People Of The Philippines v. Bechayda

Republic of the Philippines SUPREME COURT Manila THIRD DIVISION G.R. No. 72001 August 7, 1992 THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. ROMEO BECHAYDA, accused-appellant. The Solicitor General for plaintiff-appellee. Dakila F. Castro & Asscociates for accused-appellant.

GUTIERREZ, JR ., J.: The accused-appellant, claiming that reasonable In view of the foregoing considerations Reclusion Perpetua and to indemnify the heirs of the Rollo , p. 21) In Criminal Case No. 2719, the information which That on or about the 6th day of January,sic) from said ACTS CONTRARY TO LAW. Legazpi City, July 29, 1983.

(Rollo , p. 15) Upon arraignment on August 29, 1983, a plea of not de parte. The Solicitor-General in his brief gives a vivid to wit: On the fateful day of January 6, 1981 at about 5:00 o'clock in the afternoon, Divina At around 8:00 o'clock in the evening of Ibid.)Ibid).

He heard Rodolfo telling his two (2)Ibid.) Rodolfo Ibid.) Miguel proceeded to the house of As Miguel was about to leave the place, he Ibid.) As he was not able to sleep that night, Miguel went home to Legazpi City the following Ibid.) Earlier in the morning of said date, at Ibid.) Meanwhile Sgt. Rolando Victoria, the Lourdes Balute, a daughter of Eleuterio,Ibid.) Upon the Rollo , p. 24) The autopsy reports aforementioned contain the Re: NORRIS MARQUEZ Y UY, around 10 years old 1.

The corpse was already at the state 2. With hacked wound at the base of the 3. Lacerated wound (R) leg lateral CAUSE OF DEATH: Acute hypovolimia 20 degrees to Re: MARIA LAUDE ESCASA, around 57 years old 1.

The corpse was already at the state 2. The head was almost totally severed 3. Amputated (L) phalenges middle 4.

Amputated (R) thumb. CAUSE OF DEATH: Acute hypovolimia 20 degrees to Re: ELEUTERIO BILON, 61 years old 1. The corpse was already at the state 2.

The head was almost totally severed CAUSE OF DEATH: Acute hypovolimia 20 Re: AURELIO ESCASA, around 81 years old 1. The corpse was already in a state 2. Stabbed wound 3 inches in length (L)sic) CAUSE OF DEATH: Acute hypovolimia 20 degrees to The evidence for the defense which rests on alibi .

. . that the accused and his companion, Roman Rollo , p.

20) The trial court rejected the defense version ponente on March 2, 1992 interposes the following The lower court erred in: I GIVING CREDENCE AND RELYING ON THE II CONVICTING ACCUSED-APPELLANT FOR MURDER III NOT GIVING CREDENCE TO THE TESTIMONY OF Rollo , p. Anent the first assigned error, the Ibid. pp. 7-8); (3) according to prosecution Ibid., p.

8); (4) in Ibid., p. 10). The above inconsistencies are inadequate to Besides, the alleged inconsistencies can be readily (1) the apparent discrepancy with reference to the x x x x x x x x x Q Now, please relate to this Court how A When I was right at the door I saw Eleuterio Bilon already having a wound by the neck (witness by an action indicates Q What else did you see inside that room?

A Maria Escasa was crying . . .

. ATTY. BASE I would like the answer of the witness COURT Alright.

Put in on record. COURT INTERPRETER (continuing the A My stepmother Maria Escasa was weeping Q Which leg of Romeo Bechayda was being A Right leg. Q What else did you see?

A He kicked her and when she fell he hacked also on the leg. Q When you refer he you mean Romeo A Yes, Romeo. Q When you mentioned her you refer to Maria ATTY.

BASE Leading COURT Sustained. Q When you refer to Maria Escasa to whom A Maria Escasa, Your Honor. (Emphasis (2) there is no substantial difference between the (3) the alleged discrepancy as regards Maria i.e.

, lying down with her face upwards, and since her (4) the fact that prosecution eyewitness Avila (5) human experience shows that when one sees a Once again, we rule that: . . .

The averred inconsistency in the With respect to the testimonies that allegedly defy Ibid , p. 9); (3) Avila declared in court Ibid);Ibid., p. 10);Ibid., pp. 10-11); and (6) Divina Barcelon,Ibid., We are not persuaded by the accused-appellant's The trial court has weighed the evidence and has The oft-repeated aphorism that the appellate court will not disturb the factual findings of the trial court especially as to credibility of witnesses, as the latter is in a better position to decide said question, having heard the witnesses themselves and having observed their demeanor and manner of testifying during the trial, unless it has plainly overlooked certain facts of substance and value which, if considered might affect the result of the case (People v. Adones, 144 SCRA 364 ; People v. Patog, 144 SCRA 429 ; People v. Veloso, 148 SCRA 60 ; People v. Acelajado, 148 SCRA 142 ; People v. Alcid, 135 SCRA 280 ; People v. Lopez, 132 SCRA 188 deserves reiteration (People v. Joselito Villalobos, et al., G.R. No. 71526, May 27, 1992; see also People v. Rafael Acuram, G.R. Nos. 98423-24, May 22, 1992 citing People v. Lati, 184 SCRA 336 and People v. Payumo, 187 SCRA 64 ).

On the alleged failure of the prosecution's eyewitnesses to immediately report the killings in question, it is a fact of life that each person is so unique that different people register a variety of reactions when subjected to the same types of situations. (See People v. Biago, 182 SCRA 411 , citing People v. Niebres, 178 SCRA 114). Moreover, it is a matter of judicial notice that there is no standard form of behavior when one is confronted by a shocking occurrence like the hacking incident in the instant case which even included a four-year old boy and an eight-one year old man to whom marked sympathy is generally afforded on account of the former's very tender age and the latter's far advanced age.

(see People v. Ponce, 197 SCRA 746 ) citing People v. Salufrania, 159 SCRA 401 ). As regards the second assigned error, the accused-appellant impugns the holding made by the trial court We see no error in the trial court's finding that to wit : a) Few hours before the incident, b) Eyewitness Bertis saw the same trio c) When Rodolfo Belan stood up and went d) After Rodolfo hacked Eleuterio with e) When Avila's presence at the scene As we have held in the case of People v. Lorenzo, et al., (200 SCRA 201, 217 ): . .

. To prove conspiracy, the prosecution need not establish that all the parties thereto agreed to every detail in the execution of the crime or that they were actually together at all the stages of the conspiracy. It is enough that, from the individual acts of each accused, it may reasonably be deduced that they had a common plan to commit the felony (People v. Caitor, et al., 137 SCRA 761 ) Consequently, there is conspiracy as the With respect to the third assigned error, the Moreover, our pronouncement in the case of People vs. Carlos Villanueva (G.R. No. 94133, May 8, 1992) bears reiteration: .

. . it is important to stress that According to the accused-appellant in his direct Finally, we are in accord with the trial court's

WHEREFORE IN VIEW OF THE FOREGOING, the appealed SO ORDERED.

Feliciano, Bidin, Davide, Jr. and Romero, JJ., concur.