G.R. No. 123860 January 20, 2000
People of the Philippines, plaintiff-appellee, vs. Edwin Naag y Roque and Joselito Alcantara, accused, Edwin Naag y Roque, accused-appellant.

FACTS

Accused-appellant Edwin Naag was charged with two counts of murder for the stabbing deaths of spouses Rodrigo and Rosita Fontelera on November 15, 1990, in Olongapo City. The prosecution’s case rested on the medico-legal findings, the dying declaration of Rosita Fontelera, and Naag’s extrajudicial confession. Rosita, before her death, identified Naag and Joselito Alcantara as her assailants to a witness. The autopsy revealed Rodrigo sustained 46 stab wounds, while Rosita suffered multiple fatal stab wounds. Only Naag was arrested and tried, as Alcantara remained at large.
The trial court convicted Naag of two counts of murder, qualified by abuse of superior strength, and sentenced him to two terms of reclusion perpetua. He was also ordered to pay damages. Naag appealed, contesting the admissibility of his extrajudicial confession, arguing it was obtained without proper Miranda rights, and claiming the prosecution failed to prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

ISSUE

The primary issue is whether the extrajudicial confession of accused-appellant Edwin Naag is admissible as evidence against him. A secondary issue is whether the prosecution proved his guilt for two counts of murder beyond reasonable doubt.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction with modification to the damages. The extrajudicial confession was ruled admissible. The Court held that the constitutional rights to remain silent and to counsel under Section 12, Article III of the Constitution apply only during custodial investigation. The record showed Naag was not under arrest or in custody when he voluntarily gave his statement to the NBI; he walked in freely and was not restrained. Therefore, the Miranda warnings were not required. His confession was given freely, voluntarily, and with the assistance of a lawyer from the NBI’s legal staff.
On the merits, the confession, corroborated by the dying declaration of Rosita Fontelera and the detailed medico-legal reports, established Naag’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The confession detailed his and Alcantara’s concerted actions in attacking the unarmed victims, demonstrating conspiracy. The nature, location, and number of wounds indicated a determined effort to kill, satisfying the qualifying circumstance of abuse of superior strength. The Court modified the awarded funeral expenses to P25,050.00 based on receipts but sustained the awards of P100,000.00 as civil indemnity and P100,000.00 as moral damages for each death.