GR 94546; (April, 1992) (Digest)
G.R. No. 94546 April 24, 1992
People of the Philippines, plaintiff-appellee, vs. Panfilo Diga, accused-appellant.
FACTS
Accused-appellant Panfilo Diga, along with Eusebio Pigao, was charged with Multiple Murder for the killings of Fermin Domingo, his six-year-old son Crisologo Domingo, and Rodolfo Ganaban on August 22, 1969, in Barangay Alba, Baggao, Cagayan. The victims were in a weapons carrier hauling sand and gravel for a school renovation project when they were ambushed. Telesforo Medrano, an eyewitness, testified that as the vehicle ascended a road, automatic gunfire erupted from the west. He saw Panfilo Diga standing and holding a long gun, with Eusebio Pigao beside him. Fermin was hit, the vehicle rolled back into the river, and Diga then fired directly at the front seat. Jose Medrano, another eyewitness, later met Diga holding an automatic carbine near the crime scene. The mortally wounded Fermin Domingo, in the presence of multiple witnesses including his wife Lucia, identified his assailants as “men of Herrero… Panfilo Diga alias Amin and Eusebio Pigao” before he died. The prosecution established a motive rooted in past conflicts: Fermin had previously prevented Diga from bringing his employer’s rice thresher into Alba and had publicly slapped Diga during a community event. Diga’s defense was alibi, claiming he was drying palay at his employer’s house in San Jose at the time of the shooting, which the trial court found unconvincing. The Regional Trial Court convicted Diga and sentenced him to reclusion perpetua.
ISSUE
Whether the guilt of accused-appellant Panfilo Diga for the crime of Multiple Murder was proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
RULING
Yes, the Supreme Court affirmed the conviction. The trial court’s factual findings, particularly on the credibility of the eyewitnesses and the dying declaration of victim Fermin Domingo, were upheld. The Court found no reason to disturb the trial court’s assessment, noting that the declaration was admissible as an ante-mortem statement and as part of the res gestae. The defense of alibi was correctly rejected for being weak and unsubstantiated. The appealed judgment was affirmed with modification as to penalty. Accused-appellant Panfilo Diga is sentenced to suffer three (3) penalties of reclusion perpetua and to pay death indemnity of P50,000 to the legal heirs of each victim, totaling P150,000.