A Dying Declaration Need Not Be in Writing | People vs. Vivovicente

Facts

Cpl. Iluminado Combalicer of the Galas Police Sub-Station 4 testified that before Hoyohoy died at 11am of July 21, 1991, Hoyohoy told him at 8am that he had been stabbed by Maning. Cpl. Combalicer took down the victims statement and made him sign it. The signed statement states:

02 T: Bakit ka narito sa hospital?

S: Sinaksak po ako ni Maning (Viovicente) at Duras (Viovicente) roon ring nakatira sa may likod ng bahay namin.

03 T: Anong dahilan at ikaw ay sinaksak?

S: Hindi ko po alam.

VIOVICENTE was charged with murder. 

Issues:

Can Vivovicente be charged despite of the failure of the victim FERNANDO HOYOHOY, to identify him as one of the assailants in his ante-mortem statement he had given to the police investigator at the hospital? Yes.

RTC convicted Viovicente.
CA increased the penalty because of the absence of mitigating and aggravating circumstances.

Can the ante mortem statement of Hoyohoy not in writing be admitted despite not made in writing? Yes.

Vivovicente

Supreme Court

Viovicente argued that it was error for the trial court to rely on the ante mortem statement of the deceased which he gave to his brother Tomas, in which the deceased pointed to accused-appellant and Balweg as his assailants.Reason:  because it was not in writing and it was not immediately reported by Tomas Hoyohoy to the authorities.

Ruling: The Revised Rules on Evidence do not require that a dying declaration must be made in writing to be admissible. Indeed, to impose such a requirement would be to exclude many a statement from a victim in extremis for want of paper and pen at the critical moment. Rule 130, 37 simply requires for admissibility of an ante mortem statement that (a) it must concern the crime and the surrounding circumstances of the declarants death; (b) at the time it was made, the declarant was under a consciousness of impending death; (c) the declarant was competent as a witness; and (d) the declaration was offered in a criminal case for homicide, murder, or parricide in which the decedent was the victim. These requisites have been met in this case.