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People vs. Real G.R. No.93436, March 24, 1995 Facts: On March 17, 1978, at around 9:00 a.m., in the public market of Aroroy, Masbate, appellant and Edgardo Corpus, both vendors, engaged in a heated argument over the right to use the market table to display their fish. The two protagonists momentarily kept their peace but after awhile Corpus raised his voice again and said something to appellant. When Corpus kept on walking to and fro near the disputed fish table, appellant started to sharpen his bolo while murmuring to himself. Once Corpus turned around with his back towards appellant, the latter hacked him on the nape. The blow caused Corpus to collapse. He was rushed to a medical clinic. Appellant admitted hacking Corpus but claimed that he did so out of humiliation and anger when the victim threw his fish in the presence of so many people. After trial, the court convicted appellant and sentenced him to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua and to pay the heirs of the victim the sum of P30,000.00 and costs. Hence, this appeal. Issue: Whether or not the trial court and the Solicitor General are in error when they held that the attendant aggravating circumstance was reiteracion and not reincidencia Held: Yes. In recidivism or reincidencia, the offender shall have been previously convicted by final judgment of another crime embraced in the same title of the Revised Penal Code. In reiteracion, the offender shall have been punished previously for an offense to which the law attaches an equal or greater penalty or for two or more crimes to which it attaches a lighter penalty. Unlike in reincidencia, the offender in reiteracion commits a crime different in kind from that for which he was previously tried and convicted. Appellant was previously convicted of ill-treatment by deed (Revised Penal Code, Article 266, Title Eight) and grave threats (Revised Penal Code, Article 282, Title Nine). He was convicted of homicide in the instant criminal case (Revised Penal Code, Article 249, Title Eight). Inasmuch as homicide and ill- treatment by deed fall under Title Eight, the aggravating circumstance to be appreciated against him is recidivism under Article 14[g] rather than reiteracion under Article 14 (10) of the Revised Penal Code. There is no reiteracion because that circumstance requires that the previous offenses should not be embraced in the same title of the Code. Appellant is therefore convicted of homicide, appreciating in his favor the mitigating circumstance of passion and obfuscation, which is offset by the aggravating circumstance of recidivism.
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People vs. Baldogo
G.R. No.128106, January 24, 2003 Facts: Julio Camacho, Sr. and his wife had four children, which include a fourteen-year old Jorge and twelve-year old Julie. He and his family lived in a compound inside the sub-colony. Accused-appellant and Bermas, inmates of the penal colony, were assigned as domestic helpers of the Camacho family. One evening on February 22, 1996, accused-appellant and Bermas served dinner in the house of the Camachos. Afterwards, Julio Sr. left the house. Only Jorge and Julie were left in the house. Momentarily after Julio Sr. had left, Julie was perturbed when she heard a loud sound. This prompted Julie to stand up and run to the kitchen. She was appalled to see Jorge sprawled on the ground near the kitchen, face down and bloodied. Standing over Jorge were accused-appellant and Bermas, each armed with a bolo. The accused-appellant overtook Julie, tied her hands at her back and placed a piece of cloth in her mouth to prevent her from shouting for help. The three then proceeded to climb the mountain. The moment when Bermas and accused-appellant had left, Julie decided to return to the lowlands and sought help from a certain Nicodemus who turned over Julie to police officers. The trial court convicted accused-appellant of murder with the aggravating circumstance of evident premeditation, abuse of superior strength, and recidivism. Issue: Whether or not the trial court erred in appreciating the aggravating circumstance of evident premeditation, taking advantage of superior strength, and quasi-recidivism Held: Yes. While the Court agrees that accused-appellant is guilty of murder, it does not agree with the rulings of the trial court that the crime was qualified by evident premeditation and abuse of superior strength. A finding of evident premeditation cannot be based solely on mere lapse of time from the time the malefactor has decided to commit a felony up to the time that he actually commits it. In this case, the prosecution failed to prove evident premeditation. The barefaced fact that accused-appellant and Bermas hid the bag containing their clothing under a tree not constitute clear evidence that they decided to kill Jorge and kidnap Julie. It is possible that they hid their clothing therein preparatory to escaping from the colony. Hence, abuse of superior strength cannot be deemed to have attended the killing of Jorge. What is clear is that the killing of Jorge was qualified by treachery. The Court has previously held that the killing of minor children who by reason of their tender years could not be expected to put up a defense is attended by treachery. Furthermore, quasi-recidivism as defined in Article 160 of the Revised Penal Code is alleged. In the present case, the prosecution adduced in evidence merely the excerpt of the prison record of accused-appellant showing that he was convicted of homicide by the trial court with a penalty which he was serving at the penal colony. The excerpt of the prison record is not the best evidence under Section 3, Rule 130 of the Revised Rules of Court, said excerpt is merely secondary or substitutionary evidence which is inadmissible, absent proof that the original of the judgment had been lost or destroyed or that the same cannot be produced without the fault of the prosecution. Therefore, the aggravating circumstance of quasi- recidivism cannot be appreciated in this case.
People vs. Glino G.R. No.173793, December 04, 2007 Facts: At around 7:20 p.m., On November 15, 1998, Spouses Domingo and Virginia Boji hailed a passenger jeepney and sat on the two remaining vacant seats on opposing rows of the jeepney. Moments later, the woman seated next to Virginia alighted. Accused-appellant Conrado Glino took her place. He was reeking of liquor. As the jeepney ran its normal route, Virginia noticed accused-appellant inching closer to her. His head eventually found its way on Virginia's shoulder. Irked, Virginia sought accused-appellant's attention and asked him to sit properly, citing adequate space. Accused-appellant angrily replied, "Oh, kung ayaw mong may katabi, bumaba ka, at magtaxi ka!" Virginia decided to ignore his snide remarks. After the heated verbal tussle, accused-appellant and Baloes appeared to have calmed down, confining themselves to whispering to one another. When the jeepney approached Casimiro Village, Baloes turned to the driver and told him that he and Glino were about to alight. As the jeepney ground to a halt, Baloes unexpectedly drew an improvised knife and stabbed Domingo in the chest. Accused-appellant then unfolded a 29-inch Batangas knife and joined Baloes in stabbing Domingo. Surprised and shocked at the sudden attack, Domingo failed to offer any form of resistance to the duo's vicious assault. Virginia tried vainly to shield Domingo from his assailants. She tightly embraced Domingo. Virginia's efforts, however, all went for naught as accused- appellant Glino and Baloes were unrelenting. When the senseless assault ceased, Virginia found herself bloodied from incised wounds in her fingers. Issue: 1.Whether or not Glino must have a lower penalty because it was Baloes who stabbed Domingo 2.Whether or not accused-appellant is guilty of homicide and attempted homicide only, not murder and attempted murder, due to the absence of the qualifying circumstance of treachery Held: 1. No. Even assuming, for the nonce, that it was Baloes who inflicted the fatal stab, accused- appellant cannot escape culpability. There is conspiracy when two or more persons come to an agreement concerning the commission of a crime and decide to commit it. Proof that accused acted in concert, each of them doing his part to fulfill the common design to kill the victim will suffice to support a conviction. In conspiracy, it matters not who among the accused actually killed the victim. The act of one is the act of all; hence, it is not necessary that all the participants deliver the fatal blow. Tersely put, each of the accused will be deemed equally guilty of the crime committed. The acts of Glino and Baloes before, during and after the killing of Domingo are indicative of a joint purpose, concerted action and concurrence of sentiment. 2. No. Treachery or alevosia’s presence is incontrovertible. The essence of this qualifying circumstance is the sudden and unexpected attack by the assailant on an unsuspecting victim, depriving the latter of any real chance to defend himself. The attack was executed in a manner that the victim was rendered defenseless and unable to retaliate. Concededly, Domingo was caught unaware that an attack was forthcoming. Although he had a verbal exchange with accused-appellant and Baloes, the assault was sudden, swift and unexpected. All of the passengers inside the jeepney, including Domingo, thought all along that the tension had ceased and that Glino and Baloes were about to alight. |
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