G.R. No. 18988 . December 29, 1922.
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, plaintiff-appellee, vs. PAULO ALCALA, defendant-appellant.

FACTS

The appellant, Paulo Alcala, was charged with murder for the death of Eugenio Rubion. The prosecution evidence established that on the night of June 13, 1921, the deceased was in his house. Around midnight, his wife, Emeteria Eje, awoke to a noise, looked out, and saw the appellant holding the deceased’s knees with a club while his brother, Valentin Alcala, held the deceased by the neck. The deceased was later found dead at the foot of the staircase. The appellant’s defense was alibi, which the trial court rejected. The Court of First Instance of Mindoro convicted him of murder, sentenced him to twenty years of cadena temporal, and ordered him to indemnify the heirs. The appellant appealed, assigning errors regarding his alibi, the classification of the crime, and the appreciation of nocturnity as an aggravating circumstance.

ISSUE

1. Whether the appellant’s defense of alibi should be upheld.
2. Whether the crime committed was murder or homicide.
3. Whether the aggravating circumstance of nocturnity was present.

RULING

1. The defense of alibi was not proven. The testimonies of the appellant and his brother were insufficient to overcome the positive identification by the prosecution witnesses.
2. The crime committed was homicide, not murder. The qualifying circumstance of treachery (alevosia) was not sufficiently proven. The evidence did not clearly establish that the attack was made while the victim was asleep or unprepared, or that the manner of attack ensured its execution without risk to the assailants. The majority of the Court found that the evidence did not show how the aggression began, and the location of the attack (foot of the staircase) differed from where the victim was last seen resting (hand-rail of the door), thus failing to prove treachery.
3. The aggravating circumstances of nocturnity and dwelling were present. Nocturnity was appreciated because the accused, though not necessarily seeking the cover of night, took advantage of it by approaching early but committing the crime late. The crime was committed in the dwelling of the offended party as the foot of the staircase is considered an integral part of the house.
The judgment was modified. Appellant Paulo Alcala was found guilty of homicide, attended by two aggravating circumstances (nocturnity and dwelling), and sentenced to twenty years of reclusion temporal, with accessories, and to indemnify the heirs.