Man gets jail for attempted homicide

CEBU, Philippines - The Regional Trial Court has convicted a man for attempting to kill a storekeeper of a hotel.

Judge Sylva Paderanga of  RTC Branch 16 found Nilo Ylanan guilty beyond reasonable doubt of attempted homicide.

“The court finds that the victim was indeed hit by an accidental firing of the gun during his scuffle with the accused, nevertheless, the fact remains that there was an initial stage wherein the accused struck the victim’s forehead using a gun which was a clear indication that he was the unlawful aggressor with a criminal mind,” Paderanga’s decision reads.

Such act of the accused in hitting the victim’s head with a firearm, Paderanga said, was a clear manifestation of his intent to kill Bartolome Sayaboc as the accused struck him on his head without provocation.

Paderanga sentenced Ylanan to four years in prison and ordered him to pay P30,000 as moral damages; P74,976.93 as actual expenses; and P51,955.86 to compensate the victim for loss of income.

Sayaboc said the incident happened about 10:30 p.m. on August 4, 2006 at the house of his friend, Melody Saludario, in Barangay Bulacao.

He was reportedly in the kitchen when the suspect arrived and asked him  if  he was a policeman. He told him no and Ylanan reportedly left.

However, Ylanan returned with a gun in hand and struck Sayaboc on the forehead. He also shot the victim and hit him on the left shoulder.

Sayaboc’s testimony was corroborated by Saludario and Teodora Fermin.

Sayaboc said he was unable to report to work after the incident because of his gunshot wound.

For his part, Ylanan said he went to Saludario’s house at that time because he was reportedly courting the woman. He then learned that a certain “Bart,” an alleged policeman, was also there. He said considering that Saya-boc did not look like a policeman to him, he reportedly grabbed Sayaboc’s firearm. However, the gun fired in the process and hit Sayaboc.

The court, in the end, gave more weight to Saya-boc’s testimony.

Paderanga said that at the time Sayaboc was in the kitchen, he did not act in any way that showed he wanted to hurt Ylanan or anyone for that matter.  (FREEMAN)