People V Arrojado
People V Arrojado
People V Arrojado
SALVADOR ARROJADO
FACTS:
The accused, Salvador Arrojado, and the victim, Mary Ann Arrojado was living in the
same roof along with the victim’s father. The accused was helping in taking care of the
victim’s father.
On June 1, 1996 the accused stabbed one Mary Ann Arrojado with a knife with treachery
and evident premeditation on the different parts of her body inflicting serious and mortal
wounds which were the direct and immediate cause of her death. The RTC found
accused-appellant guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of murder and sentenced
him to imprisonment of 30 years of reclusion perpetua. The trial court held that there was
circumstantial evidence to convict accused-appellant for the death of the victim. Appelant
argued that the victim committed suicide. He claimed that most of the victim’s wounds
were inflicted after she committed suicide to make it appear that she was murdered. He
also stated that he only saw one wound in the victim’s stomach.
ISSUE: Whether the aggravating circumstance of abuse of superior strength, though not
alleged in the information, may be appreciated in the case.
RULING: NO
No, an aggravating circumstance to be appreciated must be alleged in the information.
The murder in this case took place after the effectivity of R.A. No. 7659 on December 31,
1993 which increased the penalty for murder from reclusion temporal maximum to death
to reclusion perpetua to death. In view of the presence of the aggravating circumstance of
abuse of confidence and in accordance with Art. 63(1) of the Revised Penal Code, the
trial court should have imposed the penalty of death on accused-appellant. However, on
December 1, 2000, the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure took effect, requiring that
every complaint or information state not only the qualifying but also the aggravating
circumstances. This provision may be given retroactive effect in the light of the well
settled rule that ―statutes regulating the procedure of the court will be construed as
applicable to actions pending and undetermined at the time of their passage. Procedural
laws are retroactive in that sense and to that extent. The aggravating circumstance of
abuse of confidence not having been alleged in the information, the same therefore could
not be appreciated to raise accused-appellant‘s sentence to death.