People v. Likiran, G.R. No. 201858 Case Digest (Criminal Procedure)

People v.
Likiran
G.R. No. 201858, June 4, 2014
Pre-Trial
See: Rule 118 Section 1 (Pre-trial; Mandatory in Criminal Cases)
Rule 118 Section 2 (Rule 118 Section 2. Pre-trial agreement)
FACTS: The incident that led to the death of Sareno happened on the wee
hours of March 19, 2000 in Barangay Bugca-on, Lantapon, Bukidnon. It was
the eve of the town fiesta and a dance was being held at the basketball court.
Prosecution witnesses Dagangon, Mercado, and Goloceno testified that on
said night, they were at the dance together with Sareno at around 8:00 p.m.
After a few hours, while Mercado and Goloceno were inside the dance area,
Jerome Likiran, the accused's brother, punched Mercado on the mouth.
Goloceno was about to assist Mercado when he saw that Jerome was armed
with a short firearm while the accused was holding a hunting knife, so he
backed off. Dagangon and Sareno, who were outside the dance area, heard
the commotion. Afterwards, Jerome approached Sareno and shot him several
times. With Sareno fallen, the accused stabbed him on the back. It was
Dagangon who saw the incident first-hand as he was only three meters from
where Sareno was. Dagangon was able to bring Sareno to the hospital only
after Jerome and the accused left, but Sareno was already dead at that point.
Sareno suffered multiple gunshot wounds and a stab wound at the left
scapular area.
The accused however, denied any involvement in the crime. While he
admitted that he was at the dance, he did not go outside when the
commotion happened. He and Jerome stayed within the area where the sound
machine was located and they only heard the gunshots outside. Other
witnesses testified in the accused's defense, with Indanon testifying that he
saw the stabbing incident and that it was some other unknown person, and
not the accused, who was the culprit; and Quiopa stating that he was with
the accused and Jerome inside the dance hall at the time the commotion
occurred.
The RTC found that the prosecution was able to establish the accused's
culpability. Prosecution witness Dagangons positive identification of the
accused was held sufficient by the RTC to convict the latter of the crime of
murder. The RTC also rejected the accused's defense of denial as it was not
supported by evidence. It also ruled that alibi cannot favor the accused since
he failed to prove that it was impossible for him to be at the scene of the
crime.
The Court of Appeals affirmed the RTC decision in toto. The CA sustained the
findings of the RTC as regards the identity of the accused as one of the
perpetrators of the crime. The CA, nevertheless, deviated from the RTCs
conclusion that there was conspiracy between Jerome and the accused, and
that abuse of superior strength attended the commission of the crime.
According to the CA, the information failed to contain the allegation of
conspiracy, and the evidence for the prosecution failed to establish that
Jerome and the accused ganged up on the victim. The CA, however,
sustained the RTCs finding of treachery.

The accused-appellant protested his conviction. According to him, the
prosecution failed to establish his guilt beyond reasonable doubt. Specifically,
the he argued that the prosecution failed to prove the identity of the assailant
and his culpability.
ISSUE: Whether or not the evidence on record establishing that the victim
was shot by another person can render the information of murder by stabbing
charged against the accused invalid
HELD:
No.
The accused asserted that the information charged him of murder committed
by attacking, assaulting, stabbing and shooting Sareno, thereby causing his
instantaneous death. The accused argued that the evidence on record
established that Sareno was in fact shot by some other person. At this
juncture, the Court notes that the testimony of Dagangon, indeed, identified
two assailants the accused and his brother, Jerome; however, it was only
the accused who was charged with the death of Sareno. Defense witnesses
also testified that Jerome died on March 12, 2005.
The CA disregarded the accused's contention and ruled that "the cause of
death was not made an issue in the court a quo" and the Certificate of Death
was admitted during the pre-trial conference as proof of the fact and cause of
death. And even assuming that the cause of death was an issue, the CA still
held the accused liable for the death of Sareno.
The pre-trial agreement issued by the RTC states that one of the matters
stipulated upon and admitted by the prosecution and the defense was that
the Certificate of Death issued by Dr. Dael of the Bukidnon Provincial Hospital
and reviewed by the Rural Health Physician of Malaybalay City "is admitted as
proof of fact and cause of death due to multiple stab wound scapular area."
Stipulation of facts during pre-trial is allowed by Rule 118 of the Revised
Rules of Criminal Procedure. Section 2 of Rule 118, meanwhile, prescribes
that all agreements or admissions made or entered during the pre-trial
conference shall be reduced in writing and signed by the accused and
counsel, otherwise, they cannot be used against the accused. In this case,
while it appears that the pre-trial agreement was signed only by the
prosecution and defense counsel, the same may nevertheless be admitted
given that the defense failed to object to its admission. Moreover, a death
certificate issued by a municipal health officer in the regular performance of
his duty is prima facie evidence of the cause of death of the victim.
More importantly, the accused is criminally liable for the natural and logical
consequence resulting from his act of stabbing Sareno. It may be that he was
not the shooter, it is nevertheless true that the stab wound he inflicted on
Sareno contributed to the latters death.
If a person inflicts a wound with a deadly weapon in such a manner as to put

life in jeopardy and death follows as a consequence of their felonious act, it
does not alter its nature or diminish its criminality to prove that other causes
cooperated in producing the factual result. The offender is criminally liable for
the death of the victim if his delictual act caused, accelerated or contributed
to the death of the victim.
The Court finds no cogent reason to disturb the findings and conclusions of
the RTC, as affirmed by the CA, including their assessment of the credibility of
the witnesses. Factual findings of the trial court are, except for compelling or
exceptional reasons, conclusive to the Court especially when fully supported
by evidence and affirmed by the CA.
The first duty of the prosecution is not to prove the crime but to prove the
identity of the criminal. In this case, the identity of the accused as one of the
perpetrators of the crime has been adequately established by the
prosecution, more particularly by the testimony of Dagangon. The Court
cannot sustain the accused's argument that it was impossible for Dagangon
to see the assailant considering that there was no evidence to show that the
place where the crime occurred was lighted. As found by the CA, Dagangon
was only three meters away from the accused and Jerome and had a good
view of them. Moreover, there was no distraction that could have disrupted
Dagangons attention. He even immediately identified the accused and
Jerome during police investigation, and there is no showing that Dagangon
was informed by the police beforehand that the accused was one of the
suspects. Positive identification by a prosecution witness of the accused as
one of the perpetrators of the crime is entitled to greater weight than alibi
and denial. Such positive identification gains further ground in the absence of
any ill motive on the part of a witness to falsely testify against an accused.
In this case, the testimony of the prosecution witnesses all point to the fact
that the shooting and stabbing of Sareno was actually a spur of the moment
incident, a result of the brawl that happened during the barrio dance. The
prosecution failed to show that the accused and his brother Jerome
deliberately planned the means by which they would harm Sareno. In fact,
what was revealed by the prosecution evidence was that Sareno was an
innocent bystander who unfortunately became a target of the accused and
Jeromes rampage. Consequently, the accused should be liable only for the
lesser crime of Homicide.
The Decision of the Court of Appeals was MODIFIED in that accused was
found guilty of the lesser crime of HOMICIDE.
RATIO: Rule 118 Section 1. Pre-trial; Mandatory in Criminal Cases. In
all criminal cases cognizable by the Sandiganbayan, Regional Trial
Court, Metropolitan Trial Court, Municipal Trial Court in Cities,
Municipal Trial Court and Municipal Circuit Trial Court, the court
shall, after arraignment and within thirty (30) days from the date
the court acquires jurisdiction over the person of the accused,
unless a shorter period is provided for in special laws or circulars of
the Supreme Court, order a pre-trial conference to consider the

following:
(a) plea bargaining;
(b) stipulation of facts;
(c) marking for identification of evidence of the parties;
(d) waiver of objections to admissibility of evidence;
(e) modification of the order of trial if the accused admits the charge
but interposes a lawful defense;
(f) such matters as will promote a fair and expeditious trial of the
criminal and civil aspects of the case.
Rule 118 Section 2. Pre-trial agreement. All agreements or
admissions made or entered during the pre-trial conference shall be
reduced in writing and signed by the accused and counsel,
otherwise, they cannot be used against the accused. The
agreements covering the matters referred to in section 1 of this Rule
shall be approved by the court.

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People v.

sustained the RTCs finding of treachery.

If a person inflicts a wound with a deadly weapon in such a manner as to put

the Supreme Court, order a pre-trial conference to consider the

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