G.R. No. 62968 -69, February 27, 1989
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. RUPERTO GIMONGALA alias PERTO, JEREMIAS SEBLOS alias TENDIGOY and LUDOVICO PASKO alias RUDY, accused; JEREMIAS SEBLOS alias TENDIGOY and LUDOVICO PASKO alias RUDY, accused-appellants.

FACTS

On October 30, 1977, Alfonso Cadungog, his wife Soledad Ynoy, their son Eliaquim, and granddaughter Felisa were returning home from marketing in Barangay Bago, Asturias, Cebu. While traversing a cornfield belonging to accused Ludovico Pasko, they were waylaid. The group of assailants, allegedly led by Romualdo Seblos and including appellants Jeremias Seblos and Ludovico Pasko, along with Ruperto Gimongala, attacked them with stones. Alfonso and Soledad were stoned to death, while Eliaquim sustained serious head injuries. Felisa, though unharmed, witnessed the assault. The accused were charged with two counts of murder and one count of frustrated murder.
After trial, all three accused were convicted. Only appellants Jeremias Seblos and Ludovico Pasko appealed, contesting the credibility of the eyewitnesses, the improper admission of Gimongala’s extra-judicial confession, and the sufficiency of evidence against them. They interposed the defense of alibi, claiming they were sharing a meal at Jeremias’s house, located three kilometers away, during the incident.

ISSUE

The primary issue is whether the guilt of appellants Jeremias Seblos and Ludovico Pasko for the crimes of murder and frustrated murder was proven beyond reasonable doubt by evidence independent of the inadmissible extra-judicial confession of their co-accused.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction, as modified. The Court first sustained the challenge against Gimongala’s extra-judicial confession, ruling it inadmissible for being obtained without the assistance of counsel, in violation of constitutional rights. However, the conviction was upheld based on other sufficient evidence.
The prosecution’s case, established through the credible and consistent testimonies of eyewitness-victims Eliaquim and Felisa Cadungog, positively identified the appellants as participants in the attack. Their testimonies were corroborated by medical evidence confirming the fatal skull fractures sustained by the elderly victims and the serious head injury to Eliaquim. The Court found the appellants’ defense of alibi inherently weak and unpersuasive, especially given the proximity of Jeremias’s house to the crime scene, which did not preclude their presence.
The Court inferred conspiracy from the appellants’ collective and coordinated actions during the assault, demonstrating a common purpose to attack the victims. While the Court did not find evident premeditation, it affirmed the presence of treachery (alevosia). The victims, comprising an elderly couple, a young man, and a teenager, were ambushed without warning and were unarmed, ensuring the execution of the crimes without risk to the assailants. This qualifying circumstance elevated the killings to murder and the attack on Eliaquim to frustrated murder.
The penalties imposed by the trial court were affirmed. However, civil indemnity was increased to P30,000.00 for each murder and P5,000.00 for the frustrated murder, to be paid solidarily by the appellants.