GR 127849; (August, 2000) (Digest)
G.R. No. 127849 ; August 9, 2000
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. VIVENCIO LABUGUEN @ DENCIO, accused-appellant.
FACTS
On October 27, 1994, in Angadanan, Isabela, appellant Vivencio Labuguen went to the house of Bonifacio Angeles, a cattle buyer. Labuguen, wearing sunglasses and a headband, offered to accompany Angeles to see three large cows for sale. Trusting the offer, Angeles withdrew P40,000.00 from his cabinet, counted the money in the presence of his common-law wife Marilou Dabo, and then left with Labuguen on his motorcycle. Witnesses Tomas Pabigayan and Romeo Bariza saw them together that morning, with Labuguen riding pillion.
Later that day, Angeles was found dead in a rice field, having suffered multiple gunshot and stab wounds. The P40,000.00 was missing. Labuguen was arrested after a chase, during which he attempted to shoot pursuing police officers. A .38 caliber revolver was recovered from him, which ballistic examination later confirmed was the weapon used to kill Angeles.
ISSUE
Whether the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt the guilt of the appellant for the crime of Robbery with Homicide.
RULING
Yes. The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction. The prosecution established an unbroken chain of circumstantial evidence leading to the inescapable conclusion that Labuguen was the perpetrator. The evidence showed that Labuguen was the last person seen with the victim immediately before his death, having lured him under the pretense of a business transaction. The motive for robbery was evident from the missing P40,000.00 that Angeles was carrying. Labuguen’s flight, his attempt to shoot arresting officers, and the ballistic match of his firearm to the fatal bullets constituted conclusive proof of guilt.
The aggravating circumstances of craft and fraud were correctly appreciated. Labuguen employed intellectual trickery by concocting the story about cows for sale to induce the victim to bring a large sum of money and accompany him to an isolated area. Under Article 294 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended by R.A. 7659, the penalty for Robbery with Homicide is reclusion perpetua to death. Applying Article 63, the presence of these aggravating circumstances without any mitigating circumstance warranted the imposition of the supreme penalty of death. The Court thus affirmed the trial court’s decision in toto.