G.R. No.

117954 April 27, 2000

PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee,

QUISUMBING, J.

On appeal is the decision rendered on August 24, 1994, by the Regional Trial Court of Cagayan de
Oro City, Branch 22, in Criminal Case No. 91-1161, finding accused-appellant Orlando Acuram guilty
of murder.

On September 30, 1991, Assistant Provincial Prosecutor Benber Apepe charged appellant with the
crime of murder, allegedly committed as follows:

On June 29, 1991, at about 7:00 o'clock in the evening, at Poblacion, El Salvador; Misamis
Oriental, which is within the jurisdiction of the Honorable Court, the above-named accused,
with intent to kill and treachery did, then and there, wilfully, unlawfully and feloniously and
with the use of his armalite rifle, shoot at one Orlando1 Manabat who was just standing on
the highway waiting for a ride towards home, thus, hitting and wounding the latter on the
right leg or thigh, which caused his death the following day.

CONTRARY TO and in violation of Article 248, paragraph 1, of the Revised Penal Code. 2

Upon arraignment appellant, assisted by counsel, entered a plea of not guilty to the
charge.3 Thereafter, trial on the merits ensued. Subsequently, the trial court rendered judgment,
disposing as follows:

WHEREFORE, in the light of the foregoing facts, convincingly proved by the prosecution, the
accused, ORLANDO ACURAM, is hereby found guilty beyond reasonable doubt, of the crime
of MURDER, qualified by treachery, and is meted the penalty of reclusion perpetua and to
indemnify the heirs of the deceased ROLANDO MANABAT the jurisprudential sum of fifty
thousand (P50,000.00) pesos, without subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency and to
pay the cost of the suit.

SO ORDERED.4

The records disclose that on June 29, 1991, at around seven o'clock in the evening, Rolando
Manabat, Oscar Manabat, Bartolome Nabe, and Peterson Valendres, after the day's work,
proceeded to the market in El Salvador, Misamis Oriental, to buy fish. Since no fish was available at
that time, they decided to head for home instead. They went to the national highway, stood at the
right side facing east towards the direction of Cagayan de Oro City and waited for a ride there. They
flagged down an approaching passenger jeepney which, however, swerved dangerously towards
them. At this juncture, Rolando Manabat shouted at the jeep "Pesteng yawa-a kamo, Manligis man
kamo" (You devils, why did you try to run over us?). A passenger inside the jeepney shouted back
"Noano man diay, isog mo?" (Why? Are you brave?). Immediately thereafter, two gunshots rang out
in the air, accompanied by sparks coming from the front right side of the jeepney. Then Rolando
shouted, "Agay. I was shot." The vehicle did not stop but instead speeded towards the direction of
Cagayan de Oro City. Wounded on the right knee, Rolando was brought by his companions to the
Cagayan de Oro Medical Center. Later on, they were informed that Rolando needed blood
transfusion and so they transferred him at around 11:25 P.M. to the Northern Mindanao Regional
Hospital in the same city.

Upon arrival at the hospital, Rolando was examined by Dr. Ismael Naypa, Jr. The doctor found the
victim's blood pressure to be just forty over zero (40/0) and the victim's right leg was heavily
bandaged. He decided to operate on the victim when the latter's blood pressure stabilized. At about
5:00 A.M. the following day, the victim underwent surgery. Unfortunately, the victim died at around
11:00 A.M. Dr. Naypa later testified that the cause of Rolando's death was "secondary to huddle
respiratory syndrome secondary to blood loss, secondary to gunshot wounds", or briefly, massive
loss of blood due to gunshot wound. He stated that under normal circumstances, the wound would
not necessarily cause death but in this case where the wound transected the major part of the leg,
the wound was fatal. He clarified that the victim sustained only one gunshot wound which entered at
the front portion of the right knee and exited at the back of the right knee, causing two wounds. 5

The El Salvador police conducted investigation on the incident. It was discovered that appellant
Orlando Acuram, a policeman assigned with the 421st PNP Company based at San Martin,
Villanueva, Misamis Oriental, was among the passengers of the errant jeepney. He was seated at
the front, right side of the jeepney and was the only one among its passengers who was carrying a
firearm. Pending investigation, he was restricted to the camp effective July 1, 1991, upon orders of
his commanding officer, Major Rodolfo De La Piedra.6 Appellant was later surrendered by his
commanding officer to the custody of the court on the basis of the warrant of arrest issued by MCTC
Judge Evelyn Nery.7 On motion by the prosecution and without objection from the defense, the trial
court suspended appellant from the service and ordered his detention at the provincial jail. 8

During the trial, appellant admitted that he was on board the mentioned jeepney and had a gun at
that time but denied firing it. He claimed that it was impossible for him to fire his rifle during that time
since he was sitting at the front seat of the jeepney, sandwiched between the driver and the latter's
father-in-law. Moreover, he said that the rifle was locked and wrapped by his jacket and its barrel
was even pointed towards the driver. 9

The trial court found the version of the defense weak, self-serving and unreliable. On the basis of the
evidence presented by the prosecution, the court found appellant guilty as charged. Insisting on his
innocence, appellant readily filed his notice of appeal. 10 In his brief, appellant raises the following
errors allegedly committed by the trial court:

THE TRIAL COURT GRAVELY ERRED IN CONCLUDING THAT ACCUSED APPELLANT

II

THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN DECLARING THAT THE KILLING WAS ATTENDED BY THE
QUALIFYING CIRCUMSTANCE OF TREACHERY, GRANTING ARGUENDO THAT THE
ACCUSED APPELLANT IS GUILTY.

III
 THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN RULING THAT ACCUSED-APPELLANT IS THE
PERPETRATOR OF THE CRIME CHARGED, DESPITE THE FACT THAT ACCUSED WAS
NOT PROPERLY AND CONCLUSIVELY IDENTIFIED, AND THE ALLEGED WEAPON NOT
POSITIVELY TESTED.

IV

THAT THE TRIAL COURT GRAVELY ERRED IN DISREGARDING EVIDENCE POINTING

We shall take up in seriatim the challenges posed by appellant to the credibility and sufficiency of the
evidence for the prosecution. We shall also consider the weight and credibility of his defense.

To begin with, while appellant denies that he fled and hid after the shooting incident, we find that his
behavior proves otherwise. Appellant admits that he was at the scene of the crime at the time the
shooting happened. Considering that he is a law enforcement officer, the unusual incident should
have at least elicited his curiosity and he should have inquired about it. However, he chose to ignore
the incident and go his way. 12 That a policeman could display such indifference to a crime committed
in his presence is highly incredible. While it was true that he reported for duty the day after the
incident, the following day, he was ordered by his commanding officer restricted within the camp
pending investigation of the case. By this time, appellant must have learned that his commanding
officer had received a radio message and that he was already a suspect. As the trial court noted, no
superior officer will hold back from any of his men involved, such a grave charge. Despite these,
appellant did not present himself before the police in El Salvador, Misamis Oriental. Instead, he was
conveniently nowhere to be found.

Thus, appellant's first contention that he is entitled to the mitigating circumstance of voluntary
surrender, in our view, is quite untenable. The essence of voluntary surrender is spontaneity and the
intent of the accused to give himself up and submit himself unconditionally to the authorities either
because he acknowledges his guilt or he wishes to save them the trouble and expense necessarily
incurred in his search and capture. 13 In this case, it was appellant's commanding officer who
surrendered him to the custody of the court. Being restrained by one's superiors to stay within the
camp without submitting to the investigating authorities concerned, is not tantamount to voluntary
surrender as contemplated by law. The trial court is correct in not appreciating the mitigating
circumstance of voluntary surrender in appellant's favor.

On his second assignment of error, however, we find convincing merit. Appellant asserts that the
1wphi1

trial court erred in concluding that the killing was qualified by treachery. On this point, we agree. For
treachery to be considered an aggravating circumstance, there must be proof that the accused
consciously adopted a mode of attack to facilitate the perpetration of the killing without risk to
himself. 14 In this case, the shooting was done at the spur of the moment. As observed by the trial
court, the victim had shouted damning curses at the driver and the passengers of the jeepney. The
shooting was on instantaneous response to the cursing, as appellant correctly claimed. 15 Treachery
cannot be appreciated where the accused shot the victim as a result of a rash and impetuous
impulse rather than from a deliberate act of the will. 16

Thirdly, appellant contends that the trial court erred in ruling that he was the perpetrator of the crime.
He claims he was not conclusively identified and the alleged fatal weapon was not positively tested.
True, prosecution witnesses did not positively identify appellant as the one who fired the gun at the
victim. Nevertheless, direct evidence of the commission of the crime is not the only matrix where the
trial court may draw its conclusions and findings of guilt. 17 It is settled that conviction may be based
on circumstantial evidence provided that the following requisites must concur: (a) there is more than
one circumstance; (b) the facts from which the inferences are derived are proven; and (c) the
combination of all the circumstances is such as to produce a conviction beyond reasonable
doubt. 18 Circumstantial evidence could be of similar weight and probative value as direct evidence.
From direct evidence of a minor fact or facts, by a chain of circumstances the mind is led intuitively,
or by a conscious process of reasoning, towards a conviction that from said fact or facts some other
facts may be validly inferred. 19 No greater degree of certainty is required when the evidence is
circumstantial than when it is direct. In either case, what is required is that there be proof beyond
reasonable doubt that the crime was committed and that the accused committed the crime. 20

As noted by the trial court and the Solicitor General, the evidence for the prosecution is replete with
details, duly proven by the prosecution and to some extent by admissions of the defense, enough to
sustain the guilt of appellant. These are: (1) The appellant was a former member of the Philippine
Constabulary and, during the incident, was a member of the Philippine National Police. He was
skilled in handling firearms. (2) The appellant was issued a firearm (armalite rifle) by his command,
which he was then carrying with him before, during and after the incident; (3) At the particular date,
time and place of the incident, appellant was carrying his duly issued armalite rifle inside the jeepney
from where the gunfire came from. (4) The appellant was sitting on the extreme front-right-side of the
jeepney where the sparks of the gunbursts were seen and heard by the witnesses. (5) There were
no other persons with a rifle inside the jeepney except the appellant. (6) The empty shells of an
armalite rifle were recovered at the place where the fatal shooting occurred. (7) The appellant did not
go forward to the authorities to present himself until after a warrant of arrest was issued and, in fact,
until his actual arrest. 21

The aforecited circumstances taken together constitute an unbroken chain leading to a reasonable
conclusion that appellant, to the exclusion of others, was responsible for the victim's death. They
constitute proof beyond reasonable doubt that appellant was the perpetrator of the offense. It is the
height of desperation on appellant's part to insist that there should be an eyewitness to the precise
moment the shot was fired considering the sudden and completely unexpected shooting of the
victim. 22 Here, circumstantial evidence suffices.

Appellant's insistence on his innocence in view of the absence of paraffin and ballistic tests, in our
view, is far from convincing. Suffice it to state that even negative findings of the paraffin test do not
conclusively show that a person did not fire a gun. The absence of nitrates could be explained if a
person discharged a firearm with gloves on, or if he thoroughly washed his hands thereafter. 23

Lastly, in his attempt to exculpate himself, appellant blames the death of the victim on the lack of
prompt and proper medical attention given. He insists that the delay in giving proper medical
attendance to the victim constitutes an efficient intervening cause which exempts him from criminal
responsibility. This assertion is disingenuous, to say the least. Appellant never introduced proof to
support his allegation that the attending doctors in this case were negligent in treating the victim. On
the contrary, Dr. Ismael Naypa, Jr., testified that the attending doctor at the Cagayan de Oro Medical
Center tried his best in treating the victim by applying bandage on the injured leg to prevent
hemorrhage. He added that the victim was immediately given blood transfusion at the Northern
Mindanao Regional Hospital when the doctor found out that the victim had a very low blood
pressure. Thereafter, the victim's blood pressure stabilized. Then, the doctor operated the victim as
the main blood vessel of the victim's right leg was cut, thereby causing massive loss of blood. The
surgery was finished in three hours. Unfortunately, the victim died hours later. We cannot hold the
attending doctors liable for the death of the victim. The perceived delay in giving medical treatment
to the victim does not break at all the causal connection between the wrongful act of the appellant
and the injuries sustained by the victim. It does not constitute efficient intervening cause. The
proximate cause of the death of the deceased is the shooting by the appellant. It is settled that
anyone inflicting injuries is responsible for all the consequences of his criminal act such as death
that supervenes in consequence of the injuries. The fact that the injured did not receive proper
medical attendance would not affect appellant's criminal responsibility. The rule is founded on the
practical policy of closing to the wrongdoer a convenient avenue of escape from the just
consequences of his wrongful act. If the rule were otherwise, many criminals could avoid just
accounting for their acts by merely establishing a doubt as to the immediate cause of death. 24

To conclude, since the qualifying circumstance was not proved in this case, the crime committed is
only homicide, not murder. Under Article 249 of the Revised Penal Code, the applicable penalty for
homicide is only reclusion temporal. As there is neither aggravating nor mitigating circumstance
found by the trial court or shown after a review of the records, the penalty in this case shall be fixed
in its medium period of reclusion temporal, which ranges from a minimum of 14 years, 8 months and
1 day to a maximum of 17 years and 4 months. Further applying the Indeterminate Sentence Law,
the imposable penalty shall be within the range of prision mayor as a minimum to reclusion
temporal in its medium period as the maximum. The range of prision mayor is from 6 years and 1
day to 12 years. The span of reclusion temporal, medium, is from 14 years, 8 months and 1 day to
17 years and 4 months.

WHEREFORE, the assailed DECISION of the Regional Trial Court of Cagayan de Oro City, Branch
22, in Criminal Case No. 91-1161, is hereby MODIFIED. Appellant Orlando Acuram is hereby found
GUILTY of HOMICIDE and sentenced to suffer a prison term of 10 years of the medium period
of prision mayor, as minimum, to 15 years and 10 months and 1 day of the medium period
of reclusion temporal, as maximum, with accessory penalties provided by law, to indemnify the heirs
of the deceased Rolando Manabat in the amount of P50,000.00, without subsidiary imprisonment in
case of insolvency, and to pay the costs. 1wphi1.nt

SO ORDERED.