GR 91374; (February, 1991) (Digest)
G.R. No. 91374 ; February 25, 1991
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. JOHN GABRIEL GAMBOA, defendant-appellant.
FACTS
In the early morning of August 21, 1988, inside a house in Cebu City, appellant John Gabriel Gamboa, accompanied by Miguel Celdran, kicked open a bedroom door and shot the victim, Rene Impas, twice with a shotgun. The victim’s common-law wife, Cristina Soledad, witnessed the attack. After the shooting, Gamboa exited the house and fired a third shot. Tenants Enrico Acre and Mario Gascon responded to the commotion; Acre assisted the victim while Gascon saw Gamboa fleeing while still holding the shotgun. The victim died from his injuries. Gamboa was charged with murder. The Regional Trial Court convicted him and sentenced him to reclusion perpetua. Gamboa appealed, contesting witness credibility, the admissibility of the murder weapon and paraffin test results, and the sufficiency of his identification as the perpetrator.
ISSUE
Whether the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that John Gabriel Gamboa was the assailant who killed Rene Impas.
RULING
Yes, the Supreme Court affirmed the conviction. The Court found the testimonies of eyewitnesses Cristina Soledad, Enrico Acre, and Mario Gascon to be credible and consistent on the material point of positively identifying Gamboa as the shooter. The alleged inconsistencies in their accounts, such as the number of shots heard or the victim’s posture after being hit, were deemed minor and did not detract from their core narrative. The Court also upheld the admissibility and relevance of corroborating evidence. While it noted concerns about the warrantless seizure of the shotgun, it found that the ballistic examination linking it to empty shells recovered from the crime scene strongly supported the prosecution’s case. Furthermore, the paraffin test indicating Gunpowder Nitrate on Gamboa’s hands, though not a conclusive proof, was admissible as it involved physical evidence and not testimonial compulsion, thus not violating his right against self-incrimination. Taken together, the positive identification and corroborating circumstantial evidence established Gamboa’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The decision was affirmed with the modification of increasing the civil indemnity to P50,000.00.