Court of Appeals confirms Leviste's conviction

MANILA, Philippines - The Court of Appeals (CA) has affirmed the conviction of businessman Jose Antonio Leviste for homicide and his sentence of six to 12 years in prison.

In a 30-page decision, the appellate court’s seventh division also ordered Leviste to pay an additional P50,000 as temperate damages, in lieu of actual damages, to the heirs of victim Rafael de las Alas, on top of the P100,000 in moral damages and death indemnity he was ordered to pay by the Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 150 in an earlier decision.

Leviste had consistently denied the allegations, saying he shot his long-time aide “in self-defense.”

The decision was penned by CA Associate Justice Juan Enriquez and concurred by Associate Justices Ramon Bato Jr. and Florita Macalino.

Court records show that on Jan. 12, 2007, at about 12:30 p.m., a shooting occurred in Leviste’s office at the LPL Towers. Police found De las Alas’ body in the office, but the CA noted that the gun he was holding was not cocked and Leviste’s lawyers could not present evidence that the victim actually fired his gun.

After the shooting, Leviste asked for confinement at the Makati Medical Center and surrendered to Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay.