PEOPLE v OHAYAS

People of the Philippines vs. Ambrosio Ohayas, et al.

G.R. No. 207516

June 19, 2017

FACTS:

At around 8:00 o'clock in the evening of May 31, 1996, the 12-year old victim, Armando Kyamko, Jr. (Armando, Jr.), was with his friends, 15-year old Sany and 18-year old Lou relaxing and conversing under a kalachuchi tree along •the national road in Sitio Bonbon, Pinamungajan, Cebu. Sany and Lou were seated under the tree, while Armando, Jr. was standing in front of them. The distance between them was approximately one arm's length. The place where the three lads were having a conversation was illuminated by the lights coming from the house of Sany. Aside from the three lads, there were several persons in the vicinity including the father of the victim, Armando, Sr., who was then at the opposite side of the road. Suddenly, both Sany and Lou saw accused-appellant, Ohayas, a balut vendor in their place, with three other persons coming from Sitio Campo.

Accused-appellant, together with his companions, walked towards the place where the three lads were conversing. Lou noticed that accused-appellant had in his hands a shotgun while his companions were carrying torches. When accused-appellant's group was only seven arms' length away from the victim's group, accused-appellant suddenly, and without any warning, shot• Armando Jr. who was hit in his right abdomen. Not contented, accused-appellant continued to fire at the victims who were shocked by the tum of events. Sany was hit on his right finger, while Lou, although not directly hit, nevertheless suffered injuries when the bullets ricocheted. After being hit, Armando Jr. managed to call his father for help before he fell to the ground. On the other hand, Sany and Lou ran to their respective houses to seek refuge. Armando Jr. expired on the same night while still on board the vehicle on his way to Pinamungajan District Hospital.

On the following day, an autopsy was conducted by Dr. Jesus Cerna, a medico-legal officer. After examination of the victim's cadaver, Dr. Cerna reduced his findings in Necropsy Report No. 96-N-109 which stated that the cause of death was shock secondary to shotgun (pellet) wounds on the body. Accused-appellant fled the day after the incident and hid for three years until he was apprehended on February 6, 1999. The defense, for its part, presented accused-appellant, Marcelina Ohayas, SP03 Socrates Bancog (SP03 Bancog), and Loreto Gines. According to the accused-appellant, he was mauled at Sitio Bonbon, Pinamungajan, Cebu by a certain "Toper" prior to the shooting incident, and because of that, his cousins Eddie Yaguno, Florencio Owas, Jerry Yaguno, Roberto Owas and Cerilo Bolodo wanted to avenge him. Accused-appellant, however, prevented them from doing so.

ISSUE:

Whether or not the accused-appellant is guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime murder.

RULING:

The elements of the crime of murder are: (I) a person was killed; (2) the accused killed him or her; (3) the killing was attended by any of the qualifying circumstances mentioned in Article 248 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC); and (4) the killing is not parricide or infanticide. In this case, these requisites have been established by the prosecution. The court denied the appeal of the accused-appellant.