This case has been cited 2 times or more.
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2001-01-17 |
GONZAGA-REYES, J. |
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| Consistent with prevailing jurisprudence, we sustain the award of P50,000.00 to the heirs of Jay Ar Sumadia as indemnity for his untimely demise.[19] We cannot, however, sustain the award of actual damages in the amount of P14,500.00. To seek recovery of actual damages, it is necessary to prove the actual amount of loss with a reasonable degree of certainty, premised upon competent proof and the best evidence obtainable by the injured party. There is no such proof to sustain the award of actual damages other than the testimony of the sole prosecution witness. The prosecution did not present any receipt or other evidence to support the claim. We sustain the award of moral damages in the amount of P30,000.00 considering that there is evidence that the father experienced moral suffering.[20] Moral damages may be awarded in favor of the heirs of the victim upon sufficient proof of "physical suffering, mental anguish, fright, serious anxiety, besmirched reputation, wounded feelings, moral shock, social humiliation and similar injury.[21] As the aggravating circumstance of treachery attended the commission of the crime, the award of exemplary damages pursuant to Article 2230 of the Civil Code is sustained, [22] however, the amount is reduced to P20,000.00 in accordance with prevailing jurisprudence.[23] | |||||
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2000-05-31 |
BELLOSILLO, J. |
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| A dying declaration, made in extremis when the party is at the point of death and the mind is induced by the most powerful considerations to speak the truth, occasioned by a situation so solemn and awful, is considered by the law as creating an obligation equal to that which is created by a positive oath administered in a court of justice. The idea more succinctly expressed is that "truth sits on the lips of dying men."[7] As an exception to the hearsay rule, it is defined in Sec. 37, Rule 130, of the Rules of Court as one made by a dying person under the consciousness of an impending death with respect to the cause and surrounding circumstances of such death. It may be received in any case wherein his death is the subject of inquiry and requires the concurrence of the following: (a) the statement or declaration must concern the crime and the surrounding circumstances of the declarant's death; (b) at the time it was made the declarant was under a consciousness of an impending death; (c) the declarant was competent as a witness; and, (d) the declaration is offered in a criminal case for homicide, murder or parricide in which the decedent is the victim.[8] | |||||