People v. Morano
REITERATIONFacts
The Antecedents: Accused Faustino Morano (Morano) and his co-accused were charged with murder for allegedly conspiring, conniving, and confederating to kill Cosme Nalam by stoning him. The victim sustained severe injuries, including a lacerated wound on the left ear, contusion hematoma on the right fronto-parietal area, abrasion on the right iliac spine, cerebral concussion, and intracranial hemorrhage. He was brought to the hospital but died four days later due to cardio-respiratory arrest, secondary to cerebral hemorrhage. Procedural History: The Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Surigao City, Branch 30, convicted Morano and Edgar "Tata" Moleta of murder, sentencing them to reclusion perpetua and ordering them to pay damages. Julian Mondano and Sandy Morano were exculpated due to insufficient identification. Morano appealed the decision. The Petition: Accused-appellant Morano argued that the trial court's conclusions were speculative and unsupported by evidence, questioning the credibility of prosecution eyewitnesses and asserting the absence of conspiracy and abuse of superior strength.
Issue(s)
Whether the prosecution sufficiently proved the guilt of accused-appellant Faustino Morano for the crime of murder/homicide. Whether the qualifying circumstance of abuse of superior strength attended the commission of the crime. Whether conspiracy was sufficiently established among the accused. Whether the awards for damages were supported by evidence.
Ruling
The Supreme Court modified the decision of the RTC. It found Faustino Morano guilty beyond reasonable doubt as principal of the crime of homicide, not murder. The Court sentenced him to suffer an indeterminate imprisonment penalty ranging from ten (10) years of prision mayor as minimum to seventeen (17) years and four (4) months of reclusion temporal as maximum. The awards for hospital, burial, and necessary expenses, as well as moral and exemplary damages, were deleted. The award of P50,000 as indemnity for the death of the victim was sustained.
Ratio Decidendi
On the guilt of Faustino Morano for homicide: The Court found the testimony of prosecution eyewitness Generio Andit to be positive, credible, and consistent regarding Morano's participation in stoning the victim, Nalam. Andit, under rigid cross-examination, positively identified Morano and his companions as the ones stoning Nalam. The Court held that the testimony of a single witness, if credible, is sufficient to convict, even in a murder charge. The Court also found that Morano was one of the four persons who stoned Nalam, based on Andit's testimony. The Court noted that Morano's participation was established by Andit's clear and consistent account, which was not wavered even under cross-examination. The Court applied the rule that appellate courts generally do not disturb the findings of the trial court on credibility unless certain facts of value have been plainly ignored. On the qualifying circumstance of abuse of superior strength: The Court disagreed with the RTC's finding of abuse of superior strength. It held that it was not established that Morano and his companions deliberately took advantage of their number and combined strength, and applied excessive force out of proportion to the means available to the deceased. The Court noted that Andit merely chanced upon the group and they quickly disappeared when he questioned them. Therefore, in the absence of this qualifying circumstance, the crime committed was homicide, not murder. On conspiracy: The Court agreed with the RTC that there was conspiracy among Morano and his companions. It reasoned that in a conspiracy, it is not necessary to show that all conspirators actually hit the victim; what is important is that all participants performed specific acts with closeness and coordination indicating a common purpose and design to kill the victim. Conspiracy can be shown through circumstantial evidence, deduced from the mode and manner of the offense, or inferred from the acts of the accused themselves, pointing to a joint purpose and design. The overt acts of throwing stones at Nalam proved the malevolent common intent of Morano and his companions. On the awards of damages: The Court deleted the awards of P10,000 for equitable and reasonable reimbursement of hospital, burial, and necessary expenses, and P10,000 for moral and exemplary damages, finding them to have no factual basis in the records. However, the award of P50,000 as indemnity for the death of the victim was sustained, as this is standard in cases of unlawful death.
Main Doctrine
The Court modified the conviction from murder to homicide, finding that while conspiracy was present, the qualifying circumstance of abuse of superior strength was not sufficiently proven. The testimony of a single credible witness, if positive and consistent, is sufficient to convict.