G.R. No. 121787 June 17, 1997
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. EDGARDO GREFALDIA, accused-appellant.

FACTS

Accused-appellant Edgardo Grefaldia was convicted of murder by the Regional Trial Court of Gumaca, Quezon, and sentenced to reclusion perpetua. The information alleged that on December 3, 1988, in Buenavista, Quezon, Grefaldia, armed with an armalite rifle, with intent to kill and with treachery and evident premeditation, willfully attacked and shot Jojo Buenaobra, causing his death. The prosecution’s main witness was Vilma Convocar. Her testimony, as summarized by the trial court, established that on the evening of December 3, 1988, she was in her house with her children when she heard a gunshot and her husband, Gilberto Convocar, shout, “Why did you shoot me?” Her wounded husband entered the house. A man whose face was covered with a black cloth (later identified as Grefaldia) peeped through the door and ordered her to put out the gas lamp, which she did out of fear. She was then taken downstairs and forced to point out the house of their neighbor, Jessie (Jesus) Buenaobra. Grefaldia, armed with an armalite, proceeded to the Buenaobra house while she was guarded in a field. She heard three gunshots. Afterward, Grefaldia returned, and as they passed the Buenaobra house, she saw that the mother and son (Jojo Buenaobra) were already dead. She was then taken to Grefaldia’s house in Barangay San Pablo, where she was raped by four men, including Grefaldia, who removed his mask. She escaped in the early morning and later found her husband dead. Authorities apprehended Grefaldia in his house on the morning of December 4, 1988, with an armalite. The defense presented alibi, claiming Grefaldia was elsewhere during the incident.

ISSUE

Whether the trial court erred in convicting accused-appellant Edgardo Grefaldia of murder based on the evidence presented.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s decision. The Court held that the findings of fact of the trial court, including its assessment of the credibility of witnesses, are entitled to great weight and respect. The testimony of Vilma Convocar was found credible, natural, and consistent. Her positive identification of Grefaldia as the masked assailant who ordered her to extinguish the light, whom she later saw unmasked when he raped her, and whom she helped apprehend the next day, was deemed reliable. The circumstantial evidence—including the sequence of events where Grefaldia, armed and masked, went to the Buenaobra house immediately after Convocar was forced to identify it, followed by gunshots and the discovery of the victims dead—sufficiently established Grefaldia’s guilt for the murder of Jojo Buenaobra. The defense of denial and alibi was rejected as the weakest defense, which cannot prevail over positive identification and where the accused failed to prove it was physically impossible for him to be at the crime scene. The penalty of reclusion perpetua and the order to indemnify the heirs of the deceased in the amount of P50,000 were affirmed.