G.R. No. 178300 March 17, 2009
People of the Philippines, Plaintiff-Appellee, vs. Domingo Reyes y Paje, Alvin Arnaldo y Avena and Joselito Flores y Victorio, Accused-Appellants.

FACTS

On July 16, 1999, at about 11:00 p.m., the Yao family (Yao San, his wife Chua Ong Ping Sim, their children Robert and Raymond, daughter-in-law Lenny, grandchildren Matthew and Charlene, and housemaids Jona Abagatnan and Josephine Ortea) arrived at their poultry farm in Barangay Sto. Cristo, San Jose del Monte, Bulacan. Yao San alighted to open the gate when accused-appellants Domingo Reyes and a certain Juanito Pataray, armed with guns, approached, poked their guns at him, and dragged him inside the family’s Mazda MVP van. Accused-appellants Alvin Arnaldo and Joselito Flores, with two other armed male companions, then arrived and boarded the van. Flores drove. The victims were blindfolded with packaging tape. After about 30 minutes, the van stopped. Chua Ong Ping Sim, Robert, Raymond, and Jona Abagatnan were ordered out with appellants Reyes and Arnaldo, Pataray, and one companion. Flores drove away with the remaining victims (Yao San, Lenny, Matthew, Charlene, and Josephine). Flores later stopped the van, demanded a ransom of Five Million Pesos (P5,000,000.00) from Yao San for the release of the other victims, and then fled. Yao San drove back to the farm to seek help.
The four separated victims were taken to a safe-house in a mountainous part of San Jose Del Monte. The next morning, appellants tried to contact Yao San for the ransom. Unable to reach him, they instructed Abagatnan to look for Yao San at the farm, escorting her there with Reyes and Arnaldo. Yao San was not found, and the appellants returned to the safe-house. Robert was later released to help locate Yao San. Robert found Yao San and informed him of the ransom demand and that his mother and brother were still detained.
On July 18, appellants called Yao San, reiterated the P5 million ransom demand, and allowed him to speak with Chua Ong Ping Sim. On July 19, appellants called again, threatened to kill the remaining victims due to media reports, and instructed Yao San to bring the ransom to a location in Quezon City. Yao San went but no one appeared. On July 23, the corpses of Chua Ong Ping Sim and Raymond were found at La Mesa Dam, Novaliches, Quezon City; both died of asphyxia by strangulation.
Appellant Arnaldo surrendered to the PAOCTF on July 26, 1999, and executed an extra-judicial confession with the assistance of Atty. Carlo Uminga, identifying his co-participants. Appellant Reyes was later arrested and identified in a police line-up. Appellant Flores was arrested on August 10, 1999, and also executed an extra-judicial confession with the assistance of Atty. Florimond Rous, identifying his co-participants. All three appellants were identified by Yao San, Robert, and Abagatnan in police line-ups.
At trial, the appellants denied the charges, interposing alibis and claiming they were framed. Arnaldo claimed he was a PAOCTF asset forced to implicate the others. Reyes and Flores claimed they were elsewhere during the incident.

ISSUE

Whether the accused-appellants are guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the special complex crime of kidnapping for ransom with homicide.

RULING

Yes. The Supreme Court affirmed with modification the decisions of the lower courts, finding accused-appellants Domingo Reyes, Alvin Arnaldo, and Joselito Flores guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the special complex crime of kidnapping for ransom with homicide.
The Court found the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses (Yao San, Robert Yao, and Jona Abagatnan) to be clear, consistent, and credible, positively identifying the appellants as among the armed men who kidnapped them and demanded ransom. The defense of alibi and frame-up was rejected for being weak and unsubstantiated, and could not prevail over the positive identification by the victims. The extra-judicial confessions of Arnaldo and Flores, executed with the assistance of counsel, were deemed voluntary and corroborated by other evidence.
All elements of kidnapping for ransom were present: (1) the accused kidnapped or detained the victims; (2) the kidnapping or detention was illegal; and (3) the kidnapping or detention was for the purpose of extorting ransom. The homicide (the killing of Chua Ong Ping Sim and Raymond Yao) was committed during the kidnapping, forming the special complex crime under Article 267 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended by R.A. No. 7659 .
The penalty imposed was modified. Since the death penalty was prohibited at the time of the decision, the Court imposed the penalty of reclusion perpetua without eligibility for parole on each appellant. They were also ordered to pay, jointly and severally, the heirs of each deceased victim P75,000.00 as civil indemnity, P75,000.00 as moral damages, and P25,000.00 as exemplary damages.