G.R. No. 193672; January 18, 2012
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Appellee, vs. GLENFORD SAMOY and LEODIGARIO ISRAEL, Accused, LEODIGARIO ISRAEL, Appellant.

FACTS

The Cagayan Provincial Prosecutor filed an Information for robbery on the highway against Jonathan Valencia, Glenford Samoy, and Leodigario Israel before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Aparri. The prosecution evidence established that on the morning of December 27, 1997, witnesses Edmund Addun and Johnny Ventura, along with Rodolfo Cachola, Canuto Forlaje, and Melencio Ventura, were traveling on an Isuzu Elf truck to buy pigs. Upon reaching the boundary of Barangay Logac, Lallo, Cagayan and Barangay Iringan, Allacapan, Cagayan, three armed men, including accused Glenford Samoy and Leodigario Israel, flagged them down. The robbers, one armed with an M16 rifle, another with a .45 caliber pistol, and the third with a .38 caliber pistol, ordered the victims to alight and hand over their money. Melencio Ventura, who was in charge of the funds, handed over ₱60,000.00. The accused then ordered the victims to go up a mountain. When they hesitated and then ran, the accused fired shots, resulting in the fatal wounding of Melencio Ventura and slight injuries to Johnny Ventura and Canuto Forlaje. The accused fled. Melencio Ventura was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. Both accused denied participation, with Samoy claiming he was at a wedding preparation and Israel claiming he was planting rice in a farm all day. The RTC found both accused guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of robbery with homicide and sentenced them to reclusion perpetua, also ordering them to pay damages and return the ₱60,000.00. Both accused appealed to the Court of Appeals (CA), but Samoy’s appeal was dismissed after he escaped from prison. The CA affirmed the RTC decision with respect to Israel, with modifications to the damages.

ISSUE

Whether or not the Court of Appeals, along with the Regional Trial Court, erred in finding accused Leodigario Israel guilty of robbery with homicide in company of others.

RULING

The Supreme Court AFFIRMED the decision of the Court of Appeals. The Court held that the positive identification of accused Israel by prosecution witnesses Addun and Johnny Ventura was reliable and credible. The Court rejected Israel’s arguments that the three-year lapse before identification at trial and the witnesses’ alleged “emotional imbalance” rendered their testimonies untrustworthy. The Court ruled that victims of criminal violence are more likely to remember the details of their traumatic experience, especially since the robbery occurred in broad daylight, the assailants were not masked, and the episode lasted several minutes. The minor inconsistency regarding whether Israel wore sunglasses did not weaken the categorical identification of him as the robber armed with a .45 caliber pistol. The Court also found Israel’s defense of alibi unavailing, as he failed to prove it was physically impossible for him to be at the crime scene, given his house was near the highway. His mere denial could not prevail over the positive identification absent proof of improper motive by the witnesses. Furthermore, the Court agreed with the lower courts that Israel was correctly convicted of the special complex crime of robbery with homicide under the Revised Penal Code, and not of robbery on the highway under Presidential Decree 532, as the prosecution proved only one act of robbery and not that the accused organized themselves to commit robbery indiscriminately on the highway.