G.R. No. 103611 March 13, 1997
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. CESAR HERBIETO, MAXIMO PACQUIAO, MASSER MARAÑO, JOHN DOE, PETER DOE and WILLIAM DOE, accused. CESAR HERBIETO, MAXIMO PACQUIAO and MASSER MARAÑO, accused-appellants.

FACTS

In the early morning of March 2, 1988, in Cabangahan, Consolacion, Cebu, appellants Cesar Herbieto, Maximo Pacquiao, Masser Maraño, and three unidentified armed companions arrived at the house of Leticio Herbieto. They shouted for the occupants to come down. Recognizing his relative Cesar, Leticio descended, was pulled out by Cesar, and turned over to Maximo. A gunshot was heard, and Leticio was hit. The appellants then ordered the other male occupants, Timoteo Noya and Corsino Durano, to come down. When Leticio warned them to run for their lives, Timoteo and Corsino fled but were shot, sustaining wounds. Leticio, unable to flee, was killed, suffering multiple gunshot and stab wounds.
The appellants interposed the defenses of alibi and denial. Cesar Herbieto claimed he was at his brother-in-law’s house that night after conducting a raid on a gambling den. He asserted he had a good relationship with the deceased and that the eyewitness, Lilia Herbieto (the victim’s wife), implicated him falsely due to a prior quarrel. The trial court convicted appellants of Murder for Leticio’s death and two counts of Attempted Murder for the attacks on Timoteo and Corsino.

ISSUE

The core issue is whether the prosecution proved the guilt of the appellants beyond reasonable doubt, overcoming their defenses of alibi and denial.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the convictions but modified the penalties. The positive identification by eyewitness Lilia Herbieto, who knew appellant Cesar Herbieto well, was given full credence. Her testimony was clear, consistent, and credible, detailing the appellants’ collective actions. The Court ruled that alibi and denial are inherently weak defenses and cannot prevail over positive identification. The collective manner of the attack, with appellants acting in concert, established conspiracy, making each liable for the acts of the others.
The qualifying circumstance of treachery was present in the murder charge, as the attack was sudden and deliberate, rendering the victim defenseless. For the murder conviction, the penalty was corrected to reclusion perpetua, as the trial court erred in applying the Indeterminate Sentence Law to a crime punishable by reclusion perpetua. The civil indemnity for the victim’s death was also increased to P50,000.00. The penalties for the attempted murder convictions were affirmed. The defenses were rightly rejected, and the evidence solidly established the appellants’ guilt.