GR 138388; (March, 2002) (Digest)
G.R. No. 138388 March 19, 2002
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. ANGELITO YATCO, accused-appellant.
FACTS
On January 6, 1994, Enrico Rivera, a driver/helper for San Miguel Corporation, was shot and killed during a robbery at the Perez Merchandizing Store in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. The assailant took the day’s sales collection of P7,320.35. The prosecution presented eyewitnesses Normelito Robes and Mario Cena. Robes, who was about four meters away, testified he saw accused-appellant Angelito Yatco grappling with the victim through the truck window before shooting him and taking the money. Cena, a helper on the truck, heard a gunshot, saw a man with a gun running away while putting money in his pocket, and later identified Yatco as the assailant. The autopsy confirmed the victim died from a gunshot wound to vital organs.
The accused-appellant interposed alibi and denial, claiming he was at his house and later fetching his daughter from school at the time of the incident. He alleged he was tortured into giving a confession, which he later recanted. The Regional Trial Court found him guilty beyond reasonable doubt of Robbery with Homicide and imposed the death penalty, leading to this automatic review.
ISSUE
Whether the guilt of accused-appellant Angelito Yatco for the crime of Robbery with Homicide was proven beyond reasonable doubt.
RULING
Yes, the Supreme Court affirmed the conviction but modified the penalty. The Court found the positive identification by eyewitnesses Robes and Cena to be credible, consistent, and sufficient to establish Yatco’s guilt. Robes had a clear, unobstructed view of the incident from a short distance and provided a detailed account of the grappling and shooting. Cena’s testimony corroborated the robbery sequence. The Court held that alibi and denial cannot prevail over positive identification, especially where the defense failed to prove it was physically impossible for Yatco to be at the crime scene. The claim of torture was unsubstantiated. The crime of Robbery with Homicide was consummated as the homicide occurred by reason or on occasion of the robbery. However, pursuant to prevailing jurisprudence, the death penalty was reduced to reclusion perpetua as the qualifying circumstances for imposing the supreme penalty were not alleged with specificity in the Information. The Court affirmed the awards for civil indemnity, moral and actual damages, and loss of earning capacity, and ordered restitution to San Miguel Corporation.