G.R. No. 121671 August 14, 1998
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. WILLY MANALILI y BOLISAY and DANILO REYES y MAMNILA, accused-appellants.

FACTS

On February 1, 1990, appellants Willy Manalili and Danilo Reyes, together with several others, staged a hold-up on a Ballesteros Liner bus in Cordon, Isabela. Danilo Reyes fired a gun and announced the hold-up. Reyes shot and killed the bus helper, Sonny Quintua. Willy Manalili pointed a gun at a passenger and took money. An exchange of gunfire ensued between the robbers and a passenger, resulting in the death of one robber and Manalili being wounded. Reyes also shot and killed the bus driver, Alfredo Tango. A passenger, Nestor Agustin, was also shot and killed. Three other passengers were wounded. The appellants were later apprehended. Three separate Informations were filed against them: one for Attempted Robbery (Crim. Case No. 21-1156), one for the killing of three persons (Crim. Case No. 21-1157), and one for the shooting and wounding of three other persons (Crim. Case No. 21-1158). Upon arraignment, both accused pleaded not guilty. After a joint trial, the Regional Trial Court found them guilty of the single crime of Attempted Robbery with Homicide and sentenced them to reclusion perpetua, while acquitting them of the charge of qualified illegal possession of firearms used in multiple murder.

ISSUE

Whether the trial court erred in convicting the appellants of the complex crime of attempted robbery with homicide despite the filing of separate Informations for attempted robbery and multiple homicide.

RULING

No, the trial court did not err. The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction but modified the penalty. The constitutional right of an accused to be informed of the nature of the offense charged was satisfied. The appellants failed to object to the duplicitous Informations (one charging attempted robbery and another charging the homicides on the occasion thereof) prior to arraignment. By such failure, they could be found guilty of the complex crime of attempted robbery with homicide, as the elements of both component crimes were alleged in the Informations and duly proven during trial. The killing of the three persons was committed by reason or on the occasion of the attempted robbery, constituting a single, indivisible complex crime under Article 297 of the Revised Penal Code. However, the penalty was modified. Since the attempted robbery was not consummated, the proper penalty should be based on Article 297 in relation to Article 51 of the Revised Penal Code. The penalty for the homicide committed on the occasion of attempted robbery is reclusion temporal maximum to reclusion perpetua. Applying the Indeterminate Sentence Law, the penalty was reduced to an indeterminate sentence of twelve (12) years of prision mayor, as minimum, to twenty (20) years of reclusion temporal, as maximum. The award of civil indemnity was also increased to P50,000.00 for each of the three deceased victims.