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PeoplevsTuson:106345:September16,1996:JRomero:SecondDivision

[Syllabus]

SECONDDIVISION

[G.R.Nos.10634546.September16,1996]

THEPEOPLEOFTHEPHILIPPINES,plaintiffappellee,vs.ROMEOTUSONy
JABIDO,accusedappellant.
DECISION
ROMERO,J.:

Murderisoneoftheinstanceswhenmandescendstoalevellowerthanthatofthebeast,
for it is noninstinctive killing, a deliberate destruction of a member of the same species for
reasons other than survival. Its senselessness is heightened when, reminiscent of Cain and
Abel,itiscommittedbetweenkindred.
The Tusons and the Villarins are more than mere neighbors in the semipermanent
structures they call home in Project 6, Quezon City they are also cousins. This dual
relationshipshouldhavefosteredharmoniouscoexistenceamongthem,butsuchwasnotthe
case.SometimeinOctober1990,accusedappellantRomeoTusonandhisfirstcousin,Loreto
Villarin, were engaged in a fight over gambling matters. Bolo marks on the door of Tusons
shantyattesttotheviolencethatattendedtheirquarrel.Threedayslater,onOctober11,their
differenceswerefinallysettled.
ThebrothersLoretoandCeferinoVillarinweredrunkandtipsythatnightaftercelebrating
another brothers birthday at Forest Hills. At around 10:45 p.m., Ceferino, who was seated
beside the wooden window of their singlestorey house, saw Loreto who was clad only in his
underwearmakehiswaytothecommonlavatory.Loretoneverreachedhisdestination,forhe
was suddenly shot in the neck by Tuson who was standing by the door of his own slightly
elevatedshackwhichwasadjacenttothetoilet.Ceferinorushedtorescuehisbrotherbutwas
[1]
likewiseshotbyTusonintheface.
Three other prosecution witnesses heard the twin shots two of them actually saw the
shooting of Ceferino by Tuson. Ceferinos wife Evelyn and nephew, Hernani Villeta who was
livingwiththem,immediatelyrushedtothedooroftheirhouseafterhearingthegunshotand
[2]
saw Tuson shoot Ceferino in the face as the latter tried to help his brother. Loretos wife
Rosalindaheardeverythingbutdidnothavethehearttolookout.AllthreetestifiedthatTuson
shouted, Ikaw pa! prior to the second shot. When Ceferino was already down, he was
threatenedbyTusonnottoriselesthebeshotasecondtime.Hernanishoutedandsucceeded
inpleadingwithhisUncleRomeotostop.Forthwith,Tusonfled.
With timely medical attention by Dr. Marida Arend Arugay of the East Avenue Medical
Center,Ceferinoslifewassaved.Thedownwardtrajectoryofthebulletextractedfromhisneck
indicatedthattheassailantfiredthegunfromahigherelevation.Thesamewastruewiththe
bullet that killed Loreto as it entered the right side of the neck and exited between the two
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[3]
shoulderblades.
Tusonclaimsheshotthebrothersinselfdefense.Hisstorywasthathewassleepingwith
hiswifeTeresitaandtheirtwochildrenonthatfatefulnightwhenLoretobargedintotheirone
room house shouting, Tayo! Putangina mo!Although it is not clear if it was Loreto who was
armedTusonhimselftestifiedthatheheardCeferinofromoutsidethedoorshoutingthathehas
a gun Tuson asserted that he tried to wrest a gun away from Loreto. While grappling for
possession of the gun, they both fell near the threestep stairway and, with Loreto on top of
him, the gun went off. Somehow, the blast sent Loreto flipping over the twofoot rail guard
[4]
barring the door, down the three steps, finally resting on the ground outside. Seeing that
Ceferino who was allegedly armed with a bladed weapon was rising, he also shot him. He
immediatelyfled,threwawaythegun,andwentintohidingforninedaysbeforesurrenderingto
[5]
the police on October 20, 1990. His story was corroborated by his wife and older sister,
NievesSotto.Nobladedweaponwasrecoveredfromthecrimescene.
Sottotestifiedthatpriortotheshooting,thebrothersVillarinwerechallengingheryoungest
brother,Romeo.LoretowasonthestairsofRomeoshousetellingthelattertogooutbecause
his coffin was ready, all the while banging the door. Yet, on crossexamination, she admitted
that she did not notice who opened the door of Romeos house because she was then
[6]
embracingherhusbandwhowassleepingontheflooroftheirownhouse.
For the death of Loreto Villarin and the shooting of Ceferino Villarin, Romeo Tuson was
charged with murder and frustrated murder before the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City,
Branch 88. On June 2, 1992, Judge Tirso DC. Velasco rendered judgment, the dispositive
portionofwhichreadsasfollows:
WHEREFOREpremisesconsidered,thiscourtfindsaccusedROMEOTUSONyJABIDOGUILTYof
thecrimechargedinthetwo(2)informations,andherebysentenceshimtosufferapenaltyofreclusion
perpetuaforthemurderofLoretoVillarininCriminalCaseNo.Q9015933,thedeathpenaltyhaving
beenabolished,andimprisonmentoften(10)yearsandone(1)dayofprisionmayorasminimumto
seventeen(17)years,four(4)monthsandone(1)dayofreclusiontemporalasmaximumforthe
frustratedmurderofCeferinoVillarininCriminalCaseNo.Q9015934topaytheheirsofdeceased
LORETOVILLARINintheamountofP8,900.00forburialexpense,P30,000.00foractualandmoral
damagesandP50,000.00asindemnityforthedeathandtoCeferinoVillarintheamountofP15,000.00
formoraldamages,andtopaythecost.
SOORDERED.
Intheinstantappeal,Tusonarguesthatthetrialcourterredinnotappreciatinginhisfavor
the justifying circumstance of selfdefense, a timeworn excuse resorted to by assailants in
appealed criminal cases. Time and again, however, this Court has adhered to the policy of
deferencetothefactualfindingsofthetrialjudgeowingtohishavingpersonallyexaminedthe
evidence presented and observed the witnesses testify on the stand. Unless his conclusions
areglaringlyerroneousandundulyprejudicialtotheaccused,thesamemustberespectedon
appeal.
Inthecourseofthetrial,thecourtbelowfoundoutthat,notonlywastheevidenceofthe
defense weak, but that the prosecutions was sufficient to support the charges against the
accused.
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TusonadmittedhavingshotthebrothersVillarin,albeitinselfdefense.Forsuchadefense
to be appreciated in favor of the accused, the trial court must be satisfied that the three
elements necessary to justify the acts complained of attended their commission. First, there
mustbeunlawfulaggressiononthepartofthevictim.Second,themeansemployedtoprevent
orrepelsuchaggressionmustbereasonablynecessary.Finally,thepersondefendinghimself
[7]
mustnothaveprovokedthevictimintocommittingtheactofaggression.
As correctly found by the trial court, there was no unlawful aggression in this case. The
victims allegedly shouted threats and banged on the door of Tuson, but these acts hardly
constitute unlawful aggression considering that the latter was within the security of his home,
whichwassurroundedbyneighborswhoalsohappenedtobecloserelatives.ByTusonsown
account, Loreto barged into their house and commanded him to stand up, which is far from
threatening.TheperilfearedcouldhaveemanatedonlyfromthefirearmwhichLoretoallegedly
carriedatthetime,andyet,thistoowasvague,evenonthebasisofTusonstestimony.Hesaid
[8]
thatwhenheapproachedLoreto,Ceferinowhowasoutsideshoutedhehasagun. Itdoes
notmakesenseforCeferinotoannouncetotheirintendedvictimthattheyhadagun.Itwould
seemmoreplausiblethatCeferinoutteredthestatementasawarningtohisbrother.
With the finding of absence of unlawful aggression, the crimes charged can never be
justified,forthereisnothingtopreventorrepelevenifthereislackofsufficientprovocationon
thepartofTuson.Tomakemattersworse,hefledimmediatelyaftertheincidentandwentinto
hidingformorethanaweek.Thesecouldnotpossiblybetheactuationsofamanclaimingto
be innocent of any wrongdoing. To do so under the pretext of fear of retribution from other
[9]
membersofthevictimsfamily wouldnotonlybecravenbutalsoirrational,consideringthat
hiswifeandtwochildrenwereleftbehind.
Theevidencefortheprosecution,ontheotherhand,issolidandconvincing.Ceferinowas
not only an eyewitness to the slaying of his brother Loreto but was himself a victim. His
narration of the circumstances surrounding the shooting is supported by the separate
testimonies of their wives and nephew. While it is true that they were tipsy on the night in
question, he denied that they went to Tusons house and shouted there. In fact, Loreto was
[10]
simplyinhisunderwear,
readytosleep,whennaturecalled.TheUshapedconstructionof
theirsocalledcompound,withthecommontoiletadjacenttoRomeoshousedirectlyopposite
[11]
Loretos, required anyone waiting to use the lavatory to passTusons house.
When Loreto
thuspassedhiscousinsshantywhichwaselevatedliketherest,Tuson,whowasstandingby
thedoor,suddenlyandwithoutprovocationshothimatnearpointblankrange.
Hernani Villeta, Evelyn Villarin, and Rosalinda Villarin, heard this first shot. Hernani and
Evelyn immediately rushed out to investigate the matter just in time to see Tuson shooting
Ceferino as Loreto lay sprawled on the ground. The bullets which were fired at Loreto and
Ceferinohaddownwardtrajectorieswhichconformedwiththerelativepositionsoftheassailant
and his targets at the time of shooting. The congruence between the testimonial and the
physicalevidenceleadstotheinevitableconclusionthatthewitnessesfortheprosecutionwere
theonestellingthetruth.
Finally, it must be determined if the crimes committed were indeed murder and frustrated
murder. The trial court considered treachery as the sole qualifying circumstance, contrary to
accusedappellants claim that the court also included nocturnity. From the prosecutions
evidence,itappearsthatLoretowastotallyunarmedandhalfdressedwhenunexpectedlyshot
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byTuson from the door of his elevated house.A little while later, the latter shouted Ikaw pa!
thenshotCeferinowhowaslikewiseunarmed.ProofofintenttokillisevidentinthewayLoreto
wasshotintheneckandCeferinointheface.OnlytimelymedicalattentionsparedCeferinos
life.
Fortreacherytobeconsideredagainsttheaccused,twoconditionsmustconcur,namely,
that the means, methods, and forms of execution employed gave the person attacked no
opportunity to defend himself or to retaliate, and that such means, methods, and forms of
[12]
executionweredeliberatelyandconsciouslyadoptedbytheaccused
withoutdangertohis
person.Thesetworequisiteswereevidentlypresentintheinstantcase.Thesuddennessofthe
[13]
attackagainsttheunarmedvictimsclearlyindicatetreachery.
The Court notes, however that the court a quo imposed an erroneous indeterminate
sentencewithregardtoCriminalCaseNo.Q9015934.Accordingly,thejudgmentofconviction
appealedfromisherebymodifiedasfollows:
WHEREFOREpremisesconsidered,thisCourtfindsaccusedROMEOTUSONYJABIDOGUILTYof
thecrimechargedinthetwo(2)informations,andherebysentenceshimtosufferapenaltyofreclusion
perpetuaforthemurderofLoretoVillarininCriminalCaseNo.Q9015933,thedeathpenaltyhaving
beenabolished,andimprisonmentoften(10)yearsofprisionmayorasminimumtoseventeen(17)years
andfourmonthsofreclusiontemporalasmaximumforthefrustratedmurderofCeferinoVillarinin
CriminalCaseNo.Q9015934topaytheheirsofdeceasedLORETOVILLARIN,intheamountof
P8,900.00forburialexpense,P30,000.00foractualandmoraldamagesandP50,000.00asindemnityfor
thedeathandtoCeferinoVillarintheamountofP15,000.00formoraldamages,andtopaythecost.
SOORDERED.
WHEREFORE,exceptforthemodificationaboveastothepenaltyimposed,thedecision
appealedfromisherebyAFFIRMED.Nocosts.
SOORDERED.
Regalado(Chairman),Puno,andTorres,Jr.,JJ.,concur.
Mendoza,J.,onleave.
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8]

TSN,March13,1991,pp.412.
Ibid.,pp.1422,September18,1991,pp.46.
TSN,April16,1991,p.6Exhs."A1"and"F."
Exhs."J"to"J4."
TSN,July23,1991,pp.46.
TSN,July5,1991,pp.38.
Article11(1),RevisedPenalCode.
TSN,July23,1991,p.4.

[9]

Ibid.,pp.56.
[10]
TSN,March13,1991,p.10.
[11]
Exhs."J"to"J4."
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[12]
[13]

PeoplevsTuson:106345:September16,1996:JRomero:SecondDivision

Peoplev.Landicho,G.R.No.116600,July3,1996,citingPeoplev.Kempis,221SCRA628(1993).
Ibid.,citingPeoplev.Hubilla,G.R.No.114904,January29,1996.

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