That on or about the 23rd day of May, 1999 at about 8:30 o'clock in the evening, at Barangay Luna, Municipality of Tuy, Province of Batangas, Philippines and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, armed with a bladed instrument, with intent to kill, with treachery and evident premeditation and without any justifiable cause, did then and there willfully, unlawfully and feloniously attack, assault and stab with the said weapon one Arnold Vizconde y Famoso thereby inflicting upon the latter multiple stab wounds in his body, which directly caused his death.1 (emphasis supplied)
WHEREFORE, the Court finds the accused Arman Apacible GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of Murder, defined and penalized under Art. 248 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended by RA 7659, and hereby sentences him to suffer imprisonment of Reclusion Perpetua and to indemnify the heirs of victim Arnold Vizconde y Famoso the sum of FIFTY THOUSAND (P50,000.00) PESOS as death indemnity and FIFTY THOUSAND (P50,000.00) PESOS as moral damages.
Considering that accused Arman Apacible y Rodriguez is a detention prisoner he shall be credited with the period of his detention during his preventive imprisonment. (emphasis in the original; underscoring supplied)
WHEREFORE, premises considered, the Decision of Branch 10, Regional Trial Court of Balayan, Batangas dated January 31, 2008 in Criminal Case No. 4410 finding accused-appellant Arman Apacible y Rodriguez GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of murder is AFFIRMED with the MODIFICATIONS that the award of civil indemnity shall be increased from P50,000.00 to P75,000.00 and that he is further ordered to indemnify the heirs of the victim P25,000.00 as exemplary damages.13 (emphasis found in the original)
Q While you were preparing milk for your child, what happened? A I saw Arman already stabbing my husband, sir. Q Where was Arman when you said you saw him stabbing your husband? A I was at the room, sir. Q What was your distance at that time when you saw your husband being stabbed by Arman? A Very near, sir. Q When you said very near, how near is that? A (Witness pointing from the witness stand up to a distance of around 3 to 4 meters.) COURT: (To the witness on clarificatory questions.) Q Before you can enter your room, is there a door? A The door was open, Your Honor. Q What kind of door was that? A It was a swing type door, Your Honor. Q There is no spring on the door? A There is none, Your Honor. Q How were you able to see that your husband was stabbed by the accused when you said you were in the kitchen? A I saw him, Your Honor. Q Through the door opening? A Yes, Your Honor.15 (emphasis and underscoring supplied)
It is worth stressing that, at the outset, the appellant, together with Lumbayan, was sentenced by the RTC to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua. Thus, the CA's reliance on our ruling in People v. dela Cruz was misplaced. In dela Cruz, this Court cited our ruling in People v. Tubongbanua, wherein we held that the civil indemnity imposed should be P75,000.00. However, the instant case does not share the same factual milieu as dela Cruz and Tubongbanua. In the said cases, at the outset, the accused were sentenced to suffer the penalty of death. However, in view of the enactment of Republic Act No. 9346 or the Act Prohibiting the Imposition of the Death Penalty on June 24, 2006, the penalty meted to the accused was reduced to reclusion perpetua. This jurisprudential trend was followed in the recent case of People of the Philippines v. Generoso Rolida y Moreno, etc., where this Court also increased the civil indemnity from P50,000.00 to P75,000.00. Based on the foregoing disquisitions and the current applicable jurisprudence, we hereby reduce the civil indemnity awarded herein to P50,000.00. x x x (italics in the original; emphasis and underscoring supplied; citations omitted)
Endnotes:
1 Records, p. 1.
2 Transcript of Stenographic Notes (TSN), May 18, 2005, p. 5.
3 Id. at 6.
4 Id. at 8-10.
5 Id. at 13.
6 Id. at 12-14.
7 Id. at 15.
8 Id. at 17.
9 Id. at 11-12.
10 Id. at 11.
11 Id. at 13.
12 CA rollo, p. 15.
13 Penned by Associate Justice Mariano C. Del Castillo, with the concurrence of Associate Justices Monina Arevalo-Zenarosa and Priscilla J. Balatazar-Padilla, rollo 2-13.
14 People v. de Guzman, G.R. No. 173477, February 4, 2009 citing People v. Tubongbanua, G.R. No. 171271, August 31, 2006.
15 TSN, May 18, 2005, pp. 8-9.
16 G.R. No. 186420, August 25, 2009.