GR 53926; (November, 1989) (Digest)
G.R. No. 53926 -29 November 13, 1989
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. MANUEL MATEO, JR., ET AL., defendants, ENRIQUE CONCEPCION, defendant-appellant.
FACTS
The case involves a series of robberies on June 4, 1971, culminating in the robbery of the American Express Bank inside the U.S. Naval Base in Sangley Point, Cavite City, and the killing of U.S. Marine First Lieutenant James Plumpowski. Among the numerous accused were several members of the Cavite City police department, including appellant Enrique Concepcion. They were charged before the Circuit Criminal Court with one count of Robbery in Band with Homicide (CCC-VII-843) and three separate counts of Robbery in Band (CCC-VII-844 to 846) for robbing individuals and a corporation of cash, a vehicle, and personal items during the orchestrated criminal spree. Two co-accused, Emmanuel Caganap and Rolando Reyes, pleaded guilty and were sentenced. Appellant Concepcion, however, pleaded not guilty, was tried, convicted on all counts, and sentenced to reclusion perpetua for the complex crime and various prison terms for the simple robberies.
ISSUE
The primary issue is whether the trial court erred in convicting appellant Enrique Concepcion based on the evidence presented, which largely consisted of the testimonies and extrajudicial confessions of his co-accused.
RULING
The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction with modifications to the penalties for the simple robbery charges. The Court upheld the finding of conspiracy, ruling that the appellant’s active participation was sufficiently established. The extrajudicial confessions of his co-conspirators, corroborated by physical evidence and the testimony of a security guard who identified the appellant as one of the armed men at the crime scene, were admissible against him. In conspiracy, the act of one is the act of all, and the detailed confessions interlocking with each other and with other evidence convincingly proved collective criminal responsibility.
Regarding penalties, the Court affirmed the penalty of reclusion perpetua for Robbery with Homicide (CCC-VII-843) but increased the civil indemnity to the victim’s heirs to P30,000.00. For the three counts of simple Robbery in Band (CCC-VII-844 to 846), the Court found the imposed indeterminate sentences erroneous. Applying Article 294(5) of the Revised Penal Code and the Indeterminate Sentence Law, and considering the presence of aggravating circumstances without any mitigating circumstance, the Court rectified the penalty. The proper sentence for each of these three counts is an indeterminate penalty of four (4) years and two (2) months of prision correccional, as minimum, to ten (10) years of prision mayor, as maximum. The judgment was thus affirmed with these modifications.