G.R. No. L-18368 March 31, 1966
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. RODRIGO AGUSTIN, JULITO RIZARDO, SILVERIO APOLINARIO, CONRADO APOLINARIO, ARSENIO AGUSTIN, PEDRO BETUDIO, PEDRO AGUSTIN, DIOSDADO APOLINARIO, ADRIAN APOLINARIO, and TRANQUILINO BETUDIO, defendants, JULITO RIZARDO, SILVERIO APOLINARIO, CONRADO APOLINARIO, DIOSDADO APOLINARIO and ADRIANO APOLINARIO, defendants-appellants.

FACTS

The case arose from a land controversy. Benito Labauan sued residents of Iglonoy, Bugasong, Antique, for recovery of land and won. The defendants, including the appellants, refused to vacate. On July 9, 1960, a deputy sheriff and constabulary soldiers enforced a demolition order, destroying several houses, including those of some appellants. On July 13, 1960, while Benito Labauan, his wife Emilia, and Juan Lom-an were walking home, they were ambushed. Emilia testified that Pedro Betudio initiated the attack by hacking Benito, and was joined by Pedro Agustin, appellants Julito Rizardo, Silverio Apolinario, Adriano Apolinario, Diosdado Apolinario, and others. Emilia was also wounded. Benito Labauan died from multiple wounds, including a severed forearm. The body was found in an uninhabited area. Rodrigo Agustin later signed a confession implicating himself and others, including appellants. The defendants presented alibis. The trial court acquitted Pedro Betudio, Pedro Agustin, and Tranquilino Betudio of murder, and all defendants of frustrated murder. It convicted Rodrigo Agustin, Arsenio Agustin, and appellants Julito Rizardo, Silverio Apolinario, Diosdado Apolinario, Adriano Apolinario, and Conrado Apolinario of murder, qualifying it with treachery, and considering mitigating and aggravating circumstances. Appellants Julito Rizardo, Silverio Apolinario, Conrado Apolinario, Diosdado Apolinario, and Adriano Apolinario appealed.

ISSUE

1. Whether the trial court erred in convicting appellants after acquitting Pedro Betudio and Pedro Agustin.
2. Whether the trial court erred in giving credence to the testimony of Emilia Labauan.
3. Whether the trial court erred in considering Rodrigo Agustin’s extrajudicial admission against appellants.
4. Whether the prosecution failed to prove appellants’ guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

RULING

1. The acquittal of Pedro Betudio and Pedro Agustin does not affect the conviction of appellants. The issue on appeal is whether the prosecution proved each appellant’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt, not the guilt of the acquitted individuals.
2. The testimony of Emilia Labauan is credible. She positively identified appellants Julito Rizardo, Silverio Apolinario, Diosdado Apolinario, and Adriano Apolinario as among the assailants. She was familiar with them, the attack occurred in daylight, and she was only three meters away. Any minor inconsistency in her statements, given her physical and emotional state immediately after the incident, does not discredit her entire testimony. The trial court’s doubt regarding Pedro Betudio and Pedro Agustin does not extend to her identification of the appellants.
3. Rodrigo Agustin’s extrajudicial confession was voluntarily executed, as established by Sgt. Gervasio Jacinto’s rebuttal testimony. Furthermore, the defense presented the confession as part of its evidence, waiving any objection to its voluntariness. The confession corroborated the involvement of multiple assailants using different bolos.
4. The prosecution proved the guilt of appellants Julito Rizardo, Silverio Apolinario, Diosdado Apolinario, and Adriano Apolinario beyond reasonable doubt through Emilia Labauan’s positive identification and the medical evidence showing multiple wounds inflicted by different weapons, indicating multiple attackers. Their alibis were weak and not credible. However, the prosecution failed to sufficiently identify appellant Conrado Apolinario’s participation, as Emilia’s testimony did not clearly point to him.
Regarding the circumstances: Treachery qualified the killing as murder. The mitigating circumstances of lack of instruction, extreme poverty, and voluntary surrender were not applicable. The aggravating circumstances of abuse of superior strength was absorbed by treachery, and evident premeditation was not proven. However, the crime was committed by a band in an uninhabited place.
The penalty is affirmed as reclusion perpetua for appellants Julito Rizardo, Silverio Apolinario, Diosdado Apolinario, and Adriano Apolinario, due to lack of sufficient votes for the death penalty. Appellant Conrado Apolinario is acquitted.