GR 34217; (July, 1981) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-34217 July 24, 1981
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. HERMILO ARCAMO alias “MILO” and NICASIO DIOLA alias “CANIE DIOLA”, defendants-appellants.
FACTS
On February 13, 1970, in Dauis, Bohol, appellants Hermilo Arcamo and Nicasio Diola boarded a delivery truck of Lim Tiaoco Sons, Inc. After the truck stopped upon Arcamo’s order, Arcamo shot and killed the driver, Epimaco Balabag, while Diola aimed his gun at the company salesman, Joventino Lumactud. Frightened witnesses fled. The appellants then took a bag containing Lumactud’s cash collections before escaping. Balabag died from the gunshot wound. The bag, with its receipt booklets and a debtor’s notebook, was later recovered, but the cash was gone.
The appellants were charged with robbery with homicide. The trial court convicted them and imposed the death penalty, ordering them to pay P12,000 to Balabag’s heirs and P3,500 to Lim Tiaoco Sons, Inc. The case was elevated to the Supreme Court for automatic review.
ISSUE
Whether the trial court correctly convicted the appellants of robbery with homicide and imposed the penalty of death.
RULING
Yes, the conviction is affirmed but with a modification on the civil liability. The Supreme Court upheld the factual findings of the trial court, giving credence to the positive identification and testimony of eyewitness Policarpo Horcerada. The crime committed is the special complex crime of robbery with homicide under Article 294(1) of the Revised Penal Code, as the killing occurred by reason or on the occasion of the robbery.
The Court affirmed the presence of the aggravating circumstances of treachery, as the shooting of the driver was sudden and from behind, and uninhabited place. For appellant Arcamo, the aggravating circumstance of habituality was also present. For appellant Diola, the mitigating circumstance of voluntary surrender was duly appreciated. With these aggravating circumstances outweighing the mitigating circumstance for Diola and with none for Arcamo, the imposition of the death penalty was legally correct.
However, the Court reduced the restitution to Lim Tiaoco Sons, Inc., from P3,500 to P700. The evidence showed only P700 in cash was taken from Lumactud. The higher amount in the information included uncollected debts, but the notebook listing these debtors was recovered, negating liability for the full sum. Thus, the appellants are sentenced to death and ordered to pay jointly and severally P12,000 to the heirs of Epimaco Balabag and P700 to Lim Tiaoco Sons, Inc.