People vs. Guzman

A sudden frontal attack is not attended by treachery absent proof that the offender deliberately and consciously adopted a mode of execution depriving the victim of opportunity to defend or retaliate. Because the decision to stab was made all of a sudden at a wedding party after the victim frontally approached appellant, with no prior preparation to ensure execution without risk, the killing constituted only homicide, mitigated by voluntary surrender.

In the evening of November 18, 1995, a wedding party with dancing that began at 7:00 o'clock was held at the residence of Feliciano Valdez in Barangay Bigao, Ilagan, Isabela. Among those watching the dance by the roadside at about 10:00 o'clock were Elmer Aquino, his uncle Lolito Aquino who stood about two meters away, and barriomate Elger Guzman, a farmer known to Lolito since childhood. Elmer approached Guzman and asked if they could talk somewhere else or outside the dance area. According to the prosecution, Elmer did not touch appellant when he made the request, Guzman answered id toyen meaning let's talk here, and then stabbed Elmer in the chest just below the left shoulder with a fan knife (balisong). Elmer ran toward the dance hall, fell, and died on the spot.

Appellant, for his part, testified that Elmer repeatedly pulled him to go out while he insisted they talk where they were because he was watching the dance. After three pulls, Elmer allegedly tried to stab him with a kitchen knife, whereupon he seized Elmer's right hand holding the knife, twisted it, and pushed it away, accidentally hitting Elmer in the left upper chest. When he saw Elmer wounded, he ran away out of fear. Defense witness Leonard Angangan, also a barriomate watching the dance, claimed Elmer was irritable, uneasy, and smoking marijuana, tried to pull appellant outside, then tried to stab appellant with a stainless steel knife which appellant parried before twisting Elmer's arm; Angangan admitted he did not see the actual stabbing and ran when people scampered. In rebuttal, Benny Ramos, uncle of the victim standing two meters away, testified Elmer was unarmed, merely asked to talk outside, received no reply, and was stabbed without any grappling for a knife.

Dr. Rodelmar De Leon, Municipal Health Officer of San Isidro, Isabela, autopsied the victim and found one fatal stab wound on the upper lobe of the left lung causing hypovolemic shock secondary to massive bleeding, plus a four-centimeter incised wound at the base of the victim's right thumb possibly caused by a sharp object like a knife. Salcedo Aquino, father of the victim, testified Elmer was married with two children, farmed earning Fourteen Thousand Pesos (P14,000.00) per cropping, and that his death caused him sadness warranting moral damages. The defense admitted Ten Thousand Pesos (P10,000.00) funeral expenses and Ten Thousand Pesos (P10,000.00) for the nine-day wake. On November 21, 1995, three days after the incident, Guzman surrendered to Policeman Rodrigo Lucas, stating fear of being hurt in jail had initially deterred him until advised by his brothers and cousin.

• Unlawful Aggression as Mitigating / Incomplete Self-Defense: Appellant argued that the victim was the unlawful aggressor and that the stabbing occurred accidentally while defending himself. He maintained that when he refused to go outside, the victim drew a bladed weapon from his waist and tried to stab him, and that in seizing the victim's right wrist and pushing the weapon away, the weapon hit the victim once in the upper shoulder, as corroborated by the slit on the victim's hand.
• Voluntary Surrender: Appellant argued that he voluntarily surrendered to the local authorities after the incident. He asserted surrender to Policeman Rodrigo Lucas to show he was not at fault, despite initial fear of police maltreatment in jail.

• Credibility and Positive Identification: Respondent, through the Solicitor General, maintained that prosecution eyewitness Lolito Aquino positively testified that appellant stabbed the victim without provocation. Respondent pointed to inconsistencies between appellant's counter-affidavit and in-court testimony and to defense witness Angangan's failure to see the actual stabbing and internal inconsistency on whether conversation preceded the pulling.
• Absence of Improper Motive: Respondent relied on the absence of evidence of improper motive on the part of Lolito Aquino to testify against appellant, sustaining full faith and credit to his testimony over the self-serving testimony of appellant.

• Credibility and Self-Defense: Whether appellant acted in self-defense with unlawful aggression by the victim so as to mitigate liability.
• Voluntary Surrender: Whether appellant's surrender three days after the incident to a policeman constitutes the mitigating circumstance of voluntary surrender.
• Treachery and Qualification to Murder: Whether the killing was attended by treachery qualifying it to murder under Article 248 of the Revised Penal Code.
• Civil Liability: Whether the awards for actual damages, loss of earning capacity, moral and exemplary damages, and civil indemnity were correct in amount and basis.

• Credibility and Self-Defense: No. Unlawful aggression was not established, the victim's mere request to talk outside not constituting actual, sudden, and unexpected attack or imminent danger, and the trial court's credibility findings were undisturbed.
• Voluntary Surrender: Yes. Voluntary surrender was appreciated, all requisites being present where appellant, not yet arrested, surrendered to a policeman three days after the incident and thereby saved the State trouble and expense.
• Treachery and Qualification to Murder: No. Treachery was not proven, there being reasonable doubt that the frontal, sudden stabbing at a wedding party involved deliberate and conscious adoption of a mode of attack; liability is only for homicide under Article 249.
• Civil Liability: Partly modified. Actual damages of P20,000.00 were sustained by admission, loss of earning capacity reduced to P370,000.00, moral damages reduced to P50,000.00, exemplary damages deleted for lack of aggravating circumstance, and P50,000.00 civil indemnity imposed.

• Credibility and Self-Defense: Findings on credibility are generally undisturbed since the trial court observed witness deportment, absent overlooking of weighty facts. Lolito Aquino's positive, motive-free testimony that appellant stabbed the unprovoked victim outweighed appellant's self-serving and inconsistent account — claiming in the counter-affidavit intentional stabbing to stop aggression but in court accidental wounding while twisting and pushing — and Angangan's testimony, who did not witness the stabbing and contradicted himself on prior conversation. Unlawful aggression presupposes actual, sudden, unexpected attack or imminent danger, not merely threatening attitude; a request to talk outside does not qualify, so incomplete self-defense as mitigating was properly rejected.
• Voluntary Surrender: Voluntary surrender requires (a) no actual arrest, (b) surrender to a person in authority or agent, and (c) voluntariness showing unconditional submission acknowledging guilt or saving trouble and expense of search and capture. Despite initial fear of jail maltreatment, appellant surrendered on November 21, 1995 to Policeman Rodrigo Lucas upon family advice, saving capture expenses. Fear of reprisal or of torture if arrested by another policeman does not detract from spontaneity, pursuant to People vs. Amazan and People vs. Bautista where surrender four days after the crime was credited.
• Treachery and Qualification to Murder: Treachery under Article 14(16) requires (1) means of execution giving the victim no opportunity to defend or retaliate and (2) deliberate and conscious adoption thereof, proven as fully as the crime itself with doubts resolved for the accused. Suddenness and lack of provocation do not automatically constitute alevosia; the mode must be planned and not spring from unexpected turn of events. Here both men attended the same wedding dance, the victim frontally approached appellant watching the dance and asked to talk outside, appellant replied they could talk there, then suddenly stabbed the left chest; the helpless position was accidental and preparation to ensure execution without risk was not shown.
• Civil Liability: Actual damages of P20,000.00 stood on admission of P10,000.00 funeral and P10,000.00 wake expenses. Loss of earning capacity under Article 2206 of the Civil Code was due absent proof of no earning capacity, but reduced from P600,000.00 to P370,000.00 by adopting the lower court's reasonable P20,000.00 annual income, deducting 50% for necessary expenses to P10,000.00 net, multiplied by 37 years life expectancy under 2/3 x [80-24]. Moral damages under Article 2206(3) for mental anguish were reduced to P50,000.00 per prevailing jurisprudence, exemplary damages under Article 2230 deleted for want of aggravating circumstance, and P50,000.00 civil indemnity granted on the crime alone. Homicide under Article 249 punishable by reclusion temporal, with one mitigating circumstance and applying the Indeterminate Sentence Law, yielded six years and eight months of prision mayor minimum to twelve years and one day of reclusion temporal maximum.

• Credibility of witnesses; trial court's findings — Appellate courts generally will not disturb trial court findings on credibility, the trial court having the advantage of hearing and observing witness deportment, unless it overlooked, misunderstood, or misapplied facts of weight and substance that could alter conviction. Applied to sustain Lolito Aquino's positive, motive-free testimony over appellant's inconsistent, self-serving version and a defense witness who did not see the stabbing.
• Self-defense; unlawful aggression — Unlawful aggression, the primordial requisite of self-defense and of incomplete self-defense as mitigating, presupposes an actual, sudden, and unexpected attack or imminent danger thereof, not merely a threatening or intimidating attitude, and must be proved by clear and convincing evidence. Applied to reject mitigation where the victim merely requested to talk outside without touching or attacking appellant.
• Voluntary surrender as mitigating — Requisites are (a) offender not yet actually arrested, (b) surrender to a person in authority or agent, and (c) voluntary and spontaneous surrender showing unconditional submission because guilt is acknowledged or to save trouble and expense of search and capture. Applied to credit surrender to Policeman Rodrigo Lucas three days after the stabbing despite initial fear of jail maltreatment, which does not negate spontaneity.
• Treachery (alevosia) — There is treachery when means, methods, or forms are employed tending directly and specially to insure execution without risk from defense the victim might make, requiring concurrence of (1) employment of means leaving the victim no opportunity to defend or retaliate and (2) deliberate and conscious adoption of such means, which must be planned and not spring from unexpected turn of events and must be proved as fully as the crime itself. Applied to downgrade murder to homicide where a sudden frontal stab at a wedding dance lacked proof of conscious preparation, suddenness alone being insufficient.
• Murder vs. homicide — Absent any qualifying circumstance under Article 248 of the Revised Penal Code, an intentional killing constitutes only homicide under Article 249 punishable by reclusion temporal. Applied after treachery was negated and no other qualifier was present.
• Loss of earning capacity under Article 2206 of the Civil Code — The defendant is liable for loss of earning capacity unless the deceased had no earning capacity at death from permanent disability not caused by defendant; net annual income (gross less 50% necessary expenses) multiplied by life expectancy computed as 2/3 x [80 - age at death] measures the award. Applied to award P370,000.00 based on P20,000.00 annual income, P10,000.00 net, and 37 years expectancy for a 24-year-old victim.
• Moral, exemplary damages and civil indemnity in criminal cases — Moral damages under Article 2206(3) may be awarded for mental anguish of heirs to compensate injured feelings, reduced here to P50,000.00 per jurisprudence; exemplary damages under Article 2230 require one or more aggravating circumstances and were thus deleted; civil indemnity of P50,000.00 is granted without need of proof other than commission of the crime. Applied to revise the P300,000.00 moral and exemplary award and to impose civil indemnity.

• "Well-settled is the rule that where the credibility of witnesses is in issue, the appellate courts will generally not disturb the findings of the trial court, which is in a better position to determine the issue, having the advantage of hearing and witnessing the deportment of the witnesses during trial, in the absence of any clear showing that the trial court had overlooked, misunderstood or misapplied some facts or circumstances of weight and substance which could have altered the conviction of the appellant." — States the deference rule on credibility that sustained the trial court's preference for the prosecution eyewitness.
• "Unlawful aggression presupposes an actual, sudden and unexpected attack or an imminent danger thereof, and not merely a threatening or intimidating attitude." — Defines the controlling requisite whose absence defeated self-defense and the claimed mitigating circumstance.
• "For voluntary surrender to be appreciated, the same must be spontaneous in such a manner that it shows the interest of the accused to surrender unconditionally to the authorities, either because he acknowledged his guilt or because he wishes to save them the trouble and expenses necessarily incurred in his search and capture." — Articulates the spontaneity standard that credited appellant's surrender despite fear of jail maltreatment.
• "The suddenness of an attack, does not, of itself, suffice to support a finding of alevosia, even if the purpose was to kill, so long as the decision was made all of a sudden and the victim's helpless position was accidental." — States the ratio for negating treachery and downgrading murder to homicide.

• People vs. Dorado, 303 SCRA 61, 70 (1999) — Cited with Espano vs. Court of Appeals and People vs. Cabareño as authority for deference to trial court credibility findings.
• People vs. Ravanes, 284 SCRA 634, 641 (1998) — Cited with People vs. Abella for the rule that absence of improper motive sustains full faith in prosecution witness testimony.
• People vs. Villamor, 292 SCRA 384, 395-396 (1998) — Cited with People vs. Bayocot for the definition of unlawful aggression requiring actual, sudden, unexpected attack.
• People vs. Amazan, G.R. Nos. 136251, 138606 & 138607, January 16, 2001 — Parallel case followed to hold that surrender four days later from fear of reprisal remains spontaneous and saves State trouble of search.
• People vs. Bautista, 254 SCRA 621, 629 (1996) — Followed to appreciate voluntary surrender made four days after the crime to police authority.
• People vs. Barona, 323 SCRA 239, 244-245 (2000) — Cited with People vs. Serzo, Jr. for the two concurring conditions of treachery.
• People vs. Templo, G.R. No. 133569, December 1, 2000 — Cited with People vs. Sabanal, People vs. Santillana, and People vs. Bahenting for the rules that sudden unexpected attack is not always treachery, mode must be consciously adopted and planned, and doubt on treachery is resolved for the accused.
• People vs. Laut, G.R. No. 137751, February 1, 2001 — Followed for awarding loss of earning capacity despite unsubstantiated earnings and for the 50% expense deduction and life-expectancy formula.

• Article 14(16), Revised Penal Code — Defines treachery as employing means, methods, or forms tending directly and specially to insure execution without risk from defense; applied to test whether sudden stabbing qualified the killing to murder and found unproven.
• Article 248, Revised Penal Code — Defines and punishes murder when killing is attended by qualifying circumstances including treachery; held inapplicable absent proven treachery or other qualifier.
• Article 249, Revised Penal Code — Punishes homicide with reclusion temporal; applied as the correct liability after treachery was negated, with voluntary surrender mitigating.
• Indeterminate Sentence Law — Applied to fix minimum within prision mayor (six years and one day to twelve years) and maximum within reclusion temporal minimum period (twelve years and one day to fourteen years and eight months), resulting in six years and eight months to twelve years and one day.
• Article 2206, Civil Code — Imposes liability for loss of earning capacity and allows moral damages for mental anguish of heirs; applied to award P370,000.00 loss of earning capacity and P50,000.00 moral damages.
• Article 2230, Civil Code — Allows exemplary damages in criminal offenses only when committed with one or more aggravating circumstances; applied to delete exemplary damages where none attended the crime.

Bellosillo, J., Mendoza, J., and Quisumbing, J., concur. Buena, J., on official leave.