SECOND DIVISION

PEOPLE OF THEPHILIPPINES,
Plaintiff-Appellee,




- versus -






JESSIE VILLEGAS MURCIA,
Accused-Appellant.

G.R. No. 182460



Present:

CARPIO, J.,
Chairperson,
BRION,
DE CA!"IO,
ABAD, and
PERE#, JJ.


Pro$ul%ated:

&arch ', ()*)
+ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -+


D E C I ! I O N


PEREZ, J.:


"he su,-ect of revie. is the Decision
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of the Court of Appeals affir$in% .ith $odification the Decision
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of the Re%ional
"rial Court 1R"C2, .hich found appellant 3essie 4ille%as &urcia %uilt5 ,e5ond reasona,le dou,t of the cri$es of arson and frustrated
ho$icide.

In an Infor$ation dated 6 April ())7, appellant .as accused of the cri$e of arson co$$itted as follo.s:

"hat on or a,out the (7
th
da5 of &arch, ())7, in the &unicipalit5 of Bauan%, Province of a 8nion,
Philippines and .ithin the -urisdiction of this 9onora,le Court, the a,ove-na$ed accused, $otivated ,5 so$e evil
$otive, did then and there .illfull5, unla.full5 and feloniousl5 set fire and ,urn a residential house :no.in% the
sa$e to ,e inha,ited ,5 one ;EICIDAD &. <8IA"E! ,urnin% and :illin% said ;EICIDAD &. <8IA"E! as
.ell as ,urnin% and da$a%in% nine 1'2 other nei%h,orin% houses in the process, to the da$a%e and pre-udice of said
house-o.ners in the a%%re%ate a$ount of "9REE &IION PE!O! 1Php=,))),))).))2, Philippines Currenc5, as
.ell as to the da$a%e and pre-udice of the heirs of ;EICIDAD <8IA"E!.

"he char%e is >ualified ,5 the resultin% death of ;elicidad &. <uilates.

CON"RAR? "O A@.
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Appellant .as also char%ed in another Infor$ation for frustrated ho$icide, the accusator5 portion reads:

CRI&INA CA!E NO. ('A)-BB

"hat on or a,out the (7
th
da5 of &arch, ())7, in the &unicipalit5 of Bauan%, Province of a 8nion,
Philippines and .ithin the -urisdiction of this 9onora,le Court, the a,ove-na$ed accused, .ith intent to :ill, did
then and there .illfull5, unla.full5 and feloniousl5 attac:, assault and sta, .ith a :nife one, Alicia <. &anlupi%
inflictin% upon the latter sta, .ounds, thus perfor$in% all the acts of e+ecution .hich .ould produce the cri$e of
ho$icide as a conse>uence, ,ut nevertheless did not produce it ,e reason of causes independent of the .illC that is,
,5 the ti$el5 $edical attendance rendered to said Alicia <. &anlupi% .hich prevented her death, all to the da$a%e
and pre-udice of said offended part5.

CON"ARAR? "O A@.
/70

8pon arrai%n$ent, appellant pleaded not %uilt5 to ,oth char%es. "rial on the $erits ensued.
Based on the narration of prosecution .itnesses, the facts follo.. Eulo%io <uilates 1Eulo%io2 is the o.ner of a t.o-store5 house
in Parin%ao, Bauan%, a 8nion. A$on% the occupants of his house .ere his sister ;elicidad <uilates 1;elicidad2C another sister Alicia
&anlupi% 1Alicia2C and nephe. 9er$inio &anlupi% 19er$inio2. Appellant, .ho is the adopted son of ;elicidad, occupied one roo$
in the house. At around =:=) p.$. of (7 &arch ())7, appellant .as havin% a drin:in% spree .ith his cousin 9er$inio and ,rothers-in-
la. 3oe5 4idu5a and Ric:5 4idu5a 1Ric:52 in front of their house. Appellant and 9er$inio .ere ar%uin% over the $atter of carin%
for ;elicidad .hile the latter .as confined in the hospital. Ric:5 tried to $ediate ,et.een the t.o. Appellant .as then seen %oin%
inside the house to %et a bolo. @hen he e$er%ed fro$ the house ten 1*)2 $inutes later, he ran after 9er$inio ,ut the latter $ana%ed
to escape unscathed. Appellant a%ain .ent ,ac: to the house.
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&ean.hile, after pacif5in% appellant and 9er$inio, Ric:5 resu$ed drin:in%. A fe. $inutes later, he sa. s$o:e co$in%
fro$ the roo$ of appellant. As Ric:5 .as a,out to enter the house, he $et appellant at the door. Appellant apparentl5 tried to sta,
Ric:5 ,ut .as unsuccessful. Ric:5 .itnessed appellant sta, ;elicidad and Alicia.
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9er$inio, .ho had since co$e ,ac: to the drin:in% ta,le, also sa. the s$o:e. 9e peeped throu%h the s$all .indo. of the
house and .itnessed appellant ,urnin% so$e clothes and ,o+es in the sala. 9er$inio i$$ediatel5 .ent inside the house to save his
personal ,elon%in%s. 8pon e$er%in% fro$ the house, 9er$inio sa. his $other, Alicia, ,loodied.
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Alicia testifies that she .as sittin% on a chair near the toilet .hen she sa. s$o:e co$in% out of appellantFs roo$. Before she
could react, appellant ca$e char%in% at her and sta,,ed her. !he sustained .ounds on her upper thi%h, ar$s, ,elo. her ,reast and on
her ear. Alicia .as still a,le to as: for help, and her dau%hter-in-la. ,rou%ht her to the hospital.
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Eulo%io heard a co$$otion .hile he .as coo:in% in the second floor of the house. @hen Eulo%io .ent do.n, he alread5
sa. s$o:e co$in% fro$ the roo$ of appellant. 9e then sa. ;elicidad near the co$fort roo$ located outside the house and .as
,leedin% fro$ her $outh. As he .as a,out to help ;elicidad, he $et appellant .ho .as then holdin% a :nife. Eulo%io i$$ediatel5 ran
a.a5.
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8pon seein% 9er$inio, appellant i$$ediatel5 attac:ed hi$ .ith a :nife. 9o.ever, 9er$inio and Ric:5 .ere a,le to pin
appellant do.n. Before the5 could retaliate, the barangay captain arrived at the scene.
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As a result, ei%ht 1A2 houses .ere raGed.

Inspector ;erdinand ;or$acion responded to the fire incident and sa. four 172 houses .ere alread5 ,urned. After puttin% out
the fire, he and the arson investi%ator conducted an ocular investi%ation and invited .itnesses to the police station to su,$it their
s.orn state$ents. !PO( Rodolfo o$,o5, chief investi%ator of Philippine National Police Bauan% Police !tation, .as told ,5
.itnesses that appellant intentionall5 set the ,o+es on fire inside the house.
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Eulo%io esti$ated the value of his house at P(D),))).)),
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.hile another sister of ;elicidad, Pacita <uilates, presented a receipt
coverin% the ,urial e+penses for ;elicidad, a$ountin% to P*),))).)).
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An autops5 .as perfor$ed on ;elicidad, and it .as disclosed that she died fro$ Hcardio-respirator5 arrest secondar5 to third
de%ree ,urns involvin% ')I of ,od5 surface to include underl5in% tissues and or%ans.J
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Appellant .as the lone .itness for the defense. 9e stated that .hile he .as havin% a drin:in% spree, he sa. ;elicidad %o inside
the house to %et a %lass of .ater. 9e follo.ed her and %ave her .ater. 9e noticed ;elicidad li%ht a %as la$p. 9e then .ent ,ac: to
his friends and resu$ed drin:in%. 9e %ot into a heated ar%u$ent .ith 9er$inio. "he latter struc: hi$ in the head. 9e i$$ediatel5
.ent inside the house to %et a .eapon. 9e .as a,le to %et a bolo, .ent ,ac: outside and hit 9er$inio. "he latter ran a.a5 and
appellant chased hi$. Appellant $et Alicia and confronted her a,out the actuations of 9er$inio. But Alicia cursed hi$. Appellant
thereafter hit her .ith the :nife. Appellant then fell on the %round and lost consciousness ,ecause, apparentl5, he .as struc: ,5
so$ethin% in the ,ac:.
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Appellant denied settin% the house on fire.
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On =) &a5 ())6, decision .as rendered ,5 the R"C, findin% appellant %uilt5 ,e5ond reasona,le dou,t of arson and frustrated
ho$icide, thus:

@9ERE;ORE, in Cri$. Case No. ('E'-B%., the Court ;IND! and DECARE! the accused 3E!!IE
4IEBA! &8RCIA, %uilt5 ,e5ond reasona,le dou,t of the cri$e of arson as char%ed and defined under Art. =()
of the Revised Penal Code, as a$ended ,5 R.A. No. E6D', and he is here,5 sentenced to suffer the e+tre$e penalt5
of deathC to inde$nif5 the heirs of the victi$ ;elicidad <uilates, the a$ount of PhpD),))).)) as $oral da$a%esC
PhpD),))).)) as death inde$nit5C Php*),))).)) as actual da$a%es and another Php*),))).)) as te$perate
da$a%es.

;urther, the accused is ordered to inde$nif5 Eulo%io <uilates the a$ount of P(D),))).)), representin% the
value of the ,urned house.

In Cri$. Case No. ('A)-B%., the Court li:e.ise ;IND! and DECARE! the accused 3E!!IE 4IEBA!
&8RCIA %uilt5 ,e5ond reasona,le dou,t of the cri$e of frustrated ho$icide as char%ed and he is here,5 sentenced
to suffer the indeter$inate penalt5 of ;O8R 172 ?EAR! ofprision correccional as $ini$u$, to "EN 1*)2 ?EAR!
of prision mayor as $a+i$u$C to pa5 the victi$ Alicia <. &anlupi% the a$ount of Php*),))).)) as te$perate
da$a%esC and to pa5 the costs.

In the service of his sentence, the accused shall ,e credited .ith his preventive i$prison$ent under the
ter$s and conditions, provided for ,5 Art. (' of the Revised Penal Code, as a$ended.

et the record of Cri$. Case No. ('E'-B%. ,e sent to the Court of Appeals for auto$atic revie..
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"he trial court found that the corpus delicti in arson, as .ell as the identit5 of the perpetrator, .ere esta,lished ,e5ond
reasona,le dou,t ,5 the prosecution. @hile there .as no evidence to directl5 lin: appellant to the cri$e, the trial court relied on
circu$stantial evidence.

In vie. of the penalt5 i$posed, the case .as for.arded to the Court of Appeals for auto$atic revie. and -ud%$ent.

"he Court of Appeals affir$ed the trial courtFs findin%s ,ut reduced the penalt5 fro$ death to reclusion perpetua.

Appellant filed a notice of appeal, .hich .as %iven due course ,5 the Court of Appeals on (( 3anuar5 ())A. In a
Resolution
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dated E 3ul5 ())A, this Court re>uired the parties to si$ultaneousl5 su,$it their respective supple$ental ,riefs.
Appellant and the Office of the !olicitor Beneral 1O!B2 ,oth filed their $anifestations,
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statin% that the5 .ould no lon%er file an5
supple$ental ,riefs and instead adopt their respective ,riefs.

Appellant ad$itted to the cri$e of frustrated ho$icide, hence the revie. is li$ited to the cri$e of arson.

Appellant $aintains his innocence of the char%e of arson. 9e >uestions the credi,ilit5 of so$e .itnesses and specificall5
i$putes ill-$otive on the part of 9er$inio in testif5in% a%ainst hi$, especiall5 after their fi%ht.
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Appellant su,$its that the
testi$onies of .itnesses, .hich failed to turn into a coherent .hole, did not prove the identit5 of the perpetrator.
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On the other hand, the O!B ,an:s on circu$stantial evidence, as relied to ,5 the trial court, to prove the %uilt of appellant.
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"he O!B vouches for the credi,ilit5 of the prosecution .itnesses and avers that their testi$onies have proven thecorpus
delicti and .arrant appellantFs conviction.
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In the prosecution for arson, proof of the cri$e char%ed is co$plete .here the evidence esta,lishes: 1*2 the corpus delicti,
that is, a fire ,ecause of cri$inal a%enc5C and 1(2 the identit5 of the defendant as the one responsi,le for the cri$e. In arson, the
corpus delicti rule is satisfied ,5 proof of the ,are fact of the fire and of it havin% ,een intentionall5 caused. Even the uncorro,orated
testi$on5 of a sin%le e5e.itness, if credi,le, is enou%h to prove the corpus delicti and to .arrant conviction.
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"he photo%raphs,
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evidencin% the charred re$ains of the houses, esta,lished the occurrence of the fire. In this case,
ho.ever, there is no direct evidence to esta,lish the culpa,ilit5 of appellant. At an5 rate, direct evidence is not the sole $eans of
esta,lishin% %uilt ,e5ond reasona,le dou,t. Esta,lished facts that for$ a chain of circu$stances can lead the $ind intuitivel5 or i$pel
a conscious process of reasonin% to.ards a conviction. Indeed, rules on evidence and principles in -urisprudence have lon% reco%niGed
that the accused $a5 ,e convicted throu%h circu$stantial evidence.
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!ection 7 of Rule *== of the Rules of Court provides:

!ection 7. Circu$stantial evidence, .hen sufficient.K Circu$stantial evidence is sufficient for conviction
if:

1a2 "here is $ore than one circu$stanceC
1,2 "he facts fro$ .hich the inferences are derived are provenC and
1c2 "he co$,ination of all the circu$stances is such as to produce a conviction ,e5ond reasona,le dou,t.


In order to -ustif5 a conviction upon circu$stantial evidence, the co$,ination of circu$stances $ust ,e such as to leave no
reasona,le dou,t in the $ind as to the cri$inal responsi,ilit5 of the accused.
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"he appellate court considered the follo.in% circu$stances to esta,lish an un,ro:en chain of events pointin% to the lo%ical
conclusion that appellant started the fire:

;irst, accused-appellant &urcia returned inside E. <uilatesF house after chasin% 9. &anlupi% .ith
a bolo and after ,ein% pacified ,5 R. 4idu5a and 3. 4idu5aC

!econd, durin% the resu$ption of their drin:in% session, R. 4idu5a and 9. &anlupi% sa. a thic: s$o:e
e$anatin% fro$ E. <uilatesF house particularl5 the .indo. of accused-appellant &urciaFs roo$ in the %round floorC

"hird, 9. &anlupi% peeped throu%h the said .indo. and sa. accused-appellant &urcia thro.in% cartons
of clothes into the fire. &ean.hile, E. <uilates, .ho .as then coo:in% at the second floor, .ent do.nstairs and sa.
the fire co$in% fro$ the roo$ occupied ,5 accused-appellant &urcia in the %round floorC

;ourth, R. 4idu5a sa. accused-appellant &urcia sta,,in% ;. <uilates and A. &anlupi%, a$on% other
persons. E. <uilates sa. his sister ;. <uilates .ith ,lood ooGin% fro$ her $outh. Accused-appellant &urcia $et
hi$ at the %round ,randishin% a :nife at hi$ .hich prevented hi$ fro$ helpin% the .ounded ;. <uilates and forced
hi$ to run a.a5 for safet5. E. <uilatesF other sister, A. &anlupi%, .as also seen .ounded and l5in% unconscious in
the canalC and

;ifth, the houses of E. <uilates and his nei%h,ors .ere raGed ,5 fire and the co$$ission of the cri$e of
arson resulted in the de$ise of ;. <uilates .hose re$ains .ere ,urned ,e5ond reco%nition.
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Indeed, appellant .as last seen inside the house ,efore the fire started. Eulo%io and Ric:5 sa. s$o:e e$anatin% fro$ the
roo$ of appellant. 9er$inio testified that he sa. appellant ,urnin% clothes in his roo$. Appellant then .ent on a sta,,in% ra$pa%e
.hile the house .as on fire. @hile no,od5 directl5 sa. appellant ,urn the house, these circu$stances .ould 5ield to a lo%ical
conclusion that the fire that %utted ei%ht 1A2 houses .as authored ,5 appellant.

Necessaril5, the issue narro.s do.n to credi,ilit5 of the .itnesses. @orth5 of reiteration is the doctrine that on $atters
involvin% the credi,ilit5 of .itnesses, the trial court is in the ,est position to assess the credi,ilit5 of .itnesses since it has o,served
firsthand their de$eanor, conduct and attitude under %rillin% e+a$ination. A,sent an5 sho.in% of a fact or circu$stance of .ei%ht and
influence .hich .ould appear to have ,een overloo:ed and, if considered, could affect the outco$e of the case, the factual findin%s
and assess$ent on the credi,ilit5 of a .itness $ade ,5 the trial court re$ain ,indin% on an appellate tri,unal.
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In this case, @e find no co%ent reason to depart fro$ the findin%s of the lo.er courts.

Appellant i$putes ill-$otive on the part of 9er$inio. "his Court does not discount the fact that there .as a fi%ht ,et.een
appellant and 9er$inio .hich preceded the occurrence of the fire. 9o.ever, it cannot ,e presu$ed that 9er$inio .ill auto$aticall5
%ive a false testi$on5 a%ainst appellant. 9is testi$on5, havin% .ithstood cross-e+a$ination, has passed the scrutin5 of the lo.er
courts and .as held to ,e credi,le.

"he lo.er courts found appellant lia,le under Article =()1*2 of the Revised Penal Code, as a$ended ,5 !ection *) of
Repu,lic Act No. E6D'. It $a5 not ,e a$iss to point out that there are actuall5 t.o cate%ories of arson, na$el5: Destructive Arson
under Article =() of the Revised Penal Code and !i$ple Arson under Presidential Decree No. *=*6. !aid classification is ,ased on the
:ind, character and location of the propert5 ,urned, re%ardless of the value of the da$a%e caused.
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Article =() conte$plates the
$alicious ,urnin% of structures, ,oth pu,lic and private, hotels, ,uildin%s, edifices, trains, vessels, aircraft, factories and other $ilitar5,
%overn$ent or co$$ercial esta,lish$ents ,5 an5 person or %roup of persons. On the other hand, Presidential Decree No. *=*6 covers
houses, d.ellin%s, %overn$ent ,uildin%s, far$s, $ills, plantations, rail.a5s, ,us stations, airports, .harves and other industrial
esta,lish$ents.
/=*0

A close e+a$ination of the records, as .ell as description of the cri$e as stated in the infor$ation, reveals that the cri$e
co$$itted is in fact si$ple arson ,ecause the ,urned properties are residential houses.

At an5 rate, the penalt5 for si$ple arson resultin% to death, under !ection D of Presidential Decree No. *6*=,
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is reclusion
perpetua to death. @ith the repeal of the death penalt5 la. throu%h Repu,lic Act No. '=76, the appellate court correctl5 i$posed the
penalt5 of reclusion perpetua.

"his Court, ho.ever, ta:es e+ception to the trial courtFs a.ard of da$a%es.

@ith respect to the heirs of ;elicidad, @e $odif5 the a$ount of te$perate da$a%es fro$ P*),))).)) to P (D,))).)), and
accordin%l5 delete the a$ount of actual da$a%es, in line .ith the rulin% in People v. Villanueva.
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In said case, the Court held that
.hen actual da$a%es proven ,5 receipts durin% the trial a$ount to less than P(D,))).)), the a.ard of te$perate da$a%es
for P(D,))).)) is -ustified in lieu of actual da$a%es of a lesser a$ount.
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Anent the actual da$a%es a.arded to Eulo%io a$ountin% to P(D),))).)), as inde$nification for the ,urned house, @e note
that said a$ount representin% the value of the ,urned house .as $erel5 %iven ,5 Eulo%io as an esti$ate. It .as not su,stantiated ,5
an5 docu$ent or receipt. ;or one to ,e entitled to actual da$a%es, it is necessar5 to prove the actual a$ount of loss .ith a reasona,le
de%ree of certaint5, pre$ised upon co$petent proof and the ,est evidence o,taina,le ,5 the in-ured part5.
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Instead, @e a.ard te$perate da$a%es in accordance .ith Art. (((7 of the Civil Code, providin% that te$perate da$a%es
$a5 ,e recovered .hen the court finds that so$e pecuniar5 loss has ,een suffered ,ut its a$ount cannot, fro$ the nature of the case,
,e proven .ith certaint5.
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It is thus reasona,le to e+pect that the value of the house ,urned do.n a$ounted to at least P()),))).)).

WHEREFORE, the appealed decision findin% appellant 3E!!IE 4IEBA! &8RCIA %uilt5 ,e5ond reasona,le dou,t of
the cri$e of arson and sentencin% hi$ to reclusion perpetua is AFFIRMED .ith MODIFICATIONS:

*. Appellant is ordered to inde$nif5 the heirs of ;elicidad <uilates the a$ount of PD),))).)) as $oral da$a%esC PD),))).)) as
death inde$nit5C and P(D,))).)) as te$perate da$a%es.

(. "he a.ard of P*),))).)) as actual da$a%es in favor of the heirs of ;elicidad <uilates is deleted.

=. Appellant is ordered to pa5 Eulo%io <uilates the a$ount of P()),))).)) as te$perate da$a%es.

"he a.ard of P(D),))).)) as actual da$a%es in favor of Eulo%io <uilates is deleted.

SO ORDERED.