This case has been cited 6 times or more.
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2001-11-29 |
MENDOZA, J. |
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| The trial court correctly awarded P50,000.00 as civil indemnity to the heirs of Norton Baguio in accordance with our recent rulings.[41] We also agree with the trial court that the heirs are not entitled to actual damages for expenses incurred during the victim's wake and burial. To be entitled to such damages, it is necessary to prove the actual amount of loss with a reasonable degree of certainty, premised upon competent proof.[42] In the case at bar, Adelia Patricio, the aunt of the victim, who shouldered the expenses for wake and the burial of the victim, failed to submit receipts to show the amount of such expenses.[43] Hence, there being no receipts presented as required by Art. 2199 of the Civil Code,[44] this Court cannot grant the heirs actual damages. | |||||
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2001-11-14 |
PUNO, J. |
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| The trial court correctly appreciated the presence of treachery in the killing of Pablito. There is treachery when the offender commits any of the crimes against persons, employing means, methods, or forms in the execution thereof which tend directly and specially to insure its execution, without risk to himself arising from the defense which the offended party might make.[12] In the case at bar, Pablito was seated on the bench and was singing with his friends when the appellant suddenly appeared and lunged at him with a knife, repeatedly stabbing him on the chest. Clearly, the attack was all too sudden. There is nothing in the records to show that it was preceded by an altercation or that Pablito gave the slightest provocation. Although Pablito was seated among his friends at the time he was stabbed, this did not afford him any shield or refuge as his friends were likewise caught off-guard by the suddenness of the unprovoked attack. His friends remained seated and motionless due to shock. In fact, it was only after the stabbing incident when the appellant left the crime scene that Pablito's friends regained their composure and sought shelter to protect themselves. Clearly, their presence did not diminish the suddenness of the appellant's aggression. From the evidence adduced, the stabbing, although frontal, was so unexpected and sudden that it left Pablito and his friends, all unarmed, with nary an opportunity to put up a defense.[13] Indeed, the essence of treachery is the swift and unexpected attack on an unarmed victim that insures its execution without risk to the assailant arising from the defense of his victim.[14] Clearly then, in the case at bar, treachery qualified the killing to murder. | |||||
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2001-04-16 |
MENDOZA, J. |
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| Anent moral damages, the victim's widow stated that her sorrow due to her husband's death could not be measured by money.[57] Be that as it may, moral damages, which include physical suffering and mental anguish, may be recovered in criminal offenses resulting in physical injuries or the victim's death. An award of P50,000.00 for moral damages should be given to the legal heirs of Romulo Cañete in accordance with current rulings.[58] WHEREFORE, the decision of the Court of Appeals finding accused-appellant Leonilo Tumayao guilty of murder and sentencing him to reclusion perpetua is AFFIRMED with the MODIFICATION that the amount of P50,000.00 as moral damages, in addition to the amount of P50,000.00 as civil indemnity awarded by the trial court, is granted to the legal heirs of Romulo Cañete. | |||||
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2001-01-31 |
MENDOZA, J. |
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| The award of damages should be modified. For the death of the victim Mariano Buenaventura, the trial court awarded P50,000.00 as indemnity and P100,000.00 as actual damages to the heirs of the victim. The award of P50,000.00 as indemnity is correct. But the award of P100,000.00 as actual damages must be deleted as there is no competent proof to support it, no receipts showing the expenses incurred during the wake and burial of the victim having been presented as required by Art. 2199 of the Civil Code.[27] Jose Buenaventura claimed that he lost the receipts for expenses in connection with Mariano's burial. Under Art. 2224, temperate damages may be recovered as it cannot be denied that the heirs suffered some pecuniary loss although the exact amount cannot be proved with certainty.[28] Hence, an award of P25,000.00 by way of temperate damages would be appropriate. In addition, the heirs of the victim are entitled to moral damages in the amount of P50,000.00.[29] The purpose of making such award is not to enrich the heirs of the victim but to compensate them for injuries to their feelings.[30] For the injuries sustained by Santiago Buenaventura, the trial court gave an award of P25,000.00 for actual damages. This should be deleted for lack of evidence to support it. However, the amount of P3,500.00 as temperate damages may be made in its place. | |||||
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2001-01-16 |
MENDOZA, J. |
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| The award of damages should be modified. The award of P20,000.00 as actual damages and expenses must be deleted for lack of evidence presented to support it. Under Art. 2199 of the Civil Code, for such an award to be made, there must be competent proof, such as receipts, showing the expenses incurred during the wake and burial of the deceased.[21] | |||||
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2000-11-29 |
MENDOZA, J. |
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| The award of damages by the trial court in favor of the victim should, however, be modified. The award of actual damages, in the sum of P3,727.00, must be deleted in the absence of proof required by Art. 2199 of the Civil Code. To be entitled to actual and compensatory damages, there must be competent proof constituting evidence of the actual amount thereof, such as receipts showing the expenses incurred on account of the rape incident.[40] In this case, only the laboratory fee issued by Our Lady of Salambao Hospital in Bulacan amounting to P350.00 was duly receipted. The rest of the documents, which the prosecution presented to prove the actual expenses incurred by the victim, were merely a doctor's prescription and a handwritten list of food expenses. Nevertheless, under Article 2221 of the Civil Code, nominal damages are adjudicated in order that the right of the plaintiff, which has been violated or invaded by the defendant, may be vindicated or recognized, and not for the purpose of indemnifying the plaintiff for any loss suffered by him. As has been held, "whenever there has been a violation of an ascertained legal right, although no actual damages resulted or none are shown, the award of nominal damages is proper."[41] In this case, the victim's family clearly incurred medical expenses due to the rape committed by accused-appellant. The victim suffered from pains in her navel which required her physical examination. An award of P2,000.00 as nominal damages is thus appropriate under the circumstances. | |||||