[G.R. No. 126116.

June 21, 1999]

PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintif-appellee, vs. ERLINDO YAM-ID !"# $ELY,% accused-appellant.
D E & I S I O N
MELO, J.:
Before us on automatic review is the decision dated June 17, 1997 of Branch 29 of the Regional Trial Court of
the 7th Judicial Region stationed in Toledo City in its Criminal Cases No TC!"2#$1 and 2#$2 %nding accused"
a&&ellant 'R()N*+ ,-.")* guilty of murder and frustrated homicide, res&ectively, and sentencing him to su/er the
su&reme &enalty of death in the %rst case The dis&ositive &ortion of the decision reads0
12'R'3+R', in view of the foregoing considerations, in Crim Case No TC!"2#$1 this Court %nds the accused
45)(T, of the crime of .urder and &ursuant to Re& -ct 7679 here8y im&oses the .andatory &enalty of *'-T2 and
to indemnify the &arents of the victim the sum of 97:,::::: and to &ay actual damages in the amount of
9;:,:::::
)n Crim Case No TC!"2#$2, this Court %nds the accused 45)(T, of the crime of 3rustrated 2omicide under -rt 2;9
R9C in relation to -rt 7: and after a&&lying the indeterminate sentence law, it is here8y the sentence of this Court
that said accused will su/er the &enalty of !)< =6> ,ears and +N' =1> *-, of 9rision .ayor in its minimum &eriod to
T'N =1:> ,'-R! of 9rision mayor in its ma?imum &eriod The +)C, Branch Cler@ of Court is here8y directed to
remand the records of these cases to the !u&reme Court for automatic review
!+ +R*'R'*
=& ;7, Rollo.>
The case for the &rosecution is summariAed 8y the +Bce of the !olicitor 4eneral as follows0
Julius Cantutay was a resident of !a@sa@, 9inamungaCan, Ce8u -&&ellant 'rlindo was his neigh8or !o, too, was
*anilo TeCamo, his uncle, and si? =6> year old Jerry TeCamo his cousin =& 2, tsn, July #1, 1997>
+n -&ril 1, 199;, at around 20:: oDcloc@ in the afternoon, Julius was sent 8y his grandmother, -manda CeniAa, to
Brgy Tutay, 9inamungaCan, Ce8u, to deliver benignit, a local delicacy, to his aunt Be8ing *eEuiado Jerry TeCamo
was with Julius +n their way to *eEuiadoDs house, they &assed 8y the house of a&&ellant who greeted them, F4ood
'veningG -fter said salutation, a&&ellant suddenly unsheathed a long 8olo +n instinct, Julius &ushed Jerry, who
was then wal@ing in front of him, and told the latter to run -&&ellant ran after the two Jerry was overta@en 8y
Julius Julius momentarily sto&&ed to wait for Jerry, 8ut a&&ellant caught u& with Jerry -&&ellant sta88ed Jerry with
the 8olo on the left &ortion of his 8ac@ Not content, a&&ellant held Jerry 8y the hair and hac@ed him on the
na&e Jerry fell to the ground -s a coup de grace, a&&ellant sta88ed Jerry on the right side of his 8ac@ Jerry died
on the s&ot -&&ellant then @nelt over the &rostrate 8ody of Jerry and suc@ed the 8lood from his nec@ =&& #"9, tsn,
July #1, 1997>
!cared out of his wits, Julius ran towards the house of Jerry to the latterDs father, *anilo TeCamo *anilo was then
slee&ing, Julius narrated the harrowing incident to -niceta TeCamo, wife of *anilo -niceta TeCamo is the sister of
JuliusDs father, hence, an aunt =& 7, tsn, +ct 26, 1997>
-niceta roused *anilo from his slee& and 8oth of them ran to the site of the incident Before they could reach the
&lace, however, they were met 8y a&&ellant, who had a 8olo in hand *anilo as@ed a&&ellant the wherea8outs of
his son -&&ellant instead answered, F) will @ill all of youG, and immediately hac@ed *anilo *anilo was a8le to
dodge the attac@, 8ut he sli&&ed and fell to the ground -&&ellant struc@ at the fallen *anilo, who tried to &arry the
attac@, 8ut *anilo nevertheless got hit on the 8ridge of his nose *anilo tried to stand, 8ut a&&ellant hac@ed him
anew This time, *anilo was hit on the head, and he fell to the ground, 8loodied =&& 7"11, tsn, +ct 26, 1997>
!ince *anilo was not moving anymore, -niceta shouted that *anilo was already dead -&&ellant too@ hold of
*aniloDs collar to %nish him o/ )ne?&lica8ly, the ti& of the 8olo hit a&&ellantDs stomach and 8lood ooAed from the
wound 9ertur8ed, a&&ellant ran towards his house and threw the 8olo to the ground *anilo regained
consciousness and sought treatment =&& 12"17, tsn, +ct 26, 1997>
1
'?&enses for the wa@e and 8urial of Jerry amounted to 9;:,::::: =& 1;, tsn, ibid>
=&& 1:9"112, Rollo.>
*uring the trial, accused"a&&ellant denied @illing the 6"year old Jerry TeCamo and &leaded self"defense for his
assault on *anilo TeCamo, JerryDs father 2e contended that due to a land dis&ute 8etween his family and the in"
laws of *anilo TeCamo, the latter tried to @ill him 8y %ring at his house )n retaliation, he hac@ed *anilo TeCamo at
the forehead 8ut *anilo shot him, hitting him 8elow the navel, in the &rocess, causing a &rola&se =the e?&osure of
his intestines> Then, he lost consciousness
The trial court did not give credence to accused"a&&ellantDs tale and after trial on the merits, it found him
guilty as charged
)n this automatic review, accused"a&&ellant now ma@es a com&lete turn"around and admits @illing Jerry
TeCamo 2e, however, would &lead insanity, and, as to his conviction for frustrated homicide regarding his attac@ on
*anilo TeCamo, accused"a&&ellant see@s reversal on the ground that the &rosecution failed to &rove his intent to @ill
The 9eo&le contends that accused"a&&ellant should not 8e allowed to change his theory on a&&eal 1e do not
agree -n a&&eal in a criminal case o&ens the whole action for review on any Euestion including those not raised 8y
the &arties =People vs. Villaruel, 261 !CR- #$6 =1996>H People vs. Godines, 196 !CR- 767 I1991JH People vs.
Villagracia, 226 !CR- #7; I199#JH see also Tabuena vs. Sandiganbayan, 26$ !CR- ##2 I1997J> The reason for this
rule is that every circumstance in favor of the accused should 8e considered =Sacay vs. Sandiganbayan, 1;2 !CR-
79# I19$6J> This legal ma?im acEuires greater signi%cance in this case where accused"a&&ellant faces the
su&reme &enalty of death )t is our &olicy that in a death &enalty case, the Court cannot rush to Cudgment even
when a des&ica8le homicidal felon is involved for an erroneous conviction will have a lasting stain in our escutcheon
of Custice =People vs Alicundo, 271 !CR- 29# I1997J>
-t this instance, the defense, now as re&resented 8y the 9u8lic -ttorneyDs +Bce =9-+>, contends that at the
time of the incident, accused"a&&ellant was su/ering from a chronic mental disorder, otherwise @nown
as schizophrenia, which is characteriAed 8y a &ersonDs ina8ility to distinguish 8etween fantasy and reality and is
often accom&anied 8y hallucinations and delusions ='ncyclo&edia and *ictionary of .edicine and Nursing, Miller-
eane, & $6: cited in the Brief for the -ccused"-&&ellant, & 6#, Rollo>
-ccused"a&&ellantDs defense of insanity is anchored on the testimony of *r -ntonio ,a&ha who treated his
wound !aid doctor testi%ed that contrary to accused"a&&ellantDs claim that *anilo shot him, he did not %nd any
entrance for the alleged gunshot wound The doctor said that a wound caused 8y a #$ cali8er slug will not result in
a &rola&se, that is, the intestines sli&&ing out of the usual &lace )n the words of the defense, this F8elied the
testimony of accused"a&&ellant that his stomach had a &rola&se and instead 8olstered the testimony of the
&rosecution witness that accused"a&&ellant tried to @ill himself with a long 8oloG =Brief for the -ccused"-&&ellant &
6#,Rollo> -s further &roof of insanity, the defense cites accused"a&&ellantDs gruesome act of suc@ing Jerry
TeCamoDs 8lood after he had mercilessly sta88ed the 8oy to death
)nsanity is a defense in the nature of confession and avoidance, and as such must 8e &roved 8eyond
reasona8le dou8t =People vs. A!bal, 1:: !CR- #7I19$:J> )n considering the &lea of insanity as a defense in a
criminal &rosecution, the starting &remise is that the law &resumes all &ersons to 8e of sound mind, or otherwise
stated, the law ta@es for granted that acts are done consciously )nsanity 8eing the e?ce&tion rather than the rule in
the human condition, Fthe moral and legal &resum&tion is that freedom and intelligence constitute the normal
condition of a &erson and that a felonious or criminal act =delicto deloso> has 8een done with deli8erate intent, that
is, with freedom, intelligence and maliceG and that whoever, therefore, invo@es insanity as a defense has the
8urden of &roving its e?istence =People vs. Alde!ita, 1;7 !CR- ;71 I19$7J citing -rticle $::, Civil CodeH "S vs.
Martinez, #; 9hil #:7, #:$ I1916JH People vs. #ruz, 1:9 9hil 2$$, 292 I196:JH People vs. Tagasa, 6$ 9hil 1;7, 17#
I19#9JH "S vs. Guevarra, 27 9hil 7;7 I191;JH People vs. Renegado, 77 !CR- 277, 2$6 I197;JH "S vs. $a!ora, #2
9hil 21$ I1917JH People vs. %ascos, ;; 9hil 2:; I192#J>
)n the case at 8ar, the defense regretta8ly failed to discharge its 8urden of &roving that accused"a&&ellant was
insane at the time of the commission of the crime The only intimation of insanity that accused"a&&ellant could
&oint at is the non-!edical opinion of the 9-+ that accused"a&&ellant was su/ering from schizophrenia 8ecause he
si&&ed his victimDs 8lood and tried to @ill himself afterwards No medical certi%cate was &resented to su8stantiate
the claim of insanity No testimony was &ro/ered to su&&ort the allegation 1e are not aware that the 9-+ now has
the e?&ertise, more so the authority, to diagnose its clients of their mental condition 1hile we agree that suc@ing
JerryDs 8lood and sta88ing oneDs self in the stomach are not acts e?&ected of a normal &erson, we, however, have to
8e careful in distinguishing 8etween insanity and &assion or eccentricity, mental wea@ness or mere de&ression
resulting from some &hysical ailment The !tate should guard against sane murderers esca&ing &unishment
2
through a general &lea of insanity =People vs. So, 2;7 !CR- 7:$ I1997J& People vs. 'ungo, 199 !CR- $6: I1991J
citing People vs. %onoan, 6; 9hil $7H see also People vs. A!bal, supra>
1e do not discount the &ossi8ility that accused"a&&ellant may have Flost his mindG a(ter @illing the 6"year old
Jerry as manifested 8y his slur&ing of the 8oyDs 8lood and his attem&t to commit suicide 2owever, for insanity to
8e a&&reciated as an e?em&ting circumstance, it must 8e &resent immediately 8efore or at the very moment the
crime is committed, and not thereafter 1e do not 8elieve that accused"a&&ellant was insane when he @illed Jerry
and hac@ed *anilo 8efore attem&ting to ta@e his own life To reiterate, no iota of evidence was &resented to &rove
the same Kerily, the defense of insanity was not even raised during the trial of the case )t is invo@ed only now on
a&&eal, giving us the im&ression that it is 8ut an afterthought
-nd now to the &ro&riety of the &enalty im&osed
The trial court cited the following as the attendant circumstances that Euali%ed the @illing of Jerry TeCamo to
murder, or aggravated the same, to wit0
1 Bad 8lood e?isted 8etween the family of the accused and the com&lainantDs father"in"law due to a land dis&ute &rior
to the incident therefore &remeditation e?istH
2 Treachery " the sudden and une?&ected attac@ 8y the accused against unarmed minor who is 6 years old without
any means to defend himself and the suddenness and une?&ectedness of the attac@ =Pp. vs. Molato, 4R No
666#;, 29 3e8ruary 19$9H Pp. vs. #anzano, 97 !CR->H
# The @illing of the victim Jerry TeCamo, a minor 6 year old child constitutes an aggravating circumstance There is
treachery when an adult illegally attac@s a child of tender years and causes his death =".S. vs %utag, #$ 9hil 7;6>
=& ;#, Rollo.>
and having earlier e?&lained that L
The 8rutal and senseless @illing of Jerry TeCamo, a 6 year old child manifest accusedDs &erversity and callousness
as a cold 8looded murderer and 8rings him to fore as a heinous criminal under Re& -ct 7679 which de%nes heinous
as a grievous, odious and hateful o/ense 8y reason of their inherent or manifest wic@edness, viciousness, atrocity
and &erversity and re&ugnant and outrageous to the common standard and norms of decency and morality in a Cust
civiliAed and orderly society This is the @ind of man the accused is
=& ;2, Rollo.>
meted out on accused"a&&ellant the su&reme &enalty of death in Criminal Case No TC!"2#$1
1e aBrm the %nding of the trial court that treachery attended the @illing of the 6"year old Jerry TeCamo for
when an adult &erson illegally attac@s a child of tender years and causes his death, treachery e?ists = People vs.
Sancholes, 271 !CR- 727 I1997JH see alsoPeople vs. #aritativo, 276 !CR- 1 I1996J>
The trial court, however, erred in %nding that evident &remeditation attended the commission of the
crime The following reEuisites must concur 8efore evident &remeditation may 8e a&&reciated0 =a> the time when
the accused determined to commit the crimeH =8> an act manifestly indicating that the accused had clung to his
determinationH and =c> suBcient la&se of time 8etween such determination and e?ecution to allow him to reMect
u&on the conseEuences of his act =People vs Magno, 26: !CR- #:: I1996J> 2ere, the &rosecution omitted or
failed to &resent any evidence to show any, much less, all of the a8ove elements The 8ad 8lood that allegedly
e?ists 8etween accused"a&&ellantDs family and the in"laws of *anilo TeCamo, JerryDs father, does not, in any way,
&rove evident &remeditation
)t was thus treachery that Euali%ed the @illing of Jerry TeCamo to murder 2owever, there 8eing neither an
aggravating nor a mitigating circumstance, the ma?imum &enalty of death im&osed 8y the trial court must 8e
reduced to the indivisi8le &enalty of reclusion perpetua in line with our decisions in People vs. Magno, supra,
and People vs. )ucas, =2;: !CR- 66 I1997J> where we e?&lained that if there are neither aggravating nor mitigating
circumstances, then the crime, although falling under Re&u8lic -ct No 7679, will not 8e &unished 8y death 8ut 8y
the lesser &enalty of reclusion perpetua
-nent the &enalty im&osed in Criminal Case No TC!"2#$2, the +Bce of the !olicitor 4eneral correctly o8serves
that the crime committed 8y accused"a&&ellant in sta88ing *anilo TeCamo constituted only attem&ted homicide
3
since the wounds su/ered 8y *anilo were not life threatening -rticle 27# of the Revised 9enal Code &rovides the
&enalty of reclusion te!poral for the crime of homicide 5nder -rticle 71 of the Revised 9enal Code, the &enalty for
an attem&ted crime is two degrees lower than that &rescri8ed 8y law -ttem&ted homicide is thus &unisha8le
8y prision correccional -&&lying the )ndeterminate !entence (aw, the minimum &enalty to 8e meted out on
accused"a&&ellant should 8e anywhere within the range of one =1> month and one =1> day to si? =6> months
of arresto !ayor, and the ma?imum should 8e ta@en from the medium &eriod of prision correccional =-rt 6;, &ar 1>
the range of which is two =2> years, four =;> months and one =1> day, to four =;> years and two =2>
months Considering that no aggravating or mitigating circumstance attended the commission of the -ttem&ted
2omicide, the accused"a&&ellant shall 8e sentenced to an indeterminate &rison term of two =2> months and one =1>
day of arresto !ayor as minimum, to two =2> years, four =;> months and one =1> day of prision correccional medium
as ma?imum
'HEREFORE, the a&&ealed decision is here8y .+*)3)'*, %nding accused"a&&ellant 45)(T, of .5R*'R in
Criminal Case No TC!"2#$1 and sentencing him to su/er the reduced &enalty of R*#)"S+,- P*RP*T"A 2e is
li@ewise ordered to indemnify the &arents of the victim the sum of 3ifty Thousand =97:,:::::> 9esos and to &ay
actual damages in the amount of 3orty Thousand =9;:,:::::> 9esos )n Criminal Case No TC!"2#$2, accused"
a&&ellant is found guilty of -TT'.9T'* 2+.)C)*' instead and sentenced to two =2> months and one =1> day
of arresto !ayor, as minimum, to two =2> years, four =;> months, and one =1> day of prision correcional, as
ma?imum
SO ORDERED.
'avide, .r., #..., Ro!ero, %ellosillo, Puno, Vitug, apunan, Mendoza, /uisu!bing, Purisi!a,
Pardo, Gonzaga-Reyes, and 0nares-Santiago, ..., concur.
Panganiban, and %uena, ..., on leave
G.R. No. 1()69* M+ 2,, 2--(
PEOPLE OF THE PHILPPINES, a&&ellee,
vs
RANDY .ELONIO + LANDAS, a&&ellant
*'C)!)+N
PER &/RIAM0
3or automatic review 8efore this Court is the *ecision1 of the Regional Trial Court =RTC> of Negros +ccidental
=Branch 7: stationed in Bacolod City> in Criminal Case No ::"2:797, dated 3e8ruary 26, 2::1, %nding Randy
Belonio y (andas guilty 8eyond reasona8le dou8t of the crime of .urder and sentencing him to death
The -mended )nformation dated -&ril 27, 2:::, charged a&&ellant with .urder as follows0
NThat on or a8out the 6th day of January, 2:::, in the City of Talisay, 9rovince of Negros +ccidental, 9hili&&ines, and
within the Curisdiction of this 2onora8le Court, the a8ove"named accused, armed with an im&rovised @nife, with
intent to @ill, and with treachery and evident &remeditation, did then and there wilfully, unlawfully and feloniously
attac@, assault and sta8 one R-., T-.-,+, thus causing inCuries in the vital &arts of the 8ody of the latter which
caused his instantaneous death
NThat accused R-N*, B'(+N)+ y (-N*-! is a recidivist for having 8een convicted 8y %nal Cudgment of ; years, two
=2> months, one day to si? years in Crim Case 9;"166:9 entitled0 9eo&le of the 9hili&&ines vs Randy Belonio y
(andas for 2omicideN2
5&on his arraignment on .ay 2;, 2:::,# a&&ellant, assisted 8y his counsel de o1cio, &leaded not guilty
)n his Brief,; the !olicitor 4eneral narrates the factual antecedents of the case, as summariAed 8y the trial court, as
follows0
NJennifer Caram&atana testi%ed that on January 6, 2:::, her grandmother was 8uried and there was a wa@e in their
house at Brgy Oone 1; in the evening 2er %rst cousin, the late Ramy Tamayo, also called Ramon Tamayo, arrived in
their house at a8out 1:0:: 9. together with his wife
NJennifer invited Ramy to tal@ outside of their house Before they could sit on a near8y 8ench, Ramy decided to 8uy
cigarettes from a store only a few meters away The store was furnished with a small o&ening for the store"@ee&er to
attend to the customers and Ramy was occu&ying that s&ace in front of the o&ening to &ay when the accused
Randy Belonio arrived Randy tried to force his way in front of the o&ening and as a conseEuence, he 8um&ed on
Ramy Jennifer saw that Randy gave Ramy a long and hard loo@
4
NJennifer said that he and Ramy sat and tal@ed on the 8ench The accused came over and sat on the other end of
the 8ench Then the accused as@ed Ramy for the latterDs cigarette lighter The accused as@ed Ramy from what
&lace did he come from and why was he there Ramy answered the accused in a normal manner
NThe accused left 8ut after a few minutes he returned, Jennifer, who was facing the direction of the a&&roaching
accused, saw him and noticed that he was wearing long sleeves Ramy Tamayo could not see the accused as he
was facing sideways to Jennifer 1ithout saying a word and without warning, the accused delivered a sta88ing 8low
with a dagger which was concealed in his hand Ramy was hit on the right chest, Jennifer stood u& and ran towards
her house shouting for hel& There at the gate of the fence of her house, she heard another thudding sound of a
sta88ing 8low 1hen Jennifer entered her house, she announced that Ramy was sta88ed
NJennifer and her relatives rushed out of the house Jennifer saw the accused running away towards the 8ac@ of the
8arangay hall The Tanods who came over failed to %nd the accused Then when the Barangay Ca&tain and the
&olicemen arrived, Jennifer informed them of the direction towards which the accused Med The accused was
arrested from one =1> of the houses near the 8arangay hall where he too@ refuge
N*r Raul K 9ama, Jr was the acting City 2ealth +Bcer of Talisay City on January 6, 2::: 2e conducted an auto&sy
on the remains of Ramy Tamayo and listed his %ndings in a necro&sy re&ort which he &re&ared These %ndings are
as follows0
P1 !ta88ed wound, 17 cm in length, sutured shar& on one =1> and =inferior &ortion> and 8lunt on the other end
=su&erior &ortion> located at the ;th intercostal s&aceH
P*r 9ama e?&lained that the wound is Cust a8ove the left ni&&le and it &enetrated downward hitting the left side on
the heartH
P2 !ta88ed wound at the sternal The wound is situated Cust a8ove the site of the %rst woundD
PThe %rst wound was fatal as it damaged the heartDN7
)n his Brief,6 Randy Belonio ado&ted the a8ove %ndings of the trial court and the &rosecution 2owever, he raises
the defense of insanity, an e?em&ting circumstance, and for such &ur&ose, de&ends on the e?&ert assessment of
his witness, *r -ntonio 4auAon, who certi%ed thus0
NThis is an individual who is su/ering from =!chiAo&hrenia>, Chronic 5ndi/erentiated and &ro8a8ly triggered 8y
=s>u8stance a8use of !ha8u and .ariCuana
NRecommending treatment and reha8ilitation in a mental institution li@e the National Center for .ental =2>ealth in
.andaluyong City or treatment in the &sychiatric unit of the CoraAon (ocsin .onteli8ano Regional 2os&ital in
Bacolod City and later reha8ilitation in the Negros =+>ccidental .ental 2ealth Center at 9aglaum Killage, Bacolod
CityN7
The RTC was convinced 8eyond reasona8le dou8t that a&&ellant was guilty of .urder and that he had full control of
his mental faculties )t held that the testimony of *r 'ster Regina !ervando was more weighty and credi8le than
that of *r 4auAon$
The trial court convicted a&&ellant, thus0
N3+R -(( T2' 3+R'4+)N4, the Court %nds the accused Randy Belonio y (andas 45)(T, 8eyond reasona8le dou8t of
the crime of .urder de%ned and &enaliAed under -rticle 2;$ of the Revised 9enal Code as charged in the
)nformation, as 9rinci&al 8y *irect =9artici&ation> with the Eualifying aggravating circumstance of treachery and the
s&ecial aggravating circumstance of recidivism There are no other aggravating circumstances nor is there any
mitigating circumstance -ccordingly, the accused is sentenced to su/er the su&reme &enalty of *'-T2
NThe accused is held civilly lia8le to &ay the heirs of Randy Tamayo the following amounts0
N1 The sum of 97:,::::: as death indemnityH
N2 The sum of 9#,6297: as reim8ursement for hos&ital e?&ensesH
N# The sum of 99;:,716:: as com&ensatory damagesH and
N; The sum of 91::,::::: in favor of .rs Jin@y Tamayo as moral damagesN9
2ence this automatic review
)n his 8rief, a&&ellant assigns this lone alleged error of the court a Euo for our consideration0
NThe trial court seriously erred in not a&&reciating the e?em&ting circumstance of insanity &ursuant to -rticle 12 of
the Revised 9enal Code, as amended favoring the accused"a&&ellantN1:
)n su&&ort of his a&&eal, a&&ellant argues that he was not in his right and normal frame of mind when the @illing
too@ &lace 2e avers that no normal &erson would ever 8um& another &erson, give the latter a hard loo@ and
eventually sta8 him to death 2e adds that he and the victim did not @now each other at that time11
5
-&&ellant also asseverates that *r 4auAon is a relia8le e?&ert witness and is more @nowledgea8le and e?&erienced
than *r !ervando12 2e e?&lains that *r !ervando was once under the tutelage of *r 4auAon and that at the time
of their res&ective testimonies, the former was only #7 years old, while the latter was 77 years old1# -&&ellant also
cites &ortions of the trial courtDs *ecision where *r 4auAon referred him to the Bacolod City 2ealth +Bce for
&sychiatric e?amination The trial court also 8randed the accused as a homicidal maniac, which a&&ellant says, is
Cudicial notice of his mental sic@ness1; )n sum, he concludes that all of these circumstances show that he was
insane at the time of the @illing
1e %nd these arguments without merit
The moral and legal &resum&tion is that one acts with free will and intelligence, and that a felonious or criminal act
has 8een done with deli8erate intent, that is, with freedom and intelligence17 1hoever, therefore, invo@es insanity
as a defense has the 8urden of &roving its e?istence
)nsanity is a defense in the nature of confession and avoidance, and as such must 8e adeEuately &roved16 The law
&resumes that all &ersons are of sound mind, and that acts are done consciously17
)n the case at 8ar, the defense utterly failed to discharge its 8urden of &roving that a&&ellant was insane The
testimony or &roof of a&&ellantDs insanity must relate to the time &receding or the very moment of the commission
of the o/ense charged1$ 1e %nd the evidence adduced 8y the defense sorely insuBcient to esta8lish his claim
that he was insane at the time he @illed Tamayo
The main circumstances &resented 8y the defense that remotely evinces that a&&ellant was insane at that time was
his act of 8um&ing the victim, without any a&&arent reason, giving him a long hard loo@, and then eventually
sta88ing him 2owever, this seEuence of events cannot overcome the legal &resum&tion of sanity, let alone &rove
a&&ellantDs insanity
)n the eyes of the law, insanity e?ists when there is a com&lete de&rivation of intelligence in committing the act
9roof of the e?istence of some a8normality of the mental faculties will not e?clude im&uta8ility, if it can 8e shown
that the o/ender was not com&letely de&rived of freedom and intelligence19 -s culled from the trial courtDs
%ndings, Belonio, after giving the victim a hard and resentful loo@, sat near the latter, lighted his cigarette and
conversed with him2: -fterwards, he left and came 8ac@ armed with a dagger with which he sta88ed Tamayo
)mmediately thereafter, he esca&ed and went into hiding Contrary to a %nding of the e?istence of insanity, these
acts tend to esta8lish that Belonio was well aware of what he had Cust committed, and was ca&a8le of distinguishing
right from wrong +therwise, he would not have attem&ted to esca&e and go into hiding
-side from the N8um&ingN incident earlier discussed, the only other evidence of insanity that a&&ellant could
relevantly &oint to is the medical certi%cate &re&ared 8y *r -ntonio 4auAon stating that Belonio was su/ering from
schiAo&hrenia This witness was &resented to refute the %ndings of the &rosecutionDs e?&ert witness *r 'ster Regina
!ervando which negated the e?istence of this mental condition
- run"through of *r 4auAonDs testimony strengthens this CourtDs resolve to aBrm the lower courtDs %ndings 9art of
his testimony is re&roduced as follows0
N-TT, J-C)(*+0
Q Now, from this .edical Certi%cate, *octor, there is s&eci%cally mentioned here that the su8Cect here Pwas found
to 8e incoherent and irrelevant and disoriented as to time, &erson and &lace, and that there was &light of ideas and
adCustment, as well as insightsD 1ill you @indly e?&lain this to this 2onora8le CourtR
- 1hat meant there is that, when you tal@ to the individual, sometimes you get answers right, sometimes it is
wrong That is when you say that he is incoherent 1hen you say irrelevant, that &ertain to the Euestion Now, as
far as dates, he could not remem8er the date -s far =as> the &lace, he could not recall the &lace when he was in my
oBce -nd some of the &ersons that were with him, he could not identify them Now, when ) say that there was
&light of ideas, that =was> when he was tal@ing -s a matter of fact, ) gave an e?am&le, when ) as@ed a Euestion S
when ) as@ed him a8out the %rst @illing incident and his answer was, Pface to face @ami, sim8ahan namon @ag
inagaw namon ang 8arilD 8ecause of warshi& That is only one, 8ecause there were others that you could not
understand what he was tal@ing a8out whether you have to rely only on other things -nd sometimes, he would tal@
on things which are not there That means he was hallucinating Now, Cudgment is usually &oor Because, when )
as@ed him of what he will do regarding the case, he would Cust say that, PTi, a!o na yaD -nd he said, PAno 2a!o da
ya34 2ay ang 5arship !o, ) was as@ing him a8out the values of what he was doing and he could not give me that
answer -nd he does not @now what he was doing That means that there was no reality testing 2e does not @now
what is the real fantasy
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Q Now in your o&inion as an e?&ert in terms of 9sychiatry, a8out how long has the su8Cect, Randy Belonio, 8een
su/ering from his mental disorder that you mentioned in your .edical Certi%cateR
- !ince childhood )f you would notice, ) &ut there in the history that his father was medically disa8led when he was
ten =1:> years old, and the mother was only a %sh vendor and there were, ) thin@, eight =$> to ten =1:> in the family
6
and with a meager income and have to =fend> for themselves -nd in a very young age of ten =1:>, the &arents had
the attitude of PBahala na ang @a8ata"anD That means, they have to ta@e care of themselves -t age 1#, he was
8rought 8y the relative to .anila, and although he was incoherent, you can get from his answer 8y mentioning so
many &laces, =li@e> .anila, 9asay, Caloocan, Novaliches, .RT, Cu8ao That means, at age 1#, he was already around
these areas =f>ending for himself -nd the =s>treet =u>rchins, you @now for a fact, that they are inMuenced 8y drugs
!o, 8y that time, with that dysfunctional family, and without any family to ta@e care of himself, he was not doing
what the society e?&ects him to do !o that they have dysfunctional family and with dysfunctional relatives !o, the
value system was really &oor !o that the thin@ing &rocess of this individual was not develo&ed to what the society
e?&ects him to 8e !o, it started at that time !o, when he was ta@ing sha8u, it triggered every tissue that the
sym&toms came out ThatDs why, he 8ecame sus&icious, =he> 8ecame irrita8le and any8ody who would try to not
8efriend him and tried to 8e angry with him, he would immediately sus&ect that something would ha&&en to him in
which he would react 8y defending himself, and &ro8a8ly 8y @illing This individual had, actually, committed, say,
@illing ) would not say murder 8ecause thatDs your term, 8ut he had @illed already three =#> &ersons in di/erent
years !o, he does not already @now what he was doing 8ecause he was &sychotic, which in your &arlance is insane
Q Now, *octor, on January 6, 2:::, and even &rior to this date, what you are trying to say is that, this su8Cect,
Randy Belonio, was already su/ering from schiAo&hreniaR
- ,esN21
*r 4auAon testi%ed that 8ased on his interview with Belonio on +cto8er 27, 2::: =around nine months a(ter the
sta88ing incident> the latter was su/ering from schiAo&hrenia 2owever, the evidence of insanity a(ter the fact of
commission of the o/ense may 8e accorded weight only if there is also &roof of alleged a8normal 8ehavior
immediately 8efore or simultaneous to the commission of the crime22
The %rst set of facts narrated 8y the doctor relates to BelonioDs condition during the interview, months after the
incident 2is re&ort was silent as regards the incidents occurring &rior to or during the circumstance for which
Belonio stands trial The second &art of his testimony dwelt on BelonioDs life history, which was o/ered to &rove that
he had 8een su/ering from his alleged condition since childhood
2owever, &erusing the story as narrated 8y the doctor, the same was a mere statement of BelonioDs life and family
history, e?&laining what 8rought a8out his su&&osed mental condition There was no showing that he was actually
su/ering from schiAo&hrenia during his Cuvenile years To demonstrate that he had 8een su/ering from this
condition, the doctor &ointed to the fact that he has already @illed three =#> &ersons, including the &resent incident
2owever, such conclusion is non se6uitur and, at 8est, a circuitous argument 3urther, the veracity of these %ndings
is 8elied 8y the fact that the accused did not raise this defense during his &rosecutions for the other @illings No
other circumstances evincing its e?istence were &resented during trial
3urthermore, *r 4auAonDs e?amination cannot surmount *r !ervandoDs &unctilious and overwhelming analysis,
which too@ two days to narrate !he e?&lained the history of the accused, including his family and medical
8ac@ground, conducted a mental status e?amination, which was 8ased on her direct interviews with him, and gave
a series of other written &sychological e?aminations2#
The &ortion of *r !ervandoDs testimony &ertinent to her %ndings regarding BelonioDs mental condition is Euoted as
follows0
N3)!C-( -4R-K)-*+R0
Q Can you &lease read for the record this =r>esult which consist only of one =1> sentenceR
- 9sychiatric 'valuation Result Base=d> on history, mental status e?amination, and &sychological e?amination,
&atient was noted to 8e evasive, sus&icious, and mani&ulative 8ut no &sychotic features were o8served u&on
evaluation ? ? ?
Q !o, let us %rst, may ) as@, what do you me=a>n 8y P&atient was noted to 8e evasive, sus&icious, and
mani&ulativeDR
- -ctually, during the &sychological e?amination, we have to give series of Euestions -nd then the &atient =does>
not answer directly to our Euestion 2e would go around the 8ush -nd then, after that, we also found out during
the result of the &sychological e?amination that the same &attern was noted
Q *oes this mean that he was totally ca&a8le of 8eing mani&ulative or evasiveR
- ,es
Q 2e did it intentionallyR
- ,es
Q 1ith the @nowledge that he @new the answer 8ut does not want to give the answerR
- ,es
Q .eaning to say, that he has full control of his mental faculties that timeR
7
- ,es
Q Because there was an intention to 8e mani&ulative and there was an intention to 8e evasive 8ecause he was
sus&iciousR
- ,es
Q 1hen you said that there was no &sychotic features=,> ? ? ? =w>hat does this meanR
- 1hen you say &sychosis, those are com&oseIdJ of sym&toms such as delusion and hallucination that are 8eing
e?tracted from the &atient or 8eing dis&layed 8y the &atient 2owever, during the e?amination, the sym&tom or the
&atientDs answers are not enough to &ut him to a criteria of &sychosis 8ecause the delusion and the hallucination as
well as the thought &rocess, the thought contents must 8e concretiAed enough in order for us to determine to
diagnose that this &atient is actually su/ering from &sychosis
Q !o, su8Cected to your e?amination, this &atient did not come u& to the level where he could 8e diagnosed as
having delusion and hallucinationsR
- (eading to &sychotic features
Q !o, that is the meaning of not having &sychotic featuresR
- ,esN2;
The insanity issue raised 8y a&&ellant 8oils down to the credi8ility of these two e?&ert witnesses and their
res&ective testimonies The time"honored doctrine is that the Euestion of which witness to 8elieve is one 8est
addressed 8y the trial court The %ndings of fact of the Cudges who heard the evidence are accorded great res&ect
and are seldom distur8ed on a&&eal for they had the o&&ortunity to directly o8serve the witnesses, and to
determine 8y their demeanor on the stand the &ro8ative value of their testimonies27 The Court %nds no cogent
reason to distur8 the ruling of the trial court which found *r !ervandoDs testimony more credi8le for the following
reasons0
N1 )t could not 8e gainsaid that *r !ervando is a disinterested and un8iased witness !he does not @now the
accused and she is not @nown to the accused !he will not 8e 8ene%ted if the Court u&holds her %ndings and she
had no reason to testify falsely +n the other hand, *r 4auAon was admittedly &aid for his services, hence, it could
not 8e truly said that he is an im&artial and disinterested witness )f his %ndings =are> u&held, the 8ene%t to the
&ractice of his &rofession is enormousH
N2 -s a government oBcial, *r !ervando has the &resum&tion of regularity in the &erformance of her duty No such
&resum&tion arises in favor of *r 4auAonH
N# The %ndings of *r !ervando that the accused is evasive and mani&ulative is su&&orted 8y the CourtDs own
o8servation ? ? ?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
N; The conclusion of *r 4auAon is &rinci&ally 8ased on his interview with the accused and the mem8ers of the
accusedDs family )t was the mem8ers of the accusedDs family, the sister of the accused who informed *r 4auAon
that at the age of 1#, the accused 8egan to use drugs The information that the family of the accused was
im&overishedH that the accused s&ent his adolescence in .etro".anilaH that the accused was a neglected child were
all su&&lied 8y the @ins of the accused who were not &resented as witnesses There was no showing that *r 4auAon
too@ &recautionary ste&s to validate the information +n the other hand, *r !ervando also conducted interview of
the accused and his accom&anying relatives including the BJ.9 guard who escorted him )n addition, *r !ervando
conducted a series of written tests which are tailored to determine the mental ca&acity of a &erson The result of
the written tests con%rms the o8servation of *r !ervando in the interview that the accused is evasive and
mani&ulativeN26
5nli@e in other Curisdictions, 9hili&&ine courts have esta8lished a more stringent criterion for the acce&tance of
insanity as an e?em&ting circumstance )n our Curisdiction, mere a8normality of the mental faculties is not enoughH
there must 8e a com&lete de&rivation of intelligence in committing the act
'very individual is &resumed to have acted with com&lete gras& of oneDs mental faculties -&&ellantDs &ast does not
discredit the facts that =1> he did not act with com&lete a8sence of the &ower to discernH =2> he was not de&rived of
reasonH and =#> he was not totally de&rived of his will
-s held in People vs. Madarang,27
N-n accused invo@ing the insanity defense &leads not guilty 8y reason thereof 2e admits committing the crime 8ut
claims that he is not guilty 8ecause he was insane at the time of its commission 2ence, the accused is tried on the
issue o( sanity alone and i( (ound to be sane, a 7udg!ent o( conviction is rendered 5ithout any trial on the issue o(
guilt as he had already ad!itted co!!itting the cri!e ? ? ?N2$
)nasmuch as Belonio failed to &resent convincing evidence to esta8lish his alleged insanity at the time he sta88ed
Tamayo, we are constrained to aBrm his conviction
8
1e must add that we have meticulously reviewed the records of this case, es&ecially the evidence of the
&rosecution 1e %nd no reason to modify, much less reverse, the %ndings of the trial court that, indeed, a&&ellantDs
guilt for murder has 8een &roven 8eyond reasona8le dou8t
1e now loo@ into the &ro&riety of the &enalty im&osed 8y the trial court
5nder -rt 2;$ of the Revised 9enal Code, as amended 8y R- 7679, any &erson found guilty of murder shall 8e
&unished 8y reclusion perpetua to death The same Code further instructs that when in the commission of the crime
there is &resent an aggravating circumstance which is not o/set 8y any mitigating circumstance, the greater
&enalty shall 8e a&&lied29
- review of the records su&&orts the conclusion of the trial court on the &resence of treachery, which Euali%ed the
crime to murder 3or treachery to 8e a&&reciated, two elements must concur0 =1> the means of e?ecution em&loyed
gave the &erson attac@ed no o&&ortunity to defend himself or retaliateH and =2> the means of e?ecution was
deli8erately or consciously ado&ted#:
)n the &resent case, Jennifer Caram&atana testi%ed on how the @illing was e?ecuted, as follows0
NQ 1hat did you do thereR
- 1hile we were conversing at that 8ench, after a short while, or %ve =7> minutes, Randy Belonio came and he
as@ed to light his cigarette 8ecause Ramy was smo@ing at that time 2e was allowed 8y Ramy to light his cigarette
Q 1as there any conversation 8etween Ramy Tamayo and Randy Belonio aside from as@ing lighting of cigaretteR
- 1hile as@ing to light the cigarette, Randy inEuired from Ramy why he was there, Ramy told him that he is
attending the wa@e of his grandmother 3urther, Randy as@ed him where he came fromR -nd Ramy answered that
he is from 2da Bu8og
Q -fter that what did Randy Belonio do if he did anythingR
- 2e =sat> for a while, and a little while after that, he too@ a loo@ at Ramy -fter some minutes, he went out
Q -nd after few minutes was there any incident ha&&enedR
- -fter three =#> minutes Randy went 8ac@ 2e Cust wal@ normally, and when he was near Ramy he sta88ed Ramy
hitting on the chest and while the wea&on was still on the 8reast of Ramy ) stood u& and ran away
Q 3rom what direction did Randy came when he a&&roach youR
- 2e came from their house 8ecause their house is near our house
Q )n relation to you, where is this house locatedR
- 1itness indicating that he came from her side, where the house is situated
Q -nd which side did you sit, the side near the direction of the house of Randy Belonio or far from the house of
BelonioR
- The other side
C+5RT0
)t was Ramy who was sitting near the house of RamyR
1)TN'!!0
- ,es, sir
-99 -4R-K)-*+R0
Q -nd what was the &osition of Ramy Tamayo when he was suddenly sta8
- 2e was sitting in this manner
C+5RT )NT'R9R'T'R0
1itness illustrating 8y crossing her legs over the other legs and move slightly her 8ody was in side way
-99 -4R-K)-*+R0
Q That means that Ramy Tamayo did not see Randy Belonio who was coming from the houseR
- ,es, .aDam
C+5RT0
(et me interru&t 2e was facing youR Ramy was facing you while you were facing the direction where the house of
Randy Belonio, so that Ramy was facing on the other sideR
9
1)TN'!!0
- ,es, sir
C+5RT0
9roceed
-99 -4R-K)-*+R0
Q 1hen Randy Belonio suddenly thrust the @nife on the chest of Ramy Tamayo, did you see the reaction of Ramy
TamayoR
- 2e was not a8le to move -fter that, ) want to ran to the house
-99 -4R-K)-*+R0
Q 1hen for the %rst time did you see the wea&on used 8y Randy Belonio in ta@ing the life of Ramy TamayoR
- 1hen he thrusted that @nife
C+5RT0
Before or after he delivered the sta88ing 8lowR
- -t the moment he delivered the sta88ing 8low, that was the %rst time ) saw that @nife
-99 -4R-K)-*+R0
Q 1hen you saw Randy Belonio a&&roaching Ramy Tamayo ? ? ?, you did not see the @nifeR
- Because he was wearing long sleeve to cover his handN#1
-&&ellantDs acts of leaving, then returning after a few minutes armed with a @nife "" which he concealed while
a&&roaching the victim and which he used in sta88ing him "" while the latter was sitting, unaware and not
forewarned of any danger, manifest a deli8erate em&loyment of means to ensure the @illing without ris@ to himself
arising from the defense which the victim might ma@e
The aggravating circumstance of recidivism, which was alleged in the )nformation was also duly &roven N-
recidivist is one who at the time of his trial for one crime, shall have 8een &reviously convicted 8y %nal Cudgment of
another crime em8raced in the same title of this CodeN#2 The records## show that a&&ellant was &reviously
convicted 8y %nal Cudgment of 2omicide, which li@e .urder, falls under the title of NCrimes against 9ersonsN
The award 8y the court a Euo of 97:,::: as civil indemnity is in accordance with Curis&rudence#; The amount
of927,::: as e?em&lary damages should also 8e given 8ecause of the &resence of the aggravating circumstance of
recidivism 2owever, the court erred in awarding the amount of 99;:,716 as loss of earning ca&acity )n
Naccordance with the formula ado&ted 8y the Court in Villa Rey Transit, +nc. vs. #A =#1 !CR- 711 I197:J>, and using
the -merican '?&ectancy Ta8le of .ortality,N#7 the loss of TamayoDs earning ca&acity is to 8e com&uted as follows0
Net earning ca&acity T (ife e?&ectancy ? =4ross -nnual )ncome S (iving '?&enses>
where0 (ife e?&ectancy T 2U# =$: S the age of the deceased>
T 2U# =$:"2;> ? I=92::?#67>" 9#6,7::J
T 91,#62,7;7
The award for loss of earning ca&acity should therefore 8e 91,#62,7;7
There 8eing testimonial evidence in su&&ort of moral damages, an award for it is &ro&er 2owever, it should 8e
reduced to the more reasona8le amount of 97:,::: considering that it is not meant to enrich an inCured &arty
-ctual damages for the hos&ital e?&enses in the amount of 9#,6277: were duly su&&orted 8y recei&ts 2owever
instead of awarding actual damages, we grant tem&erate damages in accordance with People vs. Andres,#6where
the Court said0
NI1Je declared in the case of People vs. Villanueva that0
PV when actual damages &roven 8y recei&ts during the trial amount to less than 927,:::, as in this case, the award
of tem&erate damages for 927,::: is Custi%ed in lieu of actual damages of a lesser amount Conversely, if the
amount of actual damages &roven e?ceeds 927,:::, then tem&erate damages may no longer 8e awardedH actual
damages 8ased on the recei&ts &resented during trial should instead 8e grantedD
NThe victimDs heirs should, thus, 8e awarded tem&erate damages in the amount of 927,:::N#7
Three Justices of the Court maintain their &osition that R- No 7679 is unconstitutional insofar as it &rescri8es the
death &enalty Nevertheless they su8mit to the ruling of the maCority that the law is constitutional and the death
&enalty can 8e lawfully im&osed in the case at 8ar
10
'HEREFORE, the assailed *ecision in Criminal Case No ::"2:797 convicting the a&&ellant of the crime of murder
and sentencing him to DEATH is AFFIRMED The award for loss of earning ca&acity is INCREASED to91,#62,7;7H
moral damages is REDCED to 97:,:::H actual damages is DE!ETED 8ut tem&erate damages of927,::: and
e?em&lary damages of 927,::: are awarded
)n accordance with !ection 27 of R- 7679 amending !ection 2# of the Revised 9enal Code, let the records of this
case 8e forthwith forwarded, u&on %nality of this decision, to the +Bce of the 9resident for &ossi8le e?ercise of the
&ardoning &ower
Costs against a&&ellant
SO ORDERED.
11