G.R. No. 117321 February 11, 1998
The People of the Philippines, plaintiff-appellee, vs. Herson Tan y Verzo, accused-appellant.
FACTS
Accused-appellant Herson Tan, along with Lito Amido, were charged with highway robbery with murder for the killing of tricycle driver Freddie Saavedra and the taking of his motorcycle on December 5, 1988. The prosecution’s case relied heavily on an alleged oral confession made by Tan. Lt. Carlos Santos of the Lucena PNP testified that he invited Tan to police headquarters in connection with this case and two other robbery cases. During their conversation at the station, Tan allegedly admitted his and Amido’s responsibility for the crime and revealed they sold the motorcycle to a certain Danny Teves. Lt. Santos admitted on cross-examination that he had no warrant for Tan’s arrest, that he informed Tan he was a suspect, and that he did not inform Tan of his constitutional rights to remain silent and to counsel because they were “just conversing.” The trial court convicted Tan and sentenced him to reclusion perpetua, while acquitting Amido due to insufficient evidence.
ISSUE
May the confession of an accused, given before a police investigator upon invitation and without the benefit of counsel, be admissible in evidence against him?
RULING
No. The Supreme Court set aside the decision and acquitted the appellant. The Court held that the confession was inadmissible as it was obtained in violation of the constitutional rights of the accused during custodial investigation. Article III, Section 12 of the Constitution requires that any person under investigation for an offense be informed of the right to remain silent and to have competent and independent counsel, and that any confession obtained in violation of this is inadmissible. Republic Act No. 7438 explicitly states that “custodial investigation” includes the practice of issuing an “invitation” to a suspect. The Court found that when Tan was invited and questioned at the police headquarters, the investigation had ceased to be a general inquiry and had begun to focus on him as a particular suspect, thus triggering the rules on custodial investigation. Lt. Santos admitted he did not inform Tan of his constitutional rights. Consequently, the alleged confession, being uncounselled, was inadmissible. Without this confession, the remaining evidence was inadequate to warrant a conviction.