Man gets 12-year jail term for homicide

CEBU, Philippines - A 34-year-old maintenance worker was sentenced to suffer a maximum of 12 years imprisonment after he was found guilty of killing his uncle four years ago.

Regional Trial Court Branch 18 Judge Gilbert Moises found Harold Ravanes guilty of homicide for stabbing to death Joel Engbino on June 25, 2008.

Ravanes was meted with seven years minimum and 12 years maximum imprisonment. He was also ordered to pay the heirs of the victim the total amount of P70,000 as civil indemnity and temperate damages.

Ravanes pleaded not guilty to the crime upon arraignment. He was assisted by public attorney Leah Cruz.

However, he was positively identified by witness Roel Bastatas as the one who stabbed the victim dead.

Bastatas said that on June 25, 2008 dawn he was at the house of Dodo Ravanes in Sitio San Juan, Barangay Inayagan, Naga City together with his relatives.

According to Bastatas, the victim tried to pacify a commotion involving Ravanes. But the accused got irked of his uncle instead.

Later after the confrontation, he learned the victim was stabbed.

Another witness Roque Engbino said he also noticed the commotion and saw the victim and the accused were having a confrontation. After the confrontation, the victim left to buy cigarette but he was followed by the accused.

Roque said he saw Ravanes stabbed the victim five times using an ice pick.

 Ravanes denied the witnesses’ claim saying he was just at the house when the alleged stabbing incident happened. The court however found the witnesses credible.

“While there may have been minor inconsistencies in the prosecutory evidence these did not affect the positive declaration of the prosecution witnesses that it was the accused that killed the victim,” the six-page decision reads.