G.R. No. 47032; June 6, 1941
EL PUEBLO DE FILIPINAS, querellante y apelado, vs. JOSE MIRANDA, JR. Y OTROS, acusados y apelantes.

FACTS

The accused, Jose Miranda, Jr., Nestor Miranda, Romeo Miranda, and Gregorio Gebela, were prosecuted in the Court of First Instance of Negros Occidental for the crime of murder, allegedly committed against Jesus Saldua on the night of April 12, 1939, in the municipality of Isabela. After trial, the lower court convicted each of them to suffer the penalty of life imprisonment, to indemnify the heirs of the deceased jointly and severally in the amount of P2,000, and to pay the costs. Dissatisfied, they appealed.
The prosecution’s evidence, through witnesses Agapito Seranillo and Raymundo Entera, established that on the night in question, the deceased was at Seranillo’s sari-sari store with a boy playing a ukulele. Romeo Miranda arrived, demanded the boy sing, and threatened him with a blackjack. Seranillo intervened. Later, Jose Miranda, Jr., Nestor Miranda, and Gregorio Gebela arrived. Jose advised Romeo not to cause trouble, and they all left. About fifteen minutes later, Jose returned alone and confronted Saldua. At that moment, Romeo, Nestor, and Gregorio reappeared. Nestor and Romeo held Saldua’s arms, while Gregorio embraced and punched him. Seeing Saldua thus restrained, Jose drew a kitchen knife and stabbed him in the left side. Saldua broke free, was stabbed again with an iron bar while fleeing, and was later found behind a camarin in grave condition, dying two days later. Before his death, Saldua gave a statement consistent with the prosecution’s version.
The defense claimed that the accused went to the public market attracted by a commotion, where Nestor saw Saldua assaulting his brother Jose. After a warning, Saldua continued and also struck Nestor with a stick, prompting Nestor to defend himself by wounding Saldua with a hunting knife. The defense presented the testimony of Generoso Lopez and the accused themselves.

ISSUE

The appeal raised six alleged errors, which distilled to the core question of fact: Who inflicted the fatal wound on Jesus Saldua? Subsidiarily, whether there was conspiracy among the accused.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the lower court’s judgment in all respects. The Court found the prosecution’s version of facts, as testified by its witnesses, to be credible and proven. The Court gave more weight to the prosecution evidence because: (1) its witnesses were not related to the deceased and had no interest in the case; (2) the dying declaration of Saldua corroborated the prosecution’s account; and (3) the statements given by the accused during the trial were inconsistent with, if not contradictory to, the voluntary statements they gave to the Chief of Police the day after the incident (Exhibits C, D, E, F). In those earlier statements, not even Nestor—who later assumed sole responsibility at trial—claimed he was the one who wounded Saldua that night.
The Court also found conspiracy among the accused. The facts showed they left the scene together after the initial incident, returned together about fifteen minutes later, and acted in concert to restrain the victim (Nestor and Romeo holding his arms, Gregorio embracing and punching him) so that Jose could stab him. This indicated a common purpose to attack the deceased.
Regarding the defense’s claim of lack of motive, the Court ruled that proof of motive is not essential for conviction when the evidence sufficiently establishes the commission of the crime. Furthermore, it noted that Jose Miranda, Jr., and Gregorio Gebela had been drinking whiskey with soda at the public market that night before the incident, implying alcohol as a possible contributing factor.
The penalty of life imprisonment and the award of indemnity were thus affirmed.