G.R. No. 240231, November 27, 2019
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE, v. CRESENCIANO ENOJO A.K.A. "OLPOK," ACCUSED-APPELLANT.
D E C I S I O N
ZALAMEDA, R.V., J.:
This appeal 1 assails the Decision2 dated 19 December 2017 by the Court of Appeals (CA) in CA-G.R. CEB CR-HC No. 02161, which affirmed with modifications the Joint Decision3 dated 16 November 2015 of Branch 31, Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Dumaguete City in Criminal Case Nos. 14617, 14900, 14902 and 14903, finding Cresenciano Enojo (accused appellant) guilty beyond reasonable doubt for three (3) counts of murder, for the killing of three (3) children, namely: Delfred A. Cuevas, nine (9) years old; Alfred A. Cuevas, six (6) years old; and Chrocila A. Cuevas, two (2) years old; and one (1) count of frustrated murder, for the wounding of their mother, Cannen A. Cuevas.
When arraigned, accused-appellant pleaded not guilty to the charges. Upon termination of pre-trial, trial ensued where the prosecution and the defense presented their respective versions of the facts.Criminal Case No. 14900
That on November 20, 1999, at about 5:30 in the afternoon at Sitio Dumanon, Barangay Nasig-id, Zamboanguita, Negros Oriental, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused with treachery and abuse of superior strength the victim being a minor and of tender age and unarmed, did then and there willfully, unlawfully and feloniously with the use of a bolo, assault, attack and hack DELFRED A. CUEVAS, a 9 year old, inflicting upon the said victim the following mortal wounds x x x which caused the instantaneous death of the victim.
Contrary to Article 248 of the Revised Penal Code as amended by RA 7659.4Criminal Case No. 14902
That on November 20, 1999, at about 5:30 in the afternoon at Sitio Dumanon, Barangay Nasig-id, Zamboanguita, Negros Oriental, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused with treachery and abuse of superior strength the victim being [a] minor and of tender age and unarmed, did then and there willfully, unlawfully and feloniously with the use of a bolo, assault, attack and hack CARLFRED A. CUEVAS,5 a 6 year old, inflicting upon the said victim the following mortal wounds x x x which caused the instantaneous death of the victim.
Contrary to Article 248 of the Revised Penal Code as amended by RA 7659.6Criminal Case No. 14903
That on November 20, 1999, at about 5:30 in the afternoon at Sitio Dumanon, Barangay Nasig-id, Zamboanguita, Negros Oriental, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused with treachery and abuse of superior strength the victim being [a] minor and of tender age and unarmed, did then and there willfully, unlawfully and feloniously with the use of a bolo, assault, attack and hack CHRESELA A. CUEVAS,7 a 2 year old, inflicting upon the said victim the following mortal wounds x x x [w]hich caused the instantaneous death of the victim.
Contrary to Article 248 of the Revised Penal Code as amended by RA 7659.8Criminal Case No. 14617
That on or about November 20, 1999, at about 5:30 o'clock in the afternoon at Sitio Dumanon, Barangay Nasig-id, Zamboanguita, Negros Oriental, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, with intent to kill, with treachery, abuse of superior strength and disregard of the respect due the offended party on account of her sex, the victim being a woman, did then and there willfully, unlawfully and feloniously attack, assault and hack three (3) times Carmen Cuevas with the use of a bolo the accused was then armed and provided, thereby inflicting upon the victim the following injuries x x x which injuries could have caused the death of the victim, thus performing all the acts of execution which could have produced the crime of Murder, as a consequence, but neve1iheless did not produce it by reason of causes independent of the will of the accused, that is, by the timely medical assistance given to said victim that prevented her death.
Contrary to Article 248 of the Revised Penal Code in relation to Articles 6 and 250 of the said (sic) code.9
Slingshot you juvenile child, my dog has a big wound on its side, it even went home to my house. I might break your head you juvenile child. Even if you will tell your parents I will also break their heads.11Upon hearing this, Delfred rushed home. Moments later, his mother, Carmen, came looking for accused-appellant to confront him on what he told her son. However, accused-appellant emerged and hacked Cannen twice on the head and once on the back, causing the latter to fall to the ground. Accused-appellant then made his way to Carmen's house, giving Carmen the opportunity to seek Montiil's help.12
The trial court found the prosecution's evidence sufficient to sustain accused-appellant's conviction of the crimes charged. After affording itself the opportunity to observe the witnesses' demeanor on the stand, the RTC found no reason to doubt their credibility. Moreover, accused-appellant's claim of self-defense failed to persuade since his version of what transpired was uncorroborated by any other witness and no medical certificate was presented to prove the alleged injuries sustained. 19 The RTC, however, was convinced that Carmen only saw the killing of her son Delfred, and not Alfred and Chrocila. Nevertheless, the RTC found sufficient circumstantial evidence pointing at the conclusion that accused-appellant killed the two (2) other children as well.20WHEREFORE, all the foregoing considered, judgment is hereby rendered as follows:The penalty of Death should have been imposed to the accused in Criminal Case Nos. 14900, 14902 & 14903, however, with the enactment of R.A. No. 9346 on June 24, 2006, this court has to reduce the penalty of death to reclusion perpetua each in all said cases. This, notwithsating (sic), accused should not be eligible for parole under Act No. 4103, otherwise known as the Indeterminate Sentence Law, as amended.1. In Criminal Case No. 14617, the court finds accused Cresenciano Enojo @ "Olpok" GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of Frustrated Murder under Article 248 as amended by R.A. 7659 of the Revised Penal Code in relation to Article 6 and 50 also of the Revised Penal Code and hereby sentence[s] him to suffer 13 years of cadena temporal with the accessories of the law as well as sentence[s] him to pay temperate damages in the amount of Php25,000.00 in lieu of actual damages considering that some pecuniary loss was suffered but its amount cannot be proven with certainty during trial.
2. Considering that deceased minor victims Delfred Cuevas, Cal:fred (actually Alfred) Cuevas and Chrosela (actually Chrocila) Cuevas in Criminal Case Nos. 14900, 14902, 14903, were children of tender years, and since killing a child is characterized by treachery even if the manner of the assault is not shown because of the weakness of the victim due to her tender age results in the absence of any danger to the accused, the court finds accused Cresenciano Enojo GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt for three (3) counts of the crime of Murder under Article 248 of the Revised Penal Code as amended by RA 7559 and hereby sentences him to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua for each count.
Finally, [the] accused is further ordered to indemnify the heirs of the aforesaid three (3) children the amounts ofPhp50,000.00 as civil indemnity, Php50,000.00 as moral damages, Php30,000.00 as exemplary damages and Php25,000.00 as temperate damages for each child-victim, plus legal interest on all damages awarded at the rate of 6% from the date of the finality of this decision.
SO ORDERED.18 (Citations omitted)
WHEREFORE, in view of the foregoing, the 16 November 2015 Joint Decision rendered by the Regional Trial Court, 7th Judicial Region, Branch 31, Dumaguete City convicting accused-appellant Cresenciano Enojo, a.k.a. "Olpok" of Murder in Criminal Case Nos. 14900, 14902, and 14903 and of Frustrated Murder in Criminal Case No. 14617 is AFFIRMED, with the following MODIFICATIONS:The CA did not find merit in accused-appellant's claim that fatal inconsistencies plague the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses. If at all, the appellate court found these inconsistencies to be trivial and inconsequential. The CA also agreed with the trial court's appreciation of the circumstance of treachery in qualifying the killing of the children to murder, and abuse of superior strength and treachery in the wounding of Carmen. The appellate court, nevertheless, ruled that abuse of superior strength was already absorbed by treachery.23 Finally, the award of damages was modified to conform with recent jurisprudence.24 Hence, this appeal.
For the killing of the minors Delfred A. Cuevas, Alfred A. Cuevas and Chrocila A. Cuevas, accused-appellant is sentenced to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua, together with all its accessory penalties, for EACH COUNT of Murder. Appellant is ordered to pay the following amounts, as his civil liability: Seventy-Five Thousand Pesos (P75,000.00) as civil indemnity, Seventy-Five Thousand Pesos (P75,000.00) as moral damages, and Seventy-Five Thousand Pesos (P75,000.00) as exemplary damages. Accused-appellant is likewise ordered to pay the amount of Fifty Thousand Pesos (P50,000.00) as temperate damages.
For his conviction for Frustrated Murder, appellant is sentenced to suffer the penalty of 8 years and one day of prision mayor, as minimum of the indeterminate penalty, to (14) years, eight (8) months and one (1) day, the medium period of reclusion temporal, as maximum. Appellant is likewise ordered to the following[:] to pay the amounts of Fifty Thousand Pesos (P50,000.00), as civil indemnity, Fifty Thousand Pesos (P50,000.00) as moral damages and Fifty Thousand Pesos (P50,000.00) as exemplary damages.
An interest at the rate of six percent (6%) per annum shall be imposed on all damages awarded from the date of the finality of this judgment until fully paid.
SO ORDERED.22
Endnotes:
*On leave.
**Designated as Additional Member of the Third Division per Special Order No. 2728.
1 Rollo, pp. 24-26.
2 Id. at 4-23; penned by Associate Justice Geraldine C. Fiel-Macaraig, with Associate Justices Pa d'Ja Ann Abella Maxino and Louis P. Acosta, concurring.
3 CA rollo, pp. 43-96; penned by Presiding Judge Ma. Mercedita U. Sarsaba.
4Rollo, pp. 6-7.
5See Records, p. 361; the RTC indicated that the name of the child should be "Alfred."
6 Rollo, pp. 7-8.
7See Records, p. 361; the RTC indicated that the name of the child should be "Chrocila."
8Rollo, pp. 8-9.
9 Id at 9-10.
10 Id. at 11.
11 Records, p. 322
12 Rollo, p. 11.
13Id.
14 Records, p. 317.
15Id.
16 Id. at 13, TSN dated 30 January 2014.
17 Id. at 14.
18 Records, pp. 363-364.
19 ld. at 358-359.
20 Id. at 361-363.
21 Id. at 364.
22Rollo, pp. 22-23.
23 Id. at 18-19.
24Id. at 21-22.
25 Cruz v. People, G.R. No. 166441, 08 October 2014, 737 SCRA 567, 580.
26 People v. Pantoja, G.R. No. 223114,29 November 2017, 847 SCRA 300, 318.
27 See People v. Dasmariñas, G.R. No. 203986, 04 October 2017, 842 SCRA 39.
28 See People v. Petalino, G.R. No. 213222, 24 September 2018; People v. Detector, G.R. No. 200026, 04 October 2017, 841 SCRA 647; People v. Mercado. G.R. No. 218702, 17 October 2018.
29People v. Reyes, G.R. No. 227013,17 June2019.
30People v. Cañaveras,-G.R. No. 193839, 27 November 2013, 711 SCRA I, 12.
31People v. Corpuz, G.R. No. 215320,28 February 2018, 856 SCRA 610,623.