FIRST DIVISION
[G.R. No. 237411. June 11, 2018.]
JAMAL LACSAMAN y SULTAN, petitioner,vs. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, respondent.
NOTICE
Sirs/Mesdames :
Please take notice that the Court, First Division, issued a Resolution datedJune 11, 2018which reads as follows:
"G.R. No. 237411 (Jamal Lacsaman y Sultan v. People of the Philippines). — The motion for extension of time to file a petition for review on certiorari filed by petitioner Jamal Lacsaman y Sultan is GRANTED.
After review of the records, the Court resolves to DENY the petition for failure to sufficiently show that the Court of Appeals (CA) committed any reversible error in upholding the conviction of petitioner Jamal Lacsaman y Sultan of the crime of homicide. It is a fundamental rule that the trial court's factual findings, especially its assessment of the credibility of witnesses, are accorded great weight and respect and binding upon this Court, particularly when affirmed by the CA. 1 The defense of denial and alibi cannot prevail over the positive identification of the prosecution witnesses. Here, the Regional Trial Court and the CA held that the prosecution was able to establish that the conspiracy existed among all the accused as their simultaneous acts indicated a joint purpose and concurrence of intention to kill Rommel. However, while the information charged the accused for murder, the qualifying and aggravating circumstances alleged in the information for treachery and evident premeditation were not established. Hence, in the absence of any circumstance that would qualify the killing to murder, the accused were held liable for homicide under Article 249 of the Revised Penal Code. EATCcI
WHEREFORE, the Court ADOPTS the findings of fact and conclusions of law in the Decision dated July 27, 2017 and Resolution dated January 17, 2018 of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. CR No. 38638, and AFFIRMS the Decision finding petitioner Jamal Lacsaman y Sultan GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of homicide, sentencing him to suffer an indeterminate penalty ranging from 10 years of prision mayor as minimum to 17 years and 4 months of reclusion temporal as maximum, and ordering him to solidarily pay the heirs of Rommel Venturina y Valbuena the following: P50,000.00 as moral damages, P50,000.00 as civil indemnity, P60,000.00 as actual damages, and P3,578,852.16 as damages for loss of earning capacity, plus 6% interest on all damages awarded from the finality of judgment until fully paid.
SO ORDERED." Leonardo-de Castro, J., designated as Acting Chairperson of the First Division per Special Order No. 2559 dated May 11, 2018; Tijam, J., on official leave; Gesmundo, J., designated as Acting Member per Special Order No. 2560 dated May 11, 2018. DHITCc
Very truly yours,
(SGD.) LIBRADA C. BUENAActing Division Clerk of Court
Footnotes
1.People v. Delen, G.R. No. 194446, April 21, 2014, 722 SCRA 334, 344.