SECOND DIVISION
G.R. No. 202708, April 13, 2015
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. VICTORIANO VILLAR @ BOY, Accused-Appellant.
R E S O L U T I O N
DEL CASTILLO, J.:
In an Information dated September 21, 1987, Wilson Suitos (Wilson Vic Suitos (Vic), Alvaro Suitos (Alvaro) and appellant Victoriano Villar @ Boy (appellant), were charged with the murder of Jesus Ylarde. The case was docketed as Criminal Case No. T-846.
Among the accused, Alvaro was the first to be apprehended and tried. In a Decision1 dated August 12, 1988, the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Lingayen, Pangasinan, Branch 38, found Alvaro guilty of murder.2 Alvaro appealed all the way to this Court docketed as G.R. No. 95951. On March 24, 1993, this Court rendered its Decision3 affirming his conviction, thus:
From the foregoing, the conviction of appellant must be upheld.
After reviewing the records of the case, We find that a modification in the indemnity awarded is in order. Actual damages were proved in the amount of P11,575 and not P20,000.00 as found by the trial court. In determining the loss of earning capacity of 49[-]year old Ylarde, We use the formula for life expectancy adopted in Davila v. CA: 2/3 x (80-49) = life expectancy of 20 years. This figure is multiplied by the annual net income of the deceased (P16,000) equivalent to P320,000 to fix the amount of loss of earning capacity. Death indemnity in the amount of P50,000.00 is also awarded.
The award of indemnity to the heirs of Jesus Ylarde is modified and accused is hereby ordered to pay: actual damages in the amount of P11,575; death indemnity in the amount of P50,000.00; loss of earning capacity in the amount of P320,000.00; and moral damages in the amount of P20,000.00 without subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency.
WHEREFORE, the decision appealed from is hereby AFFIRMED subject to the modifications stated above. Costs against the accused-appellant.
SO ORDERED.4
WHEREFORE, the assailed Decision of the trial court of Lingayen, Pangasinan, finding accused-appellant WILSON SUITOS GUILTY of MURDER and ordering him to indemnify, jointly and severally with his co-accused Alvaro Suitos, the heirs of the deceased the sum of P11,575.00 for actual damages, P320,000.00 for loss of earnings of the victim and P50,000.00 for death indemnity is AFFIRMED with the MODIFICATION that the amount of moral damages is increased to P50,000.00. Costs against accused-appellant.
SO ORDERED.9
WHEREFORE, premises considered, accused VICTORIANO VILLAR @ Boy is hereby found GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of murder qualified by treachery under Art. 248 of the Revised Penal Code. He is hereby sentenced to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua, and is ordered to indemnify, jointly and severally with his co-accused Alvaro Suitos and Wilson Suitos, the heirs of the deceased Jesus Ylarde the sum of P11,575.00 as actual damages, P320,000.00 for loss of earnings of the victim, P50,000.00 for death indemnity and P50,000.00 for moral damages. Costs against the accused.
SO ORDERED.12
WHEREFORE, in view of the foregoing premises, the instant appeal is hereby DENIED. The assailed Decision dated August 8, 2008 of the Regional Trial Court (RTC), Lingayen, Pangasinan, Branch 38, is hereby AFFIRMED in toto.
SO ORDERED.14
Under Article 2206 of the Civil Code, the heirs of the victim are entitled to indemnity for loss of earning capacity. Compensation of this nature is awarded not for loss of earnings, but for loss of capacity to earn. The indemnification for loss of earning capacity partakes of the nature of actual damages which must be duly proven by competent proof and the best obtainable evidence thereof. Thus, as a rule, documentary evidence should be presented to substantiate the claim for damages for loss of earning capacity. By way of exception, damages for loss of earning capacity may be awarded despite the absence of documentary evidence when (1) the deceased is self-employed and earning less than the minimum wage under current labor laws, in which case, judicial notice may be taken of the fact that in the deceased's line of work no documentary evidence is available; or (2) the deceased is employed as a daily wage worker earning less than the minimum wage under current labor laws.
For one to be entitled to actual damages, it is necessary to prove the actual amount of loss with a reasonable degree of certainty, premised upon competent proof and the best evidence obtainable by the injured party. Actual damages are such compensation or damages for an injury that will put the injured party in the position in which he had been before he was injured. They pertain to such injuries or losses that are actually sustained and susceptible of measurement. To justify an award for actual damages, there must be competent proof of the actual amount of loss. Credence can be given only to claims which are duly supported by receipts.
Finally, the trial court was correct in not awarding damages for lost earnings. The prosecution merely relied on Zenaida Mortega's self-serving statement, that her husband was earning P5,000 per month as a farmhand. Compensation for lost income is in the nature of damages and requires due proof of the amount of the damages suffered. For loss of income due to death, there must be unbiased proof of the deceased's average income. Also, the award for lost income refers to the net income of the deceased, that is, his total income less average expenses. In this case, Zenaida merely gave a self-serving testimony of her husband's income. No proof of the victim's expenses was adduced; thus, there can be no reliable estimate of his lost income.
Endnotes:
1 Records, pp. 85-95; penned by Judge Antonio M. Belen.
2 The dispositive portion of the Decision reads:IN VIEW OF ALL THE FOREGOING CONSIDERATIONS, this Court finds and holds the accused, Alvaro Suitos alias Barang guilty of the crime of MURDER as charged in the information filed against him beyond peradventure of doubt, and pursuant to law, hereby sentences said accused to serve the penalty of Reelusion Perpetua (Life Imprisonment) and to pay the costs. The accused is further ordered to indemnify the heirs of the deceased, Jesus Ylardo, the sum of twenty thousand (P20.000.00) pesos as actual damages; two hundred thousand (P200,000.00) pesos as the amount of support they receive or would have received from the deceased had he not died as a result of the killing and thirty thousand (P30.000.00) pesos as moral damages without subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency.3 Id. at 121 -136; penned by Associate Justice Rodolfo A. Nocon and concurred in by Chief Justice Andres R. Narvasa and Associate Justices Teodoro R. Padilla, Florenz D. Regalado and Jose C. Campos, Jr. See also 220 SCRA 419.
SO ORDERED. (Id. at 94-95.)
4People v. Suitos, G.R. No. 85951, March 24, 1993, 220 SCRA419, 430-431. This Decision became final and executory on April 19, 1993. See records, p. 120.
5 Records, p. 145.
6 Id. at 260-273; penned by Judge Antonio M. Belen.
7 The dispositive portion of the Decision reads:In view of all the foregoing considerations, the court finds and holds the accused, Wilson Suitos, guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of Murder as charged in the information filed against him defined and penalized under Article 248 of the Revised Penal Code and conformable thereto, pursuant to law, hereby sentences said accused to suffer the penalty of Reclusion Perpetua and to pay the costs.8 Id. at 298-307; penned by Associate Justice Josue N. Bellosillo and concurred in by Associate Justices Vicente V. Mendoza, Leonardo A. Quisumbing, Arturo B. Buena and Sabino R. De Leon, Jr.
The court further orders the accused Wilson Suitos to indemnity jointly and severally with his co-accused Alvaro Suitos (P11,575.00) Pesos as actual damages; Three Hundred Twenty Thousand (P320,000.00) Pesos as loss of earnings of the victim; Fifty Thousand (P50,000.00) Pesos as death indemnity and Twenty Thousand (P20,000.00) Pesos as moral damages without subsidiary imprisonment in case on insolvency.
Meantime, let the record of this case be sent to the files with respect to the accused Boy Villar, considering that up to the present he is not yet arrested, without prejudice on the part of the prosecution to prosecute said accused after he is apprehended.
Let the corresponding alias warrant of arrest be issued against Boy Villar to be served by the PNP, Umingan, Pangasinan, CIS, Urdaneta and NBI, Dagupan City.
SO ORDERED. (Id. at 272-273)
9 Id. at 306.
10 Id. at 344.
11 Id. at 417-426; penned by Judge Teodoro C. Fernandez.
12 Id. at 425-426.
13 CA rollo, pp. 189-210; penned by Associate Justice Stephen C. Cruz and concurred in by Associate Justices Vicente S.E. Veloso and Manuel M. Barrios.
14 Id. at 209-210.
15Rollo, pp. 30-31.
16 456 Phil. 14, 29 (2003).
17 Records, p. 89.
18 Id. at 134. This amount was adopted by the Court in G.R. No. 125280.
19 Id. at 266.
20Philtranco Service Enterprises, Inc. v. Paras, G.R. No. 161909, April 25, 2012, 671 SCRA 24, 45.
21 G.R. No. 187899, October 23, 2013, 708 SCRA 506, 519-520.
22 G.R. No. 148974, July 2, 2010, 622 SCRA 624, 640.
23 461 Phil. 167, 187(2003).
24Serra v. Mumar, GR. No. 193861, March 14, 2012, 668 SCRA 335, 347.
25 Id.
26Da Jose v. Angeles, supra note 20.
27 Records, p. 89.
28 Id. at 266.
29Tan v. OMC Carriers, Inc., G.R. No. 190521, January 12, 2011, 639 SCRA 471, 481 citing Viron Transportation Co., Inc. vs. Delos Santos, G.R. No. 138296, November 22, 2000, 345 SCRA 509, 519.