G.R. No. 103233. August 3, 1993.
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. PRIMO PELIGRO, ELIAS CORNEA and WENNIE SEBUGON, accused-appellants.

FACTS

Accused-appellants Primo Peligro, Elias Cornea, and Wennie Sebugon, along with a certain Jun Tumor who remained at-large, were charged with Rape with Homicide for the death of Bernardita Abad, a public school teacher, on or about April 5, 1986, in Barangay Glamang, South Cotabato. They pleaded not guilty. The Regional Trial Court convicted all three accused of the crime of Murder based on circumstantial evidence and sentenced each to reclusion perpetua, with orders to pay damages. The prosecution’s case established the following: On April 5, 1986, around 7:00 a.m., witness Cesar Gamutan saw the three accused and Jun Tumor walking in single file with the victim near Matinao River. Later that morning, witness Joselito Esteta saw the four men (the three accused and Jun Tumor) walking hurriedly from the area where the victim’s body was later found; upon seeing him, they turned back and ran upstream. The victim’s body, in an advanced state of decomposition, was discovered on April 13, 1986. Dr. Pasuelo, who conducted the post-mortem, stated the victim had been dead for about a week and might have been sexually attacked, citing the position of her panty, though there was no positive proof of sexual abuse. Witness Freddie Tuban testified that on April 22, 1986, after a drinking session, accused Elias Cornea confessed to him that they had raped and killed Bernardita Abad, specifying the roles each played: Cornea twisted her knee, Sebugon cut her breast, and Peligro and Jun Tumor killed her, after all four raped her. Cornea warned Tuban not to squeal. Tuban later revealed this to Dante Anhao and Purok President Rolando Aparis. The victim’s father, Buenaventura Abad, testified about a grudge held by those residing in the house of Maximo Cornea (Elias’s father) against him, stemming from a prior incident where he reported a theft suspicion involving Jun Tumor. After the discovery of the body, Elias Cornea secured a certification from his employer, and Jun Tumor disappeared.

ISSUE

Whether the trial court erred in convicting the accused-appellants of Murder based on circumstantial evidence.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s decision. The guilt of the three accused was proved beyond reasonable doubt through a combination of credible circumstantial evidence. The circumstances, taken together, formed an unbroken chain leading to the reasonable conclusion that the accused committed the crime. These circumstances included: (1) the accused were last seen with the victim alive; (2) they were seen fleeing from the crime scene; (3) the accused Elias Cornea’s detailed confession to Freddie Tuban; (4) the motive of grudge held by the Cornea household against the victim’s father; (5) the physical evidence (the victim’s body found decomposed in the area); (6) the accused Cornea’s attempt to secure an alibi by getting an employment certification after the body was found; and (7) the sudden disappearance of their co-conspirator Jun Tumor. The Court found the trial court’s assessment of witness credibility to be sound and upheld the conviction for Murder, modifying the designation from Rape with Homicide due to insufficient proof of rape, but the killing was attended by treachery. The Court also noted the prosecutorial lapse in not including Jun Tumor in the Information.