FIRST DIVISION
[G.R. No. 239343. August 8, 2018.]
ALLAN G. DUNUAN, petitioner,vs. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, respondent.
NOTICE
Sirs/Mesdames :
Please take notice that the Court, First Division, issued a Resolution datedAugust 8, 2018which reads as follows: HTcADC
"G.R. No. 239343 (Allan G. Dunuan v. People of the Philippines). — The petitioner's motion for an extension of thirty (30) days within which to file a petition for review on certiorari is GRANTED, counted from the expiration of the reglementary period.
After review, the Court resolves to DENY the petition for failure to adequately establish that the Court of Appeals (CA) committed a reversible error in upholding the conviction of petitioner Allan G. Dunuan for homicide.
We have held time and again that when the issues involve matters of credibility of witnesses, the findings of the trial court, its calibration of the testimonies, and its assessment of the probative weight thereof, as well as its conclusions anchored on said findings, are accorded high respect, if not conclusive effect. This is so because the trial court has the unique opportunity to observe the demeanor of witnesses and is in the best position to discern whether they are telling the truth. Hence, it is a settled rule that appellate courts will not overturn the factual findings of the trial court unless there is a showing that the latter overlooked facts or circumstances of weight and substance that would affect the result of the case. The foregoing rule finds an even more stringent application where the findings of the trial court are sustained by the CA. 1
In view of the guidelines laid down in People v. Jugueta, 2 we also award temperate damages in the amount of P50,000.00.
WHEREFORE, the Court ADOPTS the findings of fact and conclusions of law of the trial court, as affirmed by the Court of Appeals in its August 29, 2017 Decision in CA-G.R. CR No. 37442. Petitioner Allan G. Dunuan is found GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of homicide and is sentenced to suffer the penalty of prision mayor in its medium period from 8 years and 1 day as minimum, to 14 years, 8 months, and 1 day of reclusion temporal as maximum, and to pay the heirs of the victim P50,000.00 as civil indemnity, P50,000.00 as moral damages, and P50,000.00 as temperate damages. These amounts shall then earn 6% interest per annum from the date of finality of this Resolution until full payment. aScITE
SO ORDERED."Leonardo-De Castro, J., designated as Acting Chairperson of the First Division per Special Order No. 2559 dated May 11, 2018; Gesmundo, J., designated as Acting Member of the First Division per Special Order No. 2560 dated May 11, 2018.
Very truly yours,
(SGD.) LIBRADA C. BUENAActing Division Clerk of Court
Footnotes
1.People v. Dayaday, G.R. No. 213224, January 16, 2017, 814 SCRA 414, 422-423.
2. G.R. No. 202124, April 5, 2016, 788 SCRA 331.