GR L 1813; (December, 1948) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-1813, December 14, 1948
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. DELFIN GALLEGO, CONRADO SORIANO, ROMEO LACSON and DOMINADOR VERGARA, defendants-appellants.
FACTS
The four appellants were convicted of murder for the death of Esteban Uy (Wa Ken Yao). The evidence established that after Uy refused appellants’ demand for money and rice, they planned to attack him. On the evening of April 27, 1947, appellants, accompanied by Sixto Impe (Uy’s laborer), went to Uy’s house. Appellant Soriano warned Impe not to disclose their plan to throw a hand grenade. At the scene, appellant Gallego, with Soriano’s assistance, climbed through a window and threw the grenade into Uy’s bedroom, killing him. The prosecution relied on the eyewitness testimony of Impe, corroborated by another witness, and on the extra-judicial confessions of appellants Vergara and Lacson. The defense claimed alibi, alleged the confessions were coerced, and attempted to pin the crime solely on Impe.
ISSUE
Whether the trial court erred in convicting appellants of murder based on the evidence presented.
RULING
No. The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction. The positive identification by credible witnesses and the voluntary extra-judicial confessions, corroborated by other evidence, sufficiently established appellants’ guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The defense of alibi was weak and could not prevail over the positive testimony. The claim that Impe was the sole perpetrator, based on an affidavit allegedly obtained through maltreatment, was properly rejected by the trial court as not voluntarily executed. The penalty of reclusion perpetua was affirmed, but the indemnity to the heirs was increased from P2,000 to P6,000 in accordance with prevailing doctrine.
AI Generated by Armztrong.