THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE, VS. CONCESO ACLO, VICENTE ACLO, AND MACARIO PITO, DEFENDANTS. CONCESO ACLO, DEFENDANT-APPELLANT.

Appeal of the accused Conceso Aclo from the decision of the Court of First Instance of Misamis Occidental finding him guilty of the crime of
Murder and sentencing him to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua, with the accessory penalties of the law; to
indemnify the heirs of the deceased Valentin Acuram the amount of P6,680.00, without subsidiary
imprisonment in case of insolvency; and to pay his proportionate part of the
costs.

It is undisputed that on May
27, 1967, Nicasio Simporios, from Barrio Bongabon, Tudela, Misamis Occidental, went
to Barrio Cahayag of the same town to ask for the
hand in marriage of the daughter of Margarito Yecyec.  As custom required
it, Simporios brought with him food and drinks to the
house of his prospective bride to be served to her close relatives and
friends.  It is also the custom of the
place for the prospective bridegroom and his relatives to take care of the
kitchen chores.  Among those invited by Simporios from his barrio were Bernardo Aclo,
nicknamed “Bandoy“, who was the intermediary,
his two sons Vicente and Conceso Aclo,
Macario Pito, Pretextato Balais, and Claudio Adapon.  The latter
two were the cooks, while Conceso Aclo
was their kitchen help.

The conversation on the approaching marriage terminated at about 11:30 o’clock in the morning, and lunch was
served soon thereafter.  At about 2:00 o’clock in the afternoon, a commotion
occurred in the kitchen of the house and some women were shouting that there
was a fight.^[1]
Moments later, a bloody Valentin Acuram,
an uncle of the prospective bride, came out from the kitchen.  Jose Lumbay, the
barrio captain of Bongabon, went to him and
asked:  “What happened to you
cousin?”^[2]
and Valentin Acuram
replied:  “I was stabbed by the son of Bandoy.”
Acuram went downstairs, and in the yard, he saw Conceso Aclo.  Upon seeing him, Acuram
shouted:  “There is the man who
stabbed me.  You chase him.”^[3]
The residents of Barrio Cahayag were out?raged
and went around looking for weapons to use against those from Bongabon.  Macario Pito drew out his knife
and dared them to come near him.  Canuto Namuco, the barrio captain
of Cahayag, asked Pito to
surrender his knife, but the latter refused. 
So, Namuco took hold of a pestle and advanced
towards Pito who put his knife away.  Pio Acla then wrested the knife from Pito,
thus averting a free-for-all between the residents of Barrios Cahayag and Bongabon.

Valentin Acuram
went back to the house but collapsed at the landing of the stairway.^[4]
Without delay, he was brought to town for medical treatment.  At the puericulture
center of Tudela where Acuram
was first brought for medical attention, Tudela
Municipal Police Sgt. Manuel Muñoz investigated Valentin Acuram and helped
prepare the latter’s dying declaration^[5]
wherein Acuram pointed to the son of Bandoy as his assailant. 
Subsequently, Valentin Acuram
was taken to the Doctors’ Hospital at Ozamis City
where he died the next day.  Dr. Jose Libunao, who attended the deceased, issued a certificate of
the following tenor:^[6]

“This is to certify that Mr. Valentin
Acuram, 50 years of age was admitted and treated in
this hospital on May 27, 1967 at 5:25 P.M. because of multiple stab
wounds.  Exploratory laparatomy
was performed immediately after the patient was prepared for operation.

“Unfortunately the patient died after approximately 25 and one
half hours after admission.

Description of Injuries:

“(1)  Punctured and penetrating wound at the left
iliac region approximately 2 inches of the wound.  Part of the small intestines measuring
approximately 3 feet came out and the appearance were already marked cyanotic
and non-viable.

“(2)  Lacerated wound of the right middle finger at
the interphalangeal joint almost cutting the whole
finger.

“(3)  Lacerated wound of the right index finger
measuring 1/2 inch in width with several abrasions.

“(4)  Lacerated wound of the right thumb measuring
1/2 inch in width.

“(5)  Lacerated wound of the left ring finger
approximately 1 inch in width almost cutting the whole finger.

“(6)  Lacerated wound of the left index finger
approximately 1 inch in width.

“(7)  Lacerated wound of the thumb finger
approximately cutting the whole finger with involvement of bones.

“(8)  Presence of a round hematoma
at the right supra clavicular region simulating a
human bite.

“(9)  Presence of a punctured and lacerated wound at
the left gluteal region measuring approximately 1
inch in width.

Major findings of
operation:

“(1)  Presence of a non-viable, cyanotic almost
gangrenous small intestine measuring approximately 3 feet long which was constricted
at the site of entrance of the wound.

“(2)  Abundant sero-sanguinous
discharge after exploring the petitoneum which
indicates bleeding due to punctured mesenteric blood vessels.

“(3)  Failure of the non-viable small intestines to react
with warm normal salt solution.

Cause of Death:

“(1)  Generalized peritonitis.

“(2)  Apparent hemorrhage due to the punctured and
lacerated mesenteric blood vessels and other loss of blood of the other sites
of injuries.”

The family of the deceased incurred
hospital and medical fees in the amount of P680.00.^[7]

As a consequence, the chief of police of Tudela
filed a complaint charging Conceso Aclo with the crime of murder.^[8]
This complaint, however, was amended,^[9]
after Juan Gomonod, a brother-in-law of the deceased,
executed an affidavit four (4) days later implicating Vicente Aclo and Macario Pito in the commission thereof,^[10]
after which an information charging Conceso Aclo, Vicente Aclo, and Macario Pito with the crime of
murder, qualified by treachery, was filed in court.  After trial, Conceso
Aclo was found guilty as charged and sentenced
accordingly.  Vicente Aclo
and Macario Pito were
acquitted.  Hence, the present appeal.

The appellant pleads self-defense and also contends that the
evidence presented merely proves homicide and not murder.

Indeed, We find that the evidence submitted does not support the
findings that the crime committed was murder, qualified by treachery.  Claudio Adapon, a
witness for the prosecution, testified that there were only three (3) of them,
namely:  Pretextato
Balais, Conceso Aclo, and himself, when the deceased Valentin Acuram entered the
kitchen and rushed towards Conceso Aclo saying:  “Bantay mga bata
kay ato na
kini,” which means “Prepare boys because
this is now our time.  Here is the fellow
I am looking for.”^[11]
When Acuram was near him, Conceso
Aclo pulled out his knife and stabbed Acuram in the abdomen.  Thereafter, the protagonists wrestled for the possession of the
knife.^[12]
When asked to show how the
deceased ran towards Conceso Aclo, the

“Witness got down from the witness stand and demonstrated how Valentin Acuram rushed upon Conceso Aclo by rushing towards
the interpreter who was supposed to be Conceso and
then when the witness reach . . . was very near the interpreter, he immediately
demonstrated to the court how Valentin Acuram was in the act of . . . about to hold the neck with
two hands and then Conceso Aclo
stooped down and simultaneously pulled out his hunting knife.”^[13]

Juan Gumonod, another witness for the
prosecution and brother-in-law of Valentin Acuram, testified, however, that he was also at the kitchen
of the house of Margarito Yecyec
when the deceased Valentin
Acuram was stabbed by the accused.  According to him, Acuram
was holding a plateful of cooked rice when Conceso Aclo stabbed Valentin Acuram in the abdomen. 
Then, he saw Vicente Aclo hold the left hand
of Acuram and thereafter Macario
Pito stabbed Acuram in the
buttocks.  Fearing for his life, he
jumped out of the kitchen through a window.^[14]

Pretextato Balais,
testifying for the defense, although listed as one of the prosecution
witnesses, declared that there were only three (3) of them, namely:  Claudio Adapon, Conceso Aclo, and himself, in the
kitchen of Margarito Yecyec
when the deceased Valentin Acuram
entered the kitchen and rushed towards Conceso Aclo, saying: 
“Prepare boys, here is the fellow whom we are looking for.”
When Acuram got near, Conceso
Aclo pulled out his knife and stabbed Valentin Acuram in the abdomen,
after which the protagonists grappled for the possession of the knife.^[15]

The accused Conceso Aclo
also testified that the deceased Valentin Acuram entered the kitchen and rushed towards him,
shouting:  “Prepare boys because here is
the one we are looking for.” So, he pulled out his hunting knife and
thrust it at Valentin Acuram.  Acuram was not
hit.  Acuram
stepped backwards and tried to draw out his bolo.  He again thrust the knife at Acuram, hitting the latter at the abdomen.  Acuram slumped to
the floor.  So, he ran for home.^[16]

As found by the Solicitor General, the element of treachery
cannot be considered as the qualifying circumstance in this case since there is
no clear proof that the attack on the victim was done suddenly and without
affording him a chance to defend himself. 
If the appellant was in the kitchen at the time, he was there to help in
the kitchen chores; and if he had a knife with him, the knife was to be used in
the performance of his chores.

Having claimed self-defense, the burden of proof was shifted to
appellant to establish the same.  Having
failed to do so, a conviction for homicide must necessarily lie.

The crime committed being homicide without any aggravating or
mitigating circumstances present in its commission, appellant should suffer the
indeterminate penalty of eight (8) years and one (1) day of prision
mayor, as minimum, to fourteen (14) years, eight (8) months, and one (1)
day of reclusion temporal, as maximum. 
The civil indemnity to the heirs of Valentin Acuram is hereby increased to P12,680.00.

MODIFIED as
above-indicated, the judgment appealed from should be, as it is hereby,
affirmed in all other respects.  No
costs.

Fernando, (Chairman), Barredo,
Antonio, and Aquino,
JJ., concur.

^[1]
tsn, p. 160

^[2]
Id., p. 161

^[3]
Id., p. 150

^[4]
Id., p. 155

^[5]
Exhibit “E”

^[6]
Exhibit “A”

^[7]
Exhibits “L, L-1”

^[8]
Exhibit “2”

^[9]
Original Record, p. 2

^[10]
Exhibits “J, J-1”

^[11]
tsn, p. 26

^[12]
Id., p. 28

^[13]
Id., p. 29

^[14]
Id., pp. 77-79

^[15]
Id., p. 138

^[16]
Id., pp. 168-169