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People v. Puedan
People v. Puedan
SYNOPSIS
Appellant was found guilty by the trial court of the crime of murder
qualified by treachery. On appeal, appellant argued that the killing should be
treated under Article 247 of the Revised Penal C ode and that treachery should
not be appreciated as a qualifying circumstance.
In affirming the decision of the trial court, the Supreme Court ruled that
by raising Article 247 of the Revised Penal C ode as his defense, appellant
admitted that he killed the victim. By invoking this defense, appellant waives
his right to the constitutional presumption of innocence and bears the burden of
proving the following: (1) that a legally married person (or a parent) surprises
his spouse (or his daughter, under 18 years of age and living with him), in the
act of committing sexual intercourse with another person; (2) that he or she
kills any or both of them or inflicts upon any or both of them any serious
physical injury in the act or immediately thereafter; and (3) that he has not
promoted or facilitated the prostitution of his wife (or daughter) or that he or
she has not consented to the infidelity of the other spouse. To satisfy this
burden, appellant must prove that he actually surprised his wife and the victim
in flagrante delicto, and that he killed the man during or immediately
thereafter. However, all that appellant established was the victim's promiscuity,
which was inconsequential to the killing. What is important is that his version of
the stabbing incident is diametrically opposed to the convincing accounts of the
prosecution witnesses.
The Court likewise ruled that treachery attended the killing. Appellant
came from nowhere and suddenly stabbed the unsuspecting victim five times.
He deliberately and consciously adopted his mode of attack by lunging at the
victim with his knife without any warning whatsoever, giving the latter no
opportunity to defend himself.
SYLLABUS
PANGANIBAN, J : p
By invoking the defense of surprising his spouse in the very act of sexual
intercourse with the victim, the accused admits authorship of the killing. Having
waived his constitutional right to be presumed faultless, he now bears the
burden of proving his innocence. Furthermore, his flight negates his self-
righteous proclamation of being the victim of in flagrante adultery. Indeed, if
what he claims is true, he should have reported the incident to the authorities
immediately, instead of hiding from them for over three years.
The Case
Rogelio Puedan appeals the June 16, 1999 Decision 1 of the Regional Trial
Court (RTC) of the City of Malaybalay (Branch 8) in Criminal Case No. 7482-95,
finding him guilty of murder and sentencing him to reclusion perpetua, as
follows:
"WHEREFORE, judgment is hereby rendered finding accused
Rogelio Puedan guilty beyond reasonable doubt of murder qualified by
treachery. In the absence of any other aggravating and/or a mitigating
circumstance, accused is hereby sentenced to suffer the penalty of
reclusion perpetua, and to indemnify the heirs of his victim Florencio
Ilar the sum of P50,000.00." 2
The Information 3 dated June 20, 1995, charged appellant in these words:
"That on or about the 21st day of February, 1995, in the morning,
at Purok 2, [B]arangay Paitan, Municipality of Quezon, [P]rovince of
Bukidnon, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable
Court, the above-named accused, with intent to kill [and] by means of
treachery and evident premeditation, armed with a sharp bladed
instrument (flamingo), did then and there wilfully, unlawfully and
criminally attack, assault and stab FLORENCIO ILAR, hitting and
inflicting upon the latter the following, to wit:
Issues
In his Brief, appellant raises the following alleged errors for our
consideration:
"I
In short, appellant argues that (1) Article 247 of the Revised Penal Code
should be applied in his favor, and (2) treachery should not be appreciated as a
qualifying circumstance.
The Court's Ruling
The appeal has no merit.
First Issue
Exceptional Circumstance
By raising Article 247 of the Revised Penal Code as his defense, appellant
admits that he killed the victim. This provision reads as follows:
"ART. 247. Death or physical injuries inflicted under
exceptional circumstances. — Any legally married person who, having
surprised his spouse in the act of committing sexual intercourse with
another person, shall kill any of them or both of them in the act or
immediately thereafter, or shall inflict upon them any serious physical
injury, shall suffer the penalty of destierro. . . . "
To satisfy this burden, appellant must prove that he actually surprised his
wife and Florencio in flagrante delicto, and that he killed the man during or
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immediately thereafter. However, all that appellant established was Florencio's
promiscuity, which was inconsequential to the killing. What is important is that
his version of the stabbing incident is diametrically opposed to the convincing
accounts of Prosecution Witnesses Luceno Tulo, Reymark Anthony Ilar, Erlinda
Ilar and Policeman Inihao.
Appellant assails the credibility of the prosecution witnesses by alleging
that Tulo was not at the crime scene when the stabbing occurred. Without
elaborating on the particulars that led to the incident, appellant claims that
Reymark and Erlinda merely underscored the fact that Florencio had been
stabbed. Thus, appellant argues that these witnesses were not able to
contradict his defense.
Well-settled is the rule that the evaluation of the credibility of witnesses
and their testimonies is best undertaken by the trial court, because it had the
opportunity to observe them firsthand and to note their demeanor and conduct
on the witness stand. For this reason, its findings on such matters, absent any
arbitrariness or oversight of facts or circumstances of weight and substance,
are final and conclusive upon this Court and will not to be disturbed on appeal.
15
In this case, the RTC found the prosecution witnesses to be credible and
convincing. It observed that Tulo, Reymark and Erlinda were candid and
straightforward in relating their versions of the stabbing incident. Tulo narrated
that he was outside his house fashioning a mortar when Florencio —
accompanied by his then five-year-old grandson, Reymark — arrived in order to
buy a piglet. Standing about a meter away, Tulo recounted that appellant
suddenly appeared and stabbed Florencio on the abdomen with a knife. Tulo
testified thus:
"Q Yes, you said that Roger Puedan stabbed Florencio Ilar, did you
see him [stab] Florencio Ilar?
A That was the time when I turned my head as I was making a
mortar.
Q You mean, that was the time you saw Puedan [stab] Ilar?
A Yes.
Q Now, at the time you were making a mortar, where was this
incident [happening], at your front, at your back or at your side?
A On my side. (Witness referring to his right side).
Q How far were you [from] them when this incident happened?
A On his abdomen.
Q What was the position of Florencio Ilar when he was stabbed?
A He was standing on my side." 16
After witnessing the knife thrust, Tulo out of fear immediately ran to his
neighbor's house. He explained:
"Q Now, after you saw this Puedan [stab] Ilar, what did you do?
A I ran away.
Q How many times did you see Puedan stab Ilar?
A Only once.
Q And you said you ran away, towards where?
A To my neighbor." 17
Minutes later, Tulo with some other people went back to the crime scene
and found Florencio already dead, lying several meters away from the former's
house. 18
Q Were you and your Lolo able to reach the house of Ceno before
he was stabbed?
A No.
Reymark at first stated in his testimony that, before being stabbed, his
grandfather had not been able to talk to Tulo. From the boy's statement,
appellant concludes that Tulo was not at or even near the crime scene. 21 This
inconsistency was clarified when the trial court again questioned Reymark, who
this time stated that his grandfather had indeed been able to see Tulo on that
fateful morning. 22 As posited by the prosecution, such inconsistency in the
testimony of Reymark may be explained by the fact that he was very young
when the incident happened — only five years of age — and was still very
young when he testified on the witness stand three years later. Nonetheless, it
was established that he and his grandfather were at Tulo's place to buy a
piglet, that the boy himself saw his Lolo stabbed by appellant, and that Tulo
was there but disappeared immediately after the first knife thrust.
Even assuming arguendo that Tulo was not at the crime scene, Reymark's
testimony is sufficient to prove that appellant actually stabbed Florencio.
Appellant further alleges that Erlinda, who was the first to arrive at the
locus criminis,. did not see Tulo anywhere. This allegation, however, is
consistent with the testimony of Tulo that he ran to his neighbor's house right
after the first knife thrust.
Furthermore, the physical evidence shows that Florencio lay dead near
Tulo's — not appellant's — house. Erlinda testified that his body remained
unmoved and untouched where it had fallen until the policemen came. 23 In
addition, SPO4 Antonio Inihao's testimony on the attendant circumstances
inspires belief. He testified that the body lay 80 meters away from appellant's
house and only about 15 meters away from Tulo's. 24 This statement contradicts
the claim of appellant that he and Florencio grappled outside the former's
house, where the latter fell and was subsequently killed.
When found, the body of Florencio was fully clothed in a shirt and a pair of
pants, all its buttons intact. 25 We agree with the RTC that had the victim been
caught by surprise while engaged in the sex act, he would not have had the
opportunity to put on his pants, parry the forthcoming bolo thrusts, and then
grapple with appellant.
Appellant's Flight
Further eroding the defense of appellant is the fact that he immediately
fled from the crime scene right after the stabbing incident. He hid for about
three years 26 until he was arrested by the authorities on March 16, 1998. 27 His
flight betrays his defense, because he could have easily relayed his story to the
proper authorities, if he had indeed caught his wife and Florencio in flagrante
delicto.
Through flight, one impedes the course of justice by avoiding arrest,
detention, or the continuance of criminal proceedings. 28 As with self-defense,
the exceptional circumstance provided under Article 247 of the Revised Penal
Code may not prevail in the face of the flight of appellant from the crime scene
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and his failure to inform the authorities of the incident. 29 Flight bespeaks guilt
and gives credence to the version of the prosecution in this case. 30
Second Issue
Treachery
Similarly without merit is appellant's contention that treachery did not
attend the killing. For treachery to be present, the means, methods or forms of
execution should give the person attacked no opportunity for self-defense or
retaliation. And it must be proven that such means, methods or forms of
execution were deliberately and consciously adopted without danger to
appellant. 31
In the present case, the RTC correctly ruled that treachery attended the
killing. Appellant came from nowhere and suddenly stabbed the unsuspecting
Florencio five (5) times. He deliberately and consciously adopted his mode of
attack by lunging at the victim with his knife without any warning whatsoever,
giving the latter no opportunity to defend himself. HSAcaE
Footnotes
1. Written by Judge Vivencio P. Estrada.
2. RTC Decision, pp. 3-4; rollo, pp. 15-16; records, pp. 128-129.
8. Appellee's Brief, pp. 2-3; rollo, pp. 69-70; signed by Asst. Sol. Gen. Carlos N.
Ortega, Asst. Sol. Gen. Maria Aurora P. Cortes and Solicitor Gabriel Francisco
A. Ramirez Jr.
9. Appellant's Brief, pp. 5-7; rollo, pp. 47-49. The Brief was signed by Attys.
Arceli A. Rubin, Amelia C. Garchitorena and (for) Nestor P. de los Reyes of the
Public Attorney's Office.
10. RTC Decision, pp. 2-3; rollo, pp. 14-15.
14. People v. Talisic , 278 SCRA 517, September 5, 1997, per Panganiban, J.;
citing People v. Gelaver, 223 SCRA 310, June 9, 1993, per Quiason, J.
15. People v. Magnabe Jr., G.R. No. 143071, August 6, 2002; People v. Obordo ,
G.R. No. 139528, May 9, 2002; People v. Bertulfo , G.R. No. 143790, May 7,
2002; People v. Pacantara , G.R. No. 140896, May 7, 2002.