G.R. No. 106210 -11; January 30, 1998.
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. ROBERTO “RAMBO” LISING, RODOLFO MANALILI, FELIMON GARCIA, ENRICO DIZON, and ROBIN MANGA, accused-appellants.

FACTS

The case involves the kidnapping and subsequent murder of Ernesto “Cochise” Bernabe II and Ana Lourdes “Beebom” Castaños on April 25-26, 1990. Rodolfo Manalili sought the help of Felimon Garcia to find someone to arrest Robert Herrera, the suspect in the killing of his brother. Garcia contacted policeman Roberto “Rambo” Lising. A meeting was arranged where Manalili offered P50,000 for the job, giving an initial P2,000 and instructing the group to contact his employee, Vic Nabua (also referred to as Vic Lisboa), to identify Herrera. Lising’s group, which included Enrico Dizon and Robin Manga, conducted surveillance at the Castaños residence. On the evening of April 25, 1990, they mistakenly abducted Cochise and Beebom from Dayrit’s Ham and Burger House in Quezon City, believing Cochise was Herrera. The couple was forcibly taken, handcuffed, and brought to a warehouse in San Fernando, Pampanga. There, Cochise was stabbed to death by Manalili (with Lising acting as a lookout), and Beebom was killed elsewhere by Garcia and another person. The bodies were buried in shallow graves. The crime was uncovered in June 1990 when security guards informed the victims’ families, leading to the exhumation of the bodies and the arrest of the accused. The trial court convicted the appellants for double murder but found only Lising, Dizon, and Manga guilty of slight illegal detention for the kidnapping, exonerating Manalili and Garcia on that charge.

ISSUE

The primary issue is whether the accused-appellants are guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crimes charged, specifically double murder and kidnapping/serious illegal detention, and whether conspiracy existed among them.

RULING

The Supreme Court AFFIRMED the conviction of all accused-appellants (Rodolfo Manalili, Roberto “Rambo” Lising, Felimon Garcia, Robin Manga, and Enrico Dizon) for the crime of double murder. The Court found conspiracy among them, as their individual actions—from planning, surveillance, abduction, to the actual killing—demonstrated a common purpose to commit the crimes. The Court MODIFIED the trial court’s decision regarding the kidnapping charge. It ruled that the crime committed was Kidnapping under Article 267(4) of the Revised Penal Code (serious illegal detention), not slight illegal detention, as the victim was a female (Beebom) and a motor vehicle was used. The Court sentenced Lising, Dizon, and Manga to reclusion perpetua for kidnapping. It noted that Manalili and Garcia could no longer be convicted for kidnapping due to double jeopardy, as the trial court had acquitted them of that charge, but they remained convicted for the double murder. The civil liabilities imposed by the trial court were affirmed.