G.R. No. L-32126. July 6, 1978.
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. NEMESIO TALINGDAN, MAGELLAN TOBIAS, AUGUSTO BERRAS, PEDRO BIDES and TERESA DOMOGMA, accused-appellants.

FACTS

The victim, Bernardo Bagabag, was killed on June 24, 1967. His relationship with his wife, appellant Teresa Domogma, was strained due to her repeated desertions and an alleged illicit affair with co-appellant Nemesio Talingdan, a policeman. Two days before the killing, after a violent quarrel where Bernardo slapped Teresa, Talingdan went to their house, called Bernardo out, and threatened to kill him when Bernardo refused. The day before the killing, the couple’s 12-year-old daughter, Corazon, witnessed Teresa meeting with all four male appellants in a hut. She heard one say, “Could he elude a bullet,” and Teresa told her, “You tell your father that we will kill him.”
On the night of the killing, Corazon saw Teresa go downstairs to meet the four male appellants, who were armed with long guns, near their house. After Teresa returned upstairs, the men positioned themselves under a tree. While Bernardo was sitting in the kitchen, he was shot from below the stairs. The four men then ascended, and Talingdan and Tobias fired again at the wounded Bernardo. Bides threatened Corazon to keep silent. After the assailants fled, Teresa emerged, questioned Corazon, and upon learning her daughter recognized the killers, threatened to kill Corazon if she told anyone.

ISSUE

Whether the accused-appellants are guilty of the crime of murder.

RULING

Yes, the Supreme Court affirmed the conviction for murder. The Court found the testimony of Corazon, the eyewitness, to be credible, natural, and consistent. Her detailed account, including the threats from her mother and Bides, explained her initial silence and lent veracity to her narrative. The series of events—Teresa’s affair, the prior threat from Talingdan, the planning meeting overheard by Corazon, the armed gathering on the night of the crime, the execution of the killing, and the immediate attempt to suppress evidence by Teresa—collectively established a conspiracy among all appellants.
The Court ruled that Teresa Domogma’s actions before, during, and after the crime demonstrated her integral role in the conspiracy. By providing information, facilitating the killers’ access, and subsequently intimidating the sole eyewitness (her daughter), she acted as a co-conspirator. While the information charged murder instead of parricide due to the prosecution’s inability to prove a valid marriage, her liability as a principal by indispensable cooperation was firmly established. The collective actions of all appellants, characterized by treachery (alevosia) as the attack was sudden and from a position rendering the victim defenseless, qualified the killing as murder. The penalty of life imprisonment and indemnity imposed by the trial court were thus affirmed.