GR L 27151; (November, 1969) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-27151 November 29, 1969
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. ALEXANDER TILOS, JOSE DE LA TORRE alias Blackie, alias Jose Diaz, SALING MAGBANUA, PANTALEON ARES, ET AL., defendants, JOSE DE LA TORRE alias Blackie, alias Jose Diaz, defendant.
FACTS
An Amended Information charged Alexander Tilos, Jose de la Torre, Saling Magbanua, Pantaleon Ares, and others with the double murder of spouses Francisco Calidquid and Felicidad Gomela. The crime was committed on March 29, 1960, in Manlabay, Dumingag, Zamboanga del Sur. The accused, armed with a .45 caliber pistol and .30 caliber carbine rifles, attacked and shot the victims in their house. The information alleged the aggravating circumstances of: (1) dwelling, (2) nighttime, (3) superior strength, and (4) recidivism as to Jose de la Torre. Accused Pantaleon Ares was charged as an accomplice. Upon arraignment, with the assistance of counsel de officio, both Jose de la Torre and Pantaleon Ares pleaded guilty. The trial court, based on their pleas and the evidence (including confessions and autopsy reports), found De la Torre guilty as a principal with four aggravating circumstances and the mitigating circumstance of a plea of guilty, and sentenced him to death for the complex crime of double murder. Pantaleon Ares was found guilty as an accomplice and sentenced to reclusion perpetua, which he did not appeal. The case of Jose de la Torre was elevated to the Supreme Court for automatic review.
ISSUE
Whether the trial court correctly convicted and sentenced the accused-appellant, Jose de la Torre, for the complex crime of double murder.
RULING
The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction but modified the penalty. The Court held that a plea of guilty admits not only the crime but also the aggravating circumstances alleged in the information. With four aggravating circumstances and one mitigating circumstance (plea of guilty), the death penalty was mandatory. However, the trial court erred in treating the killings as a single complex crime. The evidence (the victims were shot in different parts of the body—the husband in the temple and the wife in the cheek—and found in different rooms) established two separate and distinct murders. Therefore, the Court modified the decision, sentencing Jose de la Torre to death for each murder and ordering him to pay an indemnity of P12,000.00 to the heirs of each victim.