In the evening of August 29, 1982, a dance was held in the school ground (plaza) of Barangay Resurreccion, San Fernando, Masbate. At about 10:20 of the same night, outside the dance hall, accused-appellant Elmo Labriaga was seen handing a machete to co-accused Dennis Song who was under the influence of liquor.
The two accused entered the dance hall. Ten minutes later, appellant Labriaga, without a word, held Percival Alcovendas. At the same time, accused Song approached the victim slowly and stabbed him with a machete on the left side of his back.
Then the two assailants ran away.
The wounded Percival staggered. Patrocino Albano, who witnessed the stabbing, tried to help him but she could not do it alone. She called for help from the victim's relatives who were also at the dance. Together they brought the still ambulatory victim to the Ticao District Hospital in San Jacinto, Masbate.
Percival was confined in the hospital for five days. On the fifth day, he developed high fever and hypertension and died. His body was not autopsied due to the objections of his relatives. But Dr. Bailon, the attending physician, presented her diagnosis as:
In the decision dated January 10, 1985, Labriaga was found guilty as charged and sentenced to reclusion perpetua and to pay the heirs of the deceased Percival Alcovendas P12,000.00 as death indemnity and P20,000.00 as moral damages and the costs of the suit. The case against Song was ordered archived until his capture.
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In this appeal, accused-appellant contends that the trial court erred in convicting him of murder notwithstanding the fact that the stab wound inflicted on the victim was not the proximate cause of his death, and also because appellant's guilt was not proven beyond reasonable doubt.
The instant appeal is devoid of merit.
The case for the protection was established by the eyewitness accounts of Patrocino Albano and Dominica Alcovendas who were present at the scene of the crime.
Pfc. Darlie Alvarez, the policeman assigned to maintain peace and order at the dance on the night in question, testified on behalf of the defense. He declared that he questioned the victim Percival right after the incident. Percival told him that it was Song who stabbed him. The name of the appellant was not mentioned at all. Alvarez wanted to question Percival further but the victim was in a hurry to get to the hospital.
The trial court did not err in giving more credence to the version of the prosecution and in adjudging appellant guilty of the crime of murder.
Appellant points out that when Pfc. Alverez asked the victim as to who wounded him right after the incident, the latter categorically stated that it was Song. Never for an instance did Percival implicate the appellant. In other words, as far as Percival was concerned, it was only Song and not the appellant Labriaga who did him wrong.
Contrary to appellant's assertion, the testimony of the police officer does not create any doubt as to appellant's complicity. Pfc. Alverez asked Percival only once as the latter wanted to be immediately brought to the hospital. Thus:
Weighed against the denial of the appellant, the positive identification made by Patrocino Albano and Dominica Alcovendas deserves full belief. The school plaza where the killing took place was well lighted by several mantle lamps. Patrocino was only two meters from the victim while Dominica stood ten meters away. Both witnesses unerringly identified and recognized the appellant whom they knew because they all resided in the same Barangay Resurreccion.
Appellant likewise raises the argument that the stab wound inflicted by Song was not the proximate cause of Percival's death, but rather the absence of proper medical treatment. Appellant cites the fact that Percival was "ambulatory with assistance" when he was admitted at the Ticao District Hospital.
The argument is untenable. As earlier stated, Dr. Bailon declared that the deceased died of acute peritonitis secondary to the stab wound which injured his intestines. The acute peritonitis was the direct and natural consequence of the three-inch deep stab would which perforated the victim's intestines. At any rate, this Court held in People vs. Quianzon, 62 Phil. 162, 169-170, citing 13 R.C.L., that:
While the courts may have vacillated from time to time it may be taken to be the settled rule of the common law that one who inflicts an injury on another will be held responsible for his death, although it may appear that the deceased might have recovered if he had taken the proper care of himself, or submitted to a surgical operation, or that unskilled or improper treatment aggravated the wound and contributed to the death, or that death was immediately caused by a surgical operation rendered necessary by the condition of the wound.
The principle on which this rule is founded is one of universal application, and lies at the foundation of all criminal jurisprudence. It is, that every person is to be held to contemplate and to be responsible for the natural consequences of his own acts. If a person inflicts a wound with deadly weapon in such a manner as to put life in jeopardy, and death follows as a consequence of this felonious and wicked act, it does not alter its nature or diminish its criminality to prove that other causes cooperated in producing the fatal result. Indeed, it may be said that neglect of the wound or its unskillfull and improper treatment, which are of themselves consequences of the criminal act, which might naturally follow in any case, must in law be deemed to have been among those which were
in contemplation of the guilty party, and for which he is to be held responsible . . .
The crime is murder, with appellant Elmo Labriaga and co-accussed Dennis Song as principals. The killing was attended by the qualifying aggravating circumstance of treachery. The fatal attack on the victim was deliberate — the appelant providing the murder weapon and the other accused making the deadly thrust in a sudden and unexpected manner, catching the victim by surprise and rendering him completely powerless to defend himself. Song stabbed Percival while the latter was held by Labriaga. The two malefactors made sure that their prey would not be able to put up a fight. Their concerted action shows beyond any question that they conspired to kill Percival for a motive we can only speculate on.
WHEREFORE, the Court finds that the guilt of the accused-appellant Elmo Labriaga has been established beyond reasonable doubt. The judgment appealed from is hereby AFFIRMED with the sole modification that the death indemnity of P12,000.00 is increased to P50,000.00. Costs against the accused-appellant.
SO ORDERED.
Gutierrez, Jr., Bidin, Davide, Jr. and Romero, JJ., concur.
# Footnotes
1 Exh. C, Original Record, p. 97.
2 Original Record, pp. 8-10.
3 Original Record, p. 37.
4 Original Record, p. 144.
5 TSN, April 19, 1983, pp. 7-13.
6 TSN, April 19, 1983, pp. 7-8.
7 TSN, May 24, 1983, pp. 20-25, 31-33.
8 TSN, May 24, 1983, p. 34.
9 TSN, October 15, 1984, pp. 72-74.
10 TSN, October 15, 1984, p. 74.
11 TSN, September 28, 1983, pp. 51-52.
12 TSN, September 28, 1983, pp. 58-59.
