GR 133892; (August, 2003) (Digest)
G.R. No. 133892 ; August 12, 2003
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, appellee, vs. JOVITO LLAVORE Y BARRIENTOS, JOEL LOBATON Y ORETA, RODOLFO FUENTES Y CASTILLO (At Large) and DANIEL GUILLERO Y ALVAREZ, accused. JOVITO LLAVORE Y BARRIENTOS, JOEL LOBATON Y ORETA and DANIEL GUILLERO Y ALVAREZ, accused-appellants.
FACTS
Accused-appellants Jovito Llavore, Joel Lobaton, Daniel Guillero, and others were charged with Robbery with Homicide for the killing of tricycle driver Danilo Malata and the taking of his tricycle on May 23, 1991, in Cadiz City. The prosecution’s case was built primarily on the extrajudicial confessions of co-accused Joel Lobaton and Rodolfo Fuentes (who later escaped), and the recovery of the stolen vehicle. Lobaton, apprehended for a separate offense, confessed his involvement and implicated his co-accused. Based on this information, police found Llavore driving a tricycle. The owner, Hernani Tancinco, identified it as the stolen vehicle based on specific markings and alterations, despite an attempt to repaint it. Fuentes also executed a sworn confession detailing the crime.
The defense consisted of denial and alibi. Llavore and Guillero claimed they were elsewhere during the incident. They argued that the extrajudicial confessions of their co-accused were inadmissible against them, being hearsay, and that the identification of the tricycle was unreliable. The trial court convicted them, prompting this appeal.
ISSUE
Whether the guilt of accused-appellants Jovito Llavore, Joel Lobaton, and Daniel Guillero for the crime of Robbery with Homicide was proven beyond reasonable doubt.
RULING
Yes, the conviction is affirmed. The Supreme Court upheld the trial court’s finding of guilt. The legal logic rests on the existence of conspiracy, which renders the acts of one conspirator the acts of all. The extrajudicial confessions of Lobaton and Fuentes, while inadmissible against their co-accused as hearsay, are admissible against the confessants themselves. Lobaton’s confession was corroborated by the corpus delicti—the fact of the robbery and homicide was established by Malata’s death and the subsequent recovery of the stolen tricycle from Llavore’s possession.
The positive identification of the tricycle by owner Tancinco, based on unique and specific alterations known only to him, was credible and conclusive evidence that the vehicle in Llavore’s possession was the stolen property. This recovery, following the chain of information from Lobaton’s confession, linked all accused to the crime. The collective actions—the killing, the taking of the tricycle, and its concealment and alteration at Llavore’s house—demonstrated a community of criminal design. Given the proven conspiracy, the individual denials and alibis of the appellants could not prevail over the positive evidence presented by the prosecution. The elements of Robbery with Homicide were thus established beyond reasonable doubt.