This case has been cited 2 times or more.
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2002-03-11 |
QUISUMBING, J. |
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| The element of evident premeditation is manifested by the planning and preparation undertaken by the offender prior to the commission of the crime.[48] It is not presumed from the mere lapse of time[49] nor can it be deduced from sheer speculation.[50] An intangible matter, evident premeditation is exhibited from these circumstances --- (1) the time when the offender has appeared determined to commit the crime; (2) the act evidently indicating that the offender has clung to his determination; (3) sufficient lapse of time between the determination to commit the crime and the execution thereof during which the offender could have reflected upon the consequences of his act.[51] In the present case, all three circumstances are present and clear from the testimony alone of Mario. The TSN reads: Q: That conversation about the seedling, how long did it take? | |||||
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2002-01-08 |
QUISUMBING, J. |
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| As revealed by witnesses in their testimony, on the day of the crime, there was a previous altercation between appellant and the deceased. Not long after, the stabbing incident took place. The victim's wife testified that appellant tapped her husband's right shoulder before appellant hacked her husband, a warning that the latter's life was in danger.[24] Also, since witness Rabino said he did not see how the incident commenced, his testimony could not be utilized to support the allegation of treachery. The fatal wounds found at the back of the deceased do not, by themselves, indicate treachery.[25] In the absence of other details that would confirm that indeed appellant deliberately adopted the means employed to kill the deceased, the qualifying aggravating circumstance of treachery cannot be appreciated. Treachery cannot be presumed and must be proved by clear and convincing evidence or as conclusively as the killing itself.[26] Hence, the conviction of appellant must be modified so that he is declared guilty not of murder but only homicide. | |||||