Case: Art.14, Par.

6 -That the act be committed

with treachery. There is treachery when the
offender commits any of the crimes against the
person, employing means, methods or forms in the
execution thereof which tend directly and specially
to insure its execution, without risk to himself arising
from the defense which the offended party might
make.
Kind of Aggravating Circumstance: Qualifying
Aggravating Circumstance those that change the nature of the crime. In this case, treachery and evident
premeditation qualifies the killing of a person to murder, hence a graver penalty, instead of merely
homicide.
Keyword: Imbis Ben and erry, e!ord and erry "a!ang :-#
Conso!idated cases:
Peo$!e of t%e P%i!i$$ines vs. P&' (enato )i!!amor and essie
*ag%i!om +,.(. "os. 14-4-.--/, anuary 10, 1--12 and
Peo$!e of t%e P%i!i$$ines vs. P&' (enato )i!!amor and essie *ag%i!om
+,.(. "os. 1413-/--3, anuary 10, 1--12
4acts:
At around dusk of ovember !", #$$%, brothers &erry 'ele(, who was driving the motorcycle,
and &elord 'ele( were on their way home to )arangay *itakas, )aliangao, *isamis +ccidental, after having
dinner at a friend,s house at )arangay -anding, )aliangao, *isamis +ccidental. As they neared the
.unction of )arangays -usot and *itakas, they heard a speeding motorcycle fast approaching from
behind. The brothers ignored the other motorcycle, which caught up with them. As they were about to
cross the bridge leading to their home, gunshots rang out from behind them. They abruptly turned the
motorcycle around towards the direction of the gunfire. The light of their motorcycle,s headlamp fell on
their attackers, aboard the second motorcycle. &erry saw 'illamor and *aghilom on board the
motorcycle behind them. *aghilom was driving the motorcycle while 'illamor was holding a short gun
pointed at them. The assailants fired at them a second time and fled towards the direction
of Calamba, *isamis +ccidental. &erry sustained gunshot wounds on the abdomen and left elbow, but
survived. /e got a good look at their assailants. &erry sensed that &elord,s grip on his back
slackened. &elord fell off the motorcycle and died on the spot. As &erry neared the bridge, 'illamor again
fired at &erry, hitting him on the abdomen. The two assailants drove away. 0hen &erry arrived at their
house, he told his other brother, &elvis, about the incident. They rushed &elord to the Calamba 1istrict
/ospital, but he was transferred to the *isamis +ccidental 2rovincial /osptial, +roquieta City.
*eanwhile, &erry was treated at the 2rovincial /ospital and, later at the *etro Cebu /ospital.
The autopsy conducted by 1r. elson 3abrine(, 2ublic /ealth +fficer of )aliangao, on the cadaver
of &elord 'ele( showed several wounds on the chest, mid clavicular area, abdomen and right
diaphragm. The cause of death was indicated as multiple gunshot wounds. +n the other hand,
1r. +lay(ar 4ecamadas of the 2rovincial /ospital examined &erry 'ele( and found that he sustained 5a
gunshot wound 6on the7 left quadrant abdomen penetrating abdominal cavity with in.ury to stomach,
mesentery transverse colon, hemoperitoneum.8 1r. 4ecamadas testified that without prompt medical
attendance, &erry could have died of 5(ero9(ero :;9;< blood pressure.
=or the deadly assault on the 'ele( brothers, 2+> 4enato =. 'illamor and &essie 5&oy8 *aghilom were
indicted for *urder in Criminal Case o. #>#!9>?9#" in an Information which reads@
Accused 2+> 4enato =. 'illamor, public officer, being a member of the 2hilippine ational 2olice,
conspiring and confederating with accused &essie 5&oy8 *aghilom, likewise a public officer, being
a )arangay Councilman, with treachery and intent to kill, did then and there,wilfully, unlawfully and
feloniously shoot &elord 'ele(, inflicting upon him mortal wounds that caused his death.
+n the other hand, 1r. +lay(ar 4ecamadas of the 2rovincial /ospital examined &erry 'ele( and
found that he sustained 5a gunshot wound 6on the7 left quadrant abdomen penetrating abdominal cavity
with in.ury to stomach, mesentery transverse colon, hemoperitoneum.8 1r. 4ecamadas testified that
without prompt medical attendance, &erry could have died of 5(ero9(ero :;9;< blood pressure.8
Accused c!aimed t%e fo!!owing a!ibis: 5%e Court did not acce$t %is a!ibis.
#. on ovember !", #$$%, at around %@;; p.m., he was in )arangay -anding as security escort of
*ayor Agapito Aap III.
!. +n same date and At around %@;; p.m., accused9appellant went home to take his child, who was
suffering from diarrhea, to the clinic for treatment. /e arrived at the Aap Clinic but was advised to go to
the Calamba 1istrict /ospital.
#is$ositive:
678(84&(8, in view of the foregoing, the decision of the 4egional Trial Court
of Calamba, *isamis +ccidental in Criminal Cases os. #>#!9>?9#" and ?>#9#"9?B9>?9>C, finding
accused9appellant guilty beyond reasonable doubt of *urder and =rustrated *urder, respectively, is
A==I4*D1 with *+1I=ICATI+. As modified, accused9appellant 2+> 4enato =.'illamor is sentenced to
suffer the penalty of Reclusion Perpetua for *urder in Criminal Case o. #>#!9>?9#"E and to suffer an
indeterminate penalty of Dight :B< Aears and +ne :#< 1ay ofPrision Mayor, as minimum, to =ourteen :#"<
Aears, Dight :B< *onths and +ne :#< 1ay of Reclusion Temporal, as maximum, for =rustrated *urder in
Criminal Case o. ?>#9#"9?B9>?.
Accused9appellant is +41D4D1 to pay the heirs of the victim &elord 'ele( the sum of 2%;,;;;.;; by
way of moral damages, in addition to the civil indemnity of 2%;,;;;.;; and funeral expenses of
2>$,?%!.%! awarded by the trial court. The award of medical expenses to &erry 'ele( in the amount of
2"C,$%%.;; is A==I4*D1.
Issues9(u!ing:
A. Can an alibi prevail over a positive witness in the charge of murderF
7e!d: Accused9appellant,s profession of innocence cannot prevail vis--vis his positive identification as
the gunman by eyewitness9victim &erry 'ele(. 1espite repeated attempts by the defense counsel to
throw him off track during cross9examination, &erry remained resolute and unflinching in his account that
he and his brother were fired upon by accused. It must be stressed in this regard that the testimony of a
single witness is sufficient to establish the guilt of the accused for evidence is weighed not
counted. Indeed, the testimony of a single witness, if positive and credible, is sufficient to convict the
appellant even in a murder charge.
The Court has consistently looked upon the defense of alibi with suspicion and received it with caution not
only because it is inherently weak and unreliable, but also because it can be easily fabricated. Gnless
supported by clear and convincing evidence, the same cannot overcome the positive declarations of the
victim who, in a simple and straightforward manner, convincingly identified the accused9appellant as one
of the perpetrators of the crime.
). 0hat circumstance was taken into account by the Court in arriving at the penalty of reclusion
perpetua for 'illamor and *aghilomF
/eld@ The killing of &elord 'ele( was attended by treachery or alevosia. There is treachery when the
offender commits any of the crimes against persons, employing means, methods or forms in the execution
thereof which tend directly and specially to insure its execution, without risk to himself arising from the
defense which the offended party might make. The qualifying circumstance of treachery attended the
killing inasmuch as the two conditions for the same are present, i.e., :#< that at the time of the attack, the
victim was not in a position to defend himself, and :!< that the offender consciously adopted the particular
means, method or form of attack employed by him. The essence of treachery is the swift, sudden and
unexpected attack by the aggressor on an unsuspecting victim, depriving the latter of any real chance to
defend himself, thereby ensuring its commission without risk to the aggressor, and without the slightest
provocation on the part of the victim. 'illamor and &essie Joy *aghilom perpetrated the crime. not
only by the sudden and unexpected attack upon the unsuspecting and apparently unarmed victims but
also by the deliberate manner in which the assault was perpetrated. In this case, a totally
unsuspecting &elord 'ele( held onto his brother &erry on board their motorcycle on their way home
blissfully unaware of the onrushing peril behind them.
C. Can the victims not invoke the aggravating circumstance of the offenders taking advantage of their
public positions as members of the 2hilippine ational 2oliceF
7e!d: o. To appreciate this aggravating circumstance, the public officer must use the influence,
prestige or ascendancy which his office gives him as a means by which he reali(es his purpose. The
essence of the matter is presented in the inquiry 51id the accused abuse his office to commit the crimeF
In this case, there was no showing that accused9appellant took advantage of his being a policeman to
shoot &elord 'ele( or that he used his 5influence, prestige or ascendancy8 in killing the
victim. Accused9appellant could have shot 'ele( even without being a policeman. In other words, if the
accused could have perpetrated the crime even without occupying his position, there is no abuse of public
position.