People vs. Feloteo (Art.
160)
Facts:
On May 6, 1993, victim Sonny Sotto and his friends, Arnel Abelada and Johnny Abrea were walking along
the highway on their way home after having had a few drinks earlier that day. The group was in a playful
mood as Abelada was playing “habulan” with Sotto.
Accused Wilfredo Feloteo, armed with an armalite rifle, then appeared at the opposite side of the road
and walked past Abelada and Abrea. The two recognized Feloteo but did not pay much attention to him
as they were playing. Without uttering a word, Feloteo aimed the armalite at Sotto and fired, killing
Sotto.
The firearm used in the incident belonged to SPO2 Roman Adion. On May 6, 1993, Adion went to the
house of Teofisto Alaquin bringing with him his service firearm, an M-16 armalite rifle. He spent the
night in Alaquin’s house but was awaken by his host, informing him that his gun had been stolen. They
immediately looked for the thief. Shortly after, they heard a gunshot nearby so they rushed towards the
origin of the gunshot. They saw Sotto lying on the road with a gunshot wound to the chest.
SPO2 Adion suspected that his armalite was used in the shooting and continued his search for the
accused. At 5 a.m. the next day, he nabbed the accused and thereafter, the accused surrendered the
armalite to him.
SPO4 Jose Ansay, Chief of the Firearm and Explosive Unit of the PNP of the province of Palawan affirmed
that Feloteo was not duly licensed to carry firearms
However, Feloteo denied having stolen the armalite of SPO2 Adion and alleged that the shooting of
Sotto was an accident. He averred that on May 6, 1993, he was at his sister’s house when SPO2 Adion
invited him over to the place of Alaquin. When they arrived at Alaquin’s house, Frank Adion dropped by
the house and borrowed SPO2 Adion’s tricycle. Frank Adion returned later on foot and told SPO2 Adion
that his tricycle’s engine broke down. SPO2 Adion then left to check on his tricycle leaving the armalite
and telling Feloteo to wait for him there. Then, Feloteo decided to follow SPO2 Adion, taking with him
the armalite.
Walking along the road he saw Sonny Sotto and his group and in jest he pointed the gun at Sotto and
shouted “Boots, Don’t get near me, I’ll shoot you.” And pulled the trigger. The accused claimed that he
was unaware that the gun was loaded and when Sotto was shot he fled but was caught the following
day after which, he told SPO2 Adion that he accidentally hit Sotto.
The trial court found Feloteo guilty and convicted of the crimes of Murder and Illegal Possession of
Firearm.
Issue:
Whether the Trial Court erred in convicting the crime of Illegal Possession of Firearm as a separate
criminal offense
Ruling:
Yes, the Trial Court erred in convicting the accused of two separate crimes Murder and Illegal Possession
of Firearm when he should only be convicted for Murder with the aggravating circumstance of use of an
unlicensed firearm.
Appellant Sotto was convicted of Murder under Art. 248 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC) and for Illegal
Possession of Firearm under Section 1 of P.D. 1866
Section 1 par. 2 of PD 1866 provides “If homicide or murder is committed with the use of an unlicensed
firearm, the penalty of death shall be imposed
Republic Act no. 8294 amended the PD reducing the penalties for simple and aggravated forms of illegal
possession of firearms
RA 8294 provides the following:
Sec. 1 par. 3
“If homicide or murder is committed with the use of unlicensed firearm, such
use of unlicensed firearm shall be considered as an aggravating circumstance”
Sec. 5
Coverage of the Term Unlicensed Firearm – the term unlicensed firearm shall include:
-Firearms with expired licenses or,
-Unauthorized use of licensed firearm in the commission of a crime
Clearly the provision states that when an unlicensed firearm is used in consonance with the crime of
murder or homicide, such use of the unlicensed firearm shall merely be used as an aggravating
circumstance
The enactment of RA 8294 may be given retroactive effect as it favors the appellant
The appellant Sotto is therefore only liable for murder under the Revised Penal Code and in view of the
amendments introduced y RA 8294, the use of the unlicensed firearm in killing the victim, Sonny Sotto is
no longer considered as a separate offense, instead it is considered as an aggravating circumstance only
