THIRD DIVISION
G.R. No. 247654. June 14, 2021
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. SADICK ROARING Y RECTIN, SADJADE ROARING Y RECTIN, BELTRAN RELLAMA Y RECTIN, AND BREXTON RELLAMA Y BORAGAY, Accused,
SADICK ROARING Y RECTIN AND BELTRAN RELLAMA Y RECTIN, Accused-Appellants.
D E C I S I O N
LOPEZ, J.:
On appeal1 is the September 26, 2018 Decision2 of the Court of Appeals (CA) in CA-G.R. CR HC No. 09950, which affirmed the September 5, 2017 Joint Judgment3 of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Ligao City, Branch 11, finding Sadick Roaring and Beltran Rellama guilty of murder in Criminal Case Nos. 7285 and 7286, and frustrated murder in Criminal Case No. 7287.
In Criminal Case No. 7286:INFORMATION
That on or about 7:00 in the morning of May 1, 2014, at Sitio Quinimbalan, Barangay Tobgon, in the Municipality of Oas, Province of Albay, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, conspiring, confederating[,] and mutually helping one another for a common criminal design, while all accused [were] armed with bolos and accused Sadick Roaring was armed with a firearm of unknown caliber with deliberate intent to kill, qualified by evident premeditation, with the presence of alevosia (treachery), abuse of superior strength and without justifiable cause, did then and there, willfully, unlawfully[,] and feloniously hack the victim, Fabian Renigen Rectin III, thereby causing the victim to sustain multiple hack wounds that led to his instantaneous death, to the damage and prejudice of his legal heirs.
ACTS CONTRARY TO LAW.4cralawredlibrary
INFORMATION
That on or about 7:00 in the morning of May 1, 2014, at Sitio Quinimbalan, Barangay Tobgon, in the Municipality of Oas, Province of Albay, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, conspiring, confederating[,] and mutually helping one another for a common criminal design, while all accused [were] armed with bolos and accused Sadick Roaring was armed with a firearm of unknown caliber with deliberate intent to kill, qualified by evident premeditation, with the presence of alevosia (treachery), abuse of superior strength and without justifiable cause, did then and there, willfully, unlawfully[,] and feloniously hack the victim, Fabian Requejo Rectin, Jr., thereby causing the victim to sustain multiple hack wounds that led to his instantaneous death, to the damage and prejudice of his legal heirs.
ACTS CONTRARY TO LAW.5chanRoblesvirtualLawlibrary
Upon arraignment, only Sadick and Beltran, assisted by their counsels, pleaded "not guilty" to the crimes charged. Sadjade and Brexton remain at-large to this date.7chanRoblesvirtualLawlibraryINFORMATION
That on or about 7:00 in the morning of May 1, 2014, at Sitio Quinimbalan, Barangay Tobgon, in the Municipality of Oas, Province of Albay, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, conspiring, confederating[,] and mutually helping one another for a common criminal design, while all accused [were] armed with bolos and accused Sadick Roaring was armed with a firearm of unknown caliber with deliberate intent to kill, qualified by evident premeditation, with the presence of alevosia (treachery), abuse of superior strength and without justifiable cause, did then and there, willfully, unlawfully[,] and feloniously hack the victim Virginia Renigen Rectin, thereby causing the victim to sustain multiple hack wounds. Thus, having performed all the acts of execution which would have produced the crime of Murder as a consequence but nevertheless did not produce it by reason or causes independent of the will of the all accused that is the escaping of the victim from and the timely and able medical assistance rendered to said victim, Virginia Rectin, which prevented her death, to the damage and prejudice of the victim.
ACTS CONTRARY TO LAW.6cralawredlibrary
WHEREFORE, under the foregoing reasons, judgment is rendered:The RTC held that the prosecution was able to establish that the killing was attended by the aggravating circumstances of treachery and abuse of superior strength.
A. In Criminal Case No. 7285:
ACCUSED SADICK ROARING y RECTIN and BELTRAN RELLAMA y RECTIN are hereby found GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of MURDER for the felonious killing of FABIAN RENIGEN RECTIN III, as defined and penalized under Article 248 of the Revised Penal Code, qualified by the aggravating circumstances of treachery and abuse of superior strength; thereby sentencing each of said accused to the penalty of reclusion perpetua, with all the accessory penalties thereof under the law.
By way of civil liability ex delicto, said accused are ORDERED to PAY, solidarily, the heirs of FABIAN RENIGEN RECTIN III the amounts of:
chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary(1) Php75,000.00 as civil indemnity for the commission of Murder;B. In Criminal Case No. 7286:
(2) Php50,000.00 as moral damages;
(3) Php30,000.00 as exemplary damages; and
(4) Php25,000.00 as temperate damages.
Accused, SADICK ROARING y RECTIN and BELTRAN RELLAMA y RECTIN are hereby found GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of MURDER for the felonious killing of FABIAN REQUEJO RECTIN, JR., as defined and penalized under Article 248 of the Revised Penal Code, qualified by the aggravating circumstances of treachery and abuse of superior strength; thereby sentencing each of said accused to the penalty of reclusion perpetua, with all the accessory penalties thereof under the law.
By way of civil liability ex delicto, said accused are ORDERED to PAY, solidarity, the heirs of FABIAN REQUEJO RECTIN, JR. the amounts of:
chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary1. Php75,000.00 as civil indemnity for the commission of Murder;C. In Criminal Case No. 7287:
2. Php50,000.00 as moral damages;
3. Php30,000.00 as exemplary damages; and
4. Php25,000.00 as temperate damages.
Accused, SADICK ROARING Y RECTIN and BELTRAN RELLAMA y RECTIN are hereby found GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of FRUSTRATED MURDER of VIRGINIA RECTIN, as defined and penalized under Article 248[,] in relation to Article 6 of the Revised Penal Code, qualified by the aggravating circumstances of treachery and abuse of superior strength; thereby, sentencing each of them to the indeterminate penalty of imprisonment ranging from Eight (8) Years of prision mayor[,] as minimum[,] to Fifteen (15) Years of reclusion temporal[,] as maximum.
As civil liability ex delicto, both accused are ORDERED to PAY, solidarily, VIRGINIA RECTIN the amounts of:
chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary1. Php 50,000.00 as civil indemnity for the commission of the crime;D. The foregoing amounts of civil liability shall earn legal interest at the rate of 6% per annum, from the finality of this judgment and until fully paid.
2. Php 40,000.00 as moral damages;
3. Php 20,000.00 as exemplary damages; and
4. Php 25,000.00 as temperate damages in lieu of actual damages.
E. Pending the arrest of the other accused, SADJADE ROARING Y RECTIN and BREXTON RELLAMA Y BORAGAY, these cases are ORDERED ARCHIVED.
SO ORDERED.13 (Emphasis and underscoring in the original)
WHEREFORE, premises considered, the appeal is hereby DENIED. The Joint Judgment dated September 5, 2017 of the Regional Trial Court, Branch 11, Ligao City is AFFIRMED with MODIFICATION in in (sic) that the dispositive portion thereof is to read as follows:Thus, on October 17, 2018, Sadick and Beltran, through counsel, filed a Notice of Appeal16 manifesting their intention to elevate the CA Decision to this Court.
chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary1. In Criminal Case No. 7285, accused-appellants Sadick Roaring y Rectin and Beltran Rellama y Rectin are hereby held GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt for the crime of murder and are sentenced to suffer the penalty of imprisonment of reclusion perpetua without eligibility for parole. They are ordered to solidarily pay the heirs of Fabian Rectin III the following: One Hundred Thousand Pesos (P100,000.00) as civil indemnity; One Hundred Thousand Pesos (P100,000.00) as moral damages; One Hundred Thousand Pesos (P100,000.00) as exemplary damages; and Fifty Thousand Pesos (P50,000.00) as temperate damages;cralawlawlibrarySO ORDERED.15 (Emphasis in the original)
2. In Criminal Case No. 7286, accused-appellants Sadick Roaring y Rectin and Beltran Rellama y Rectin are hereby held GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt for the crime of murder and are sentenced to suffer the penalty of imprisonment of reclusion perpetua without eligibility for parole. They are ordered to solidarily pay the heirs of Fabian Rectin III (sic) the following: One Hundred Thousand Pesos (P100,000.00) as civil indemnity; One Hundred Thousand Pesos (P100,000.00) as moral damages; One Hundred Thousand Pesos (P100,000.00) as exemplary damages; and Fifty Thousand Pesos (P50,000.00) as temperate damages;cralawlawlibrary
3. In Criminal Case No. 7287, accused-appellants Sadick Roaring y Rectin and Beltran Rellama y Rectin are hereby held GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt for the crime of frustrated murder and are sentenced to suffer the penalty of imprisonment of twelve years (12) years of prision mayor, as minimum, to twenty years of reclusion temporal, as maximum. They are ordered to solidarily pay private complainant Virginia Rectin the following: Seventy-Five Thousand Pesos (P75,000.00) as civil indemnity; Seventy-Five Thousand Pesos (P75,000.00) as moral damages, Seventy-Five Thousand Pesos (P75,000.00) as exemplary damages; and Fifty Thousand Pesos (P50,000.00) as temperate damages;cralawlawlibrary
4. Accused-appellants Sadick Roaring y Rectin and Beltran Rellama y Rectin are further ordered to pay interest on all damages awarded at the legal rate of six percent (6%) per annum from date of finality of this judgment.
Q: So what happened while you were pounding palay?Virginia's testimony was corroborated by Jobert and John Paul, who also saw the arrival of accused-appellants at their nipa hut along with Sadick and Brexton. All assailants were armed with bolo, except for Sadick who carried a gun. According to the witnesses, Sadick first fired at Jobert. Then, Jobert tried to retaliate, while John Paul and his brother Jestoni hid themselves. When Jobert was unable to fire another shot at his family's assailants, he ran and hid himself.25 After the assailants have left, Jobert and John Paul resurfaced only to find Virginia severely wounded and their patriarchs already dead.
A: They suddenly went to our bahay kubo.
Q: Who were they?
A: Sadick Roaring. Beltran Rellama, Brixton Rellama, and Sadjade Roaring.
Q: What happened after these persons xxx arrived?
A: Sadick Roaring saw Jobert Rectin and suddenly made a gun fire and chased him.
x x x x
Q: What happened after Sadick went back to your bahay kubo?
A: Sadick Roaring took my big mortar (pambayo) and hit my husband on his right neck.
x x x x
Q: What happened after your husband was hit by "pambayo?
A: They helped each other in hacking my husband, Fabian Rectin, Jr.
Q: Who grabbed your "pambayo"?
A: Sadick Roaring.
Q: x x x you said that they helped each other in attacking your husband, who helped in attacking your husband?
A: Sadick Roaring, Beltran Rellama, Brixton Rellama and Sadjade Roaring.
x x x x
Q: How about Fabian Rectin III your son, what instrument did these persons use in attacking your son?
A: Bolo.
Q: All of these persons you mentioned?
A: Yes sir, they helped in hacking.
x x x x
Q: How about you, what happened to you?
A: When Fabian Rectin, Jr. and Fabian Rectin III were already dead they attacked me also.
Q: Who in particular attacked you?
A: Sadick Roaring.
Q: By what means?
A: The bolo he got from our kitchen.
x x x x
Q: You told us that the injury you sustained at the back was made by Sadick?
A: Yes sir.
Q: How about those injuries you showed us on your lower limbs?
A: The four (4) helped each other in hacking me and because they were standing near the door so I went out of my house by passing through the window.24cralawredlibrary
1. In Criminal Case No. 7285 and Criminal Case No. 7286 for Murder, each accused-appellant is sentenced to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua and ORDERED to PAY, jointly and severally, the amounts of P75,000.00 as civil indemnity, P75,000.00 as moral damages, and P75,000.00 as exemplary damages, plus temperate damages of P50,000.00 to the heirs of Fabian Rectin, Jr. and Fabian Rectin III; andSO ORDERED.
2. In Criminal Case No. 7287, each accused-appellant is sentenced to suffer an indeterminate sentence of eight (8) years of prision mayor, as minimum, to fifteen (15) years of reclusion temporal, as maximum. Each accused-appellant is ORDERED to PAY, jointly and severally, P50,000.00 as civil indemnity, and the amounts of P50,000.00 as moral damages and P50,000.00 as exemplary damages to Virginia Rectin; and P50,000.00 as temperate damages.
3. All the monetary awards shall earn interest of six percent (6%) per annum from the finality of this Decision until fully paid.
Endnotes:
1 Rollo, pp. 27-29.
2 Penned by Associate Justice Ramon R. Garcia, with Associate Justices Eduardo B. Peralta, Jr. and German Francisco D. Legaspi concurring; id. at 3-26.
3 Penned by Presiding Judge Edwin C. Ma-alat; CA rollo, pp. 58-75.
4 Records, p. 1b.
5 Id. at 1a.
6 Id. at 1.
7 Rollo, p. 7
8 Id.
9 Id. at 8.
10 Id. at 8-9.
11 Id. at 11-12.
12 CA rollo, pp. 58-75.
13 CA rollo, pp. 73-75.
14 Rollo, pp. 3-26.
15 Rollo, pp. 24-25.
16 Id. at 27-28.
17 CA rollo, p. 133.
18 Rollo, pp. 32-33.
19 Manifestation, id. at 46-51.
20 Manifestation and Motion (in Lieu of a Supplemental Brief), id. at 41-45.
21 See Santos v. People, 838 Phil. 568 (2018).
22 People v. Cirbeto, 825 Phil. 793, 805 (2018).
23 People v. Manzano, Jr., 827 Phil. 113, 126-127 (2018).
24 TSN, April 28, 2015, pp. 4-6.
25 Rollo, p. 19
26 People v. Matibag, 757 Phil. 286, 293 (2015).
27 People v. Cirbeto, supra note 22, at 807.
28 Ibanez, et al. v. People, 779 Phil. 436, 459 (2016).
29 People v. Bugarin, 807 Phil. 588, 599 (2017).
30 People v. Valdez, 364 Phil. 259, 276 (1999).
31 People v. Torrefiel, 326 Phil. 388, 400 (1996).
32 783 Phil. 806 (2016).
33 Medico-Legal Certificate, records, p 16.cralawredlibrary