G.R. No. L-31481, L-31482 and L-31483 February 28, 1979
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. ERNESTO SARIP, alias Poor, MANUEL RAOP alias Onot, CONDALLA SARIP and DONATO (DUMATO) MABPAN, accused; ERNESTO SARIP and MANUEL RAOP, defendants whose death sentences are under automatic review.

FACTS

In Criminal Case No. 1591 for Robbery with Triple Homicide, accused Ernesto Sarip and Manuel Raop, along with others, were charged for the robbery and killing of Ciriaco Mision, Pamposa Mision, and Amparo Mision on April 30, 1966, in Bukidnon. After initially pleading not guilty, Sarip, with the assistance of counsel, changed his plea to guilty. The trial court did not immediately sentence him but proceeded to receive evidence. The prosecution presented eyewitnesses and Sarip’s extra-judicial confession, wherein he admitted participation and implicated Raop and others. Raop maintained his not guilty plea. The trial court convicted both Sarip and Raop, sentencing them to death. Their co-accused were acquitted. The death sentences are under automatic review. Separate convictions for Sarip and Raop in other criminal cases (robbery in band and illegal possession of firearms) were not appealed and were improperly elevated, thus outside this Court’s appellate jurisdiction.

ISSUE

The core issue is whether the death penalty imposed on Ernesto Sarip and Manuel Raop for the complex crime of Robbery with Triple Homicide should be affirmed.

RULING

Yes, the Supreme Court affirmed the death penalty. The legal logic proceeds from the established facts of conspiracy and the nature of the complex crime. The evidence, including Sarip’s judicial confession, extra-judicial confession, and eyewitness testimonies, proved beyond reasonable doubt that Sarip and Raop, in conspiracy with others, committed robbery and, on the same occasion, killed three persons. The Court rejected Sarip’s claim that his guilty plea was uninformed, noting he was assisted by counsel and his plea merely ratified his detailed, voluntary confession. For Raop, the Court found his denial and claim of acting under duress from his armed co-conspirators incredible, as he was also armed and a close friend of Sarip, with no evidence of irresistible force.
The crimes were attended by the aggravating circumstances of abuse of superiority, dwelling, and nocturnity. Even considering Sarip’s plea of guilty as a mitigating circumstance, the presence of multiple aggravating circumstances and the heinous nature of the offense—a robbery culminating in the cold-blooded killing of three family members—mandated the supreme penalty under Article 294(1) of the Revised Penal Code. The Court modified the civil liability, ordering solidary indemnity of P36,000 for the heirs of the three victims and P1,000 for the stolen articles. The judgment in Criminal Case No. 1591 was affirmed with modifications.