GR 112716; (December, 1996) (Digest)
G.R. Nos. 112716-17 December 16, 1996
People of the Philippines vs. Eduardo S. Herbias
FACTS
On November 30, 1992, Jeremias Saladio was driving a jeepney with passengers, including his sister Amparo Labrador and nephew Julie Capillo. As he slowed down on Santiago Street in Valenzuela due to road conditions, two men on a motorcycle pulled alongside. The back rider fired multiple times at Jeremias, hitting him. Despite his wounds, Jeremias managed to leap from his vehicle, throw his lunch bag, and pull the motorcycle driver to the ground. The back rider continued firing until his gun was empty. The driver then passed his own gun to the back rider, who again shot at Jeremias. The assailants then fled on the motorcycle. Jeremias sustained five gunshot wounds, two to the head being fatal. A passenger, Edgardo Manansala, was also wounded. The police later apprehended Eduardo Herbias, who was identified by Amparo and Julie as the motorcycle driver.
ISSUE
The core issues are whether the identification of the accused is credible and whether he is liable for both murder and frustrated murder.
RULING
The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction for murder but acquitted Herbias of frustrated murder. The Court found the testimonies of eyewitnesses Amparo Labrador and Julie Capillo credible. Minor inconsistencies in their accounts, and between their sworn statements and court testimonies, were deemed natural and did not undermine their core identification of Herbias as the driver. The Court also ruled that the absence of a formal police lineup does not invalidate an identification, and any irregularity in Herbias’s arrest was waived when he submitted to the court’s jurisdiction.
Regarding the crimes, the Court found treachery present as the attack was sudden and gave the victim no chance to defend himself, qualifying the killing as murder. However, the Court acquitted Herbias of the frustrated murder of Edgardo Manansala. The prosecution failed to prove that the shooting of Manansala was within the scope of the conspiracy to kill Jeremias. The evidence showed the assailants focused solely on Jeremias, and it was not established how Manansala was hit. Conspirators are only liable for acts done in furtherance of the common criminal design. The penalty for murder is reclusion temporal maximum to death. With the constitutional prohibition on the death penalty at the time, and considering the aggravating circumstance of use of a motor vehicle, the proper penalty is reclusion perpetua. The Court modified the trial court’s decision accordingly.