G.R. No. L-1273

FACTS:
The defendants-appellants, Benito Vargas and Segundo Catajan, were convicted by the Court of First Instance of Bulacan for the crime of robbery in a gang. They were sentenced to presidio mayor (imprisonment) for seven years, ten months, and twenty-one days, ordered to return the sum of 325 pesos unlawfully taken from the complaining witness, and to pay the costs of trial. The prosecution presented four eyewitnesses who positively identified the appellants as participants in the robbery. In their defense, the appellants attempted to establish an alibi.

ISSUE:
Whether the trial court erred in convicting the appellants of robbery in a gang based on the evidence presented.

RULING:
No. The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court. The robbery and the appellants’ participation therein were conclusively proven by the positive identification of four eyewitnesses. The defense of alibi was properly rejected by the trial court for two reasons: first, due to the poor character and lack of credibility of the witnesses presented for the defense, who could not give an intelligible account of the incidents; and second, due to manifest contradictions in their statements. The conviction and sentence were upheld, with costs of the appeal assessed against the appellants.