People v.

De Joya o If they had been intended to designate the subject, we must note that
GR # 75028 | 203 SCRA 343| November 8, 1991 no predicate was uttered by the deceased.
Petitioner: PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES o If they were designed to designate the object of a verb, we must note
Respondent: PIOQUINTO DE JOYA y CRUZ that no verb was used by the deceased.
o The phrase "Si Paqui" must, moreover, be related to the question
DOCTRINE asked by Alvin: "Apo, Apo, what happened?" Alvin's question was
A dying declaration to be admissible must be complete in itself. To be complete in itself not: "Apo, Apo, who did this to you?"
does not mean that the declarant must recite everything that constituted the res gestae o RTC simply assumed that by uttering the words "Si Paqui", the
of the subject of his statement, but that his statement of any given fact should be a full deceased had intended to name the person who had thrust some
expression of all that he intended to say as conveying his meaning in respect of such sharp instrument through and through her neck just below her ears.
fact. Eulalia herself did not say so and we cannot speculate what the rest
of her communication might have been had death not interrupted her
FACTS o None of the other circumstantial evidence clearly and necessarily
1. The facts as summarized by the SolGen, the Sps. Valencia, along with their lead to the conclusion that de Joya robbed and killed Eulalia.
10-year-old son Alvin, and the wife’s 88-year old mother, Eulalia Diamse, are
residents of Balagtas, Bulacan. DISPOSITION
2. When Alvin reached home, he saw his grandmother Eulalia lying down De Joya was aquitted.
prostrate and drenched with her own blood. He immediately threw his bag and
ran towards her. Eulalia held his hand and after which said: "Si Paqui". After
saying these words, she let go of Alvin's hand and passed away.
3. The circumstantial evidence the prosecution relied on:
a. A beach walk step-in was found near the victim's body. Eulalia's
daughter recognized it as footwear she gave de Joya's wife
b. A Witness saw de Joya in Eulalia’s yard, holding a bicycle and doing
nothing
c. Two weeks before the incident, Eulalia and de Joya quarreled
because de Joya took a bicycle without Eulalia's consent
d. De Joya only visited once during the 4-day wake of Eulalia.
4. The accused during his testimony never denied that he is called Paqui. The
RTC found the accused guilty of robbery with homicide.

Hence, this petition.

ISSUE/S
1. W/N the dying statement of Eulalia, “Si Paqui” was complete in itself.

RULING & RATIO

- NO
o Her declaration was incomplete. She was cut off by death before she
could convey a complete or sensible communication to her grandson
The words "Si Paqui" do not constitute by themselves a sensible
sentence. Those two words could have been intended to designate
either the subject or a verb.

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