Man fails to get story straight, gets 14 years for homicide

MANILA, Philippines - A man was convicted of homicide after he said he was somewhere else when his neighbor was killed in 2005, but admitted to injuring his neighbor’s partner when she tried to protect the victim during the same incident.

Rolando Castillo was convicted of homicide for the death of Eduardo Arguilles in October 2005. The original charge filed by the prosecutor’s office was murder.

In an April 25 decision, Judge Genie Gapas-Agbada of the Regional Trial Court Branch 221 sentenced Castillo to a minimum of six years to as long as 14 years, eight months and a day in prison. Agbada also ordered Castillo to pay Arguilles’ heirs P43,854.92 as actual damages and P50,000 as civil indemnity.

The charge stemmed from an incident on Oct. 16, 2005 when Arguilles’ live-in partner, Nenita Lacambra, heard knocks on the door of their house in Barangay Pasong Tamo, Quezon City.

She opened the door and saw Arguilles being beaten up by Castillo and two other persons. When she saw Castillo raise a hollow block to hit Arguilles, Lacambra said she covered her partner’s body with her own and was the one hit with the hollow block.

Both Arguilles and Lacambra were brought to the hospital, but Arguilles died the next day due to head injuries.

Castillo was arrested by village authorities following a chase.

In the case filed by Lacambra for serious physical injury before another lower court, Castillo pleaded guilty and was convicted in December 2005.

But in the case for murder in connection with Arguilles’ death, Castillo claimed he was sleeping at the house of his sister on Oct. 15, 2005. The next day, he was invited by the police for questioning but was eventually detained and charged, Castillo claimed.

But the court ruled that Lacambra identified Castillo as one of the three who beat up Arguilles on the early morning of Oct. 16, 2005.

“Nenita herself suffered serious physical injuries because she tried to save the victim from further harm by the accused. This was admitted by the accused when he pleaded guilty to Nenita’s charge of serious physical injuries,” the judge said.

But as far as the murder charge was concerned, the judge ruled that “not one of the qualifying circumstances alleged in the information – treachery, evident premeditation, abuse of superior strength – is attendant in the case at bar to qualify the crime to murder.”