab he was driving was taken by the assailants. His lifeless body, wrapped in a carton box, was recovered several days later in a fishpond in Meycauayan, Bulacan. For the felonies, the above-named accused were indicted for violation of R.A. 6539, otherwise known as the Anti-Carnapping Law, and Murder
The taxi was last seen at the vicinity of the Pegasus Night Club in Quezon City at about 10:30 p.m. on the said date with an unidentified passenger who surfaced later as the accused Rosauro Sia, whose true name is allegedly Antonio Labrador (Mang Tony) and who resides at San Francisco Del Monte. Accused Rosauro Sia appears to have gypped driver Christian Bermudez to service him the following day (August 24, 1995) in the morning and to be paid P150.00 per hour .
In their lone assigned error, accused-appellants contend in sum that the extra-judicial confessions of accused Rosauro Sia and Johnny Balalio, which the trial court heavily relied upon, are inadmissible in evidence since they were executed in violation of their right to counsel.
Issue: Whether or not accused should be acquitted based on inadmissibility of extrajudicial confession.
Held:
Direct evidence of the commission of the crime is not the only matrix wherefrom a court may draw its conclusions and findings of guilt. The rules on evidence and case law sustain the conviction of the accused through circumstantial evidence when the following requisites concur: (1) there must be more than one circumstance; (2) the facts from which the inferences are derived are proven; and (3) the combination of all circumstances is such as to produce a conviction beyond reasonable doubt of the guilt of the accused.
First, when the police apprehended accused Rosauro Sia while he was in possession of the carnapped vehicle, he immediately pointed to accused-appellants as his accomplices in taking away the victim’s vehicle
By way of exception, the testimony of a co-conspirator may, even if uncorroborated, be sufficient as when it is shown to be sincere in itself, because given unhesitatingly and in a straightforward manner, and is full of details which by their nature could not have been the result of deliberate afterthought
Second, defense witness Porferio Fernando testified that accused-appellants were with Rosauro Sia from August 25-28, 1995
Third, upon his arrest, accused-appellant Jimmy Ponce voluntarily surrendered to the police authorities a ring admittedly belonging to the victim
In the absence of an explanation of how one has come into the possession of stolen effects belonging to a person wounded and treacherously killed, he must necessarily be considered the author of the aggression and death of the said person and of the robbery committed on him.
Anent the civil indemnity award, this Court finds the amount of P50,000.00 as death indemnity proper, following prevailing jurisprudence and in line with controlling policy. The award of civil indemnity may be granted without any need of proof other than the death of the victim.
Though not awarded by the trial court, the victim’s heirs are likewise entitled to moral
damages, pegged at P50,000.00 by controlling case law. The award of P200,000.00 as burial and other expenses incurred in connection with the death of the victim must be deleted. The records are bereft of any receipt or voucher to justify the trial court’s award of burial and other expenses incurred in connection with the victim’s death. The rule is that every pecuniary loss must be established by credible evidence before it may be awarded
In determining the amount of lost income, the following must be taken into account: (1) the number of years for which the victim would otherwise have lived; and (2) the rate of the loss sustained by the heirs of the deceased. The second variable is computed by multiplying the life expectancy by the net earnings of the deceased, meaning total earnings less expenses
necessary in the creation of such earnings or income less living and other incidental expenses.
Considering that there is no proof of living expenses of the deceased, net earnings are computed at fifty percent (50%) of the gross earnings. The formula used by this Court in computing loss of earning capacity is:
Net Earning Capacity = [2/3 x (80 – age at time of death) x (gross annual income – reasonable and necessary living expenses)]
In this case, the Court notes that the victim was 27 years old at the time of his death and his mother testified that as a driver of the Tamaraw FX taxi, he was earning P650.00 a day. Hence, the damages payable for the loss of the victim’s earning capacity is computed thus:
Gross Annual Earnings = P650 x 261 working days in a year = P169,650.00
Net Earning Capacity = 2/3 x (80-27) x [P169,650.00 – P84,825.00]
= 35.33 x 84,825.00 = P2,996,867.20
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES vs. LUDOVICO C. DOCTOLERO G.R. No. 34386 February 7, 1991
Facts:
The evidence for the prosecution tend to show that the three (3) accused, Ludovico, Conrado and Virgilio, all surnamed Doctolero, were responsible for the death(s) of Epifania Escosio and Lolita de Guzman, and in inflicting physical injuries to (sic) Jonathan Oviedo. And immediately thereafter, with their father and co-accused, Antonio
Doctolero, they hacked Marcelo Doctolero, with their bolos which caused the death of the latter.
According to Marcial Sagun, at about 6:30 in the evening on November 8, 1970, he and his wife, Maria Oviedo-Sagun and Lolita de Guzman-Oviedo (sister-in-law of Maria Oviedo-Sagun) were on their way home to Barrio Binday. They came from the field where they bundled their harvests. Upon reaching a crossing of the road in Bo. Binday they met the accused Ludovico Doctolero who, without warning and without cause or reason, held the left shoulder of Marcial Sagun with his left hand and struck Marcial Sagun with a bolo.
Paciencia Sagun-Diamoy (sister of Marcial Sagun) testified that she saw the three accused hacked Marcelo repeatedly with their bolos and that when Marcia Sagun was about to go home to get her children the accused hit 81-year old Epifania Escosio and Jonathan.
In their defense, they averred that it was a case of self-defense that Marcelo and his brother in law Antonio Oviedo hit struck Ludovico ergo boloing Maria to escape.
During the pendency of this appeal Virgilio died.
Issue: Whether or not the accused Virgilio’s civil liability is extinguished upon his death.
Held:
The court below, however, erred in the penalty imposed for the physical injuries inflicted on Jonathan Oviedo. The child required medical attention for fifteen (15) days, hence the liability of appellants therefor is for less serious physical injuries punished with arresto mayor under Article 265 of the Revised Penal Code. There being no modifying circumstances, a penalty of twenty (20) days of arresto menor should be imposed for said offense on appellant Conrado Doctolero as an accomplice.
The death of appellant Virgilio Doctolero during the pendency of this appeal terminated only his criminal liability but not his civil liability. 27 Also, while the death indemnity has been increased to P50,000.00 under current case law, the same should not apply to Ludovico
Doctolero, he having heretofore withdrawn his appeal and the judgment rendered by the trial court having long since become final and executory with respect to him.
PEOPLE vs. ROLLY ABULENCIA G.R. No. 138403. August 22, 2001
Facts:
On August 4, 1998, a cold-blooded ravager, Rolly Abulencia y Coyos, preyed on ten-year old Rebelyn Garcia.
In the early morning of the following day, Rebelyn’s lifeless, naked body was found floating at the Colobong creek in San Manuel, Pangasinan, with marks of bruises, burns and injuries manifesting that she was defiled and later drowned to death.
Abulencia invited the victim’s brother to a drinking spree and thereafter went out to buy dilis Rebelyn tagged along and they were never seen again.
Abulencia surrendered to the police saying that she followed him all the way to the market where he decided he no longer wanted to buy dilis. Exasperated, he told her to go home because he will go to San Manuel. When they were crossing the bridge she ran towards him and tripped causing her to fall.
RTC Ruling: civil indemnity of 75,000.
Issue: Whether or not damages should be modified.
Held:
With regard to the civil indemnity, the trial court awarded only P75,000.00 Current
jurisprudence has fixed at P100,000.00 the civil indemnity in cases of rape with homicide, which is fully justified and properly commensurate with the seriousness of that special complex crime.
The trial court did not award moral damages to the victim’s family. Based on prevailing jurisprudence, however, moral damages may be awarded to the heirs of the victim without need for pleading or proof of its basis for their mental, physical and psychological sufferings are too obvious to still require their recital at the trial. Hence, moral damages in the amount of P50,000.00 must be awarded.
In People vs. Lagarto, we held that attendant circumstances may be considered to determine civil liability. Thus, in view of the evident cruelty inflicted upon Rebelyn, as shown by the multiple burns and contusions on her body, we grant the award of exemplary damages in the amount of P25,000.00.