People v. Dela Cruz
G.R. No. 227997
October 16, 2019
FACTS:
The RTC
and CA convicted Ramir Joseph Eugenio for the crime of murder. The
accused-appellant and Ramir engaged in a fistfight inside the latter’s room.
Ronald rushed to the scene and found accused and Ramir blocking the door. As he
tried to open the door, Ronald saw Ramir lying in a pool of blood, with accused
holding a knife embedded on Ramir’s forehead. Petrified by the scene, Ronald
closed the door and sought help from the other occupants of the house but to no
avail. This prompted Ronald to go back to Ramir’s room where he wrestled the
knife from his uncle. Afterwards, he went to the ground floor of the house,
threw the knife underneath the washing machine and ran outside to seek help.
ISSUE:
Whether
or nor the CA erred in affirming the RTC.
HELD:
Yes. To
appreciate treachery, these elements must be present: 1.) at the time of attack, the victim was not in a position to defend
himself or to retaliate or escape and 2.) the accused consciously and
deliberately adopted the particular means, methods, or forms of attack employed
by him. Further, for treachery to be appreciated there must not be even the
slightest provocation on the part of the victim. However, from the
prosecution’s own version of the events, the victim loudly cursed at
accused-appellant for knocking on his door. As such, the victim had an inkling
that accused-appellant may resort to retaliatory measures. Hence, the stabbing
may have been triggered by the provocative actuations of the victim; an act
made on impulse or as a reaction to an actual or imagined provocation. In the
absence of clear and convincing evidence to prove the qualifying circumstance
of treachery, accused-appellant should be held liable for the crime of homicide
and no murder.
