GR L 1137; (November, 1948) (Digest)
March 10, 2026GR L 1588; (November, 1948) (Digest)
March 10, 2026G.R. No. L-2823; May 19, 1950
EL PUEBLO DE FILIPINAS, plaintiff-appellee, vs. CLEMENTE MACUL, ET AL., defendants. FRANCISCO CORICOR and JOSE GLORE, appellants.
FACTS
Several individuals, including appellants Francisco Coricor and Jose Glore, were charged with the murder of Manuel Arpon. After trial, the Court of First Instance of Leyte acquitted some accused but convicted Coricor and Glore, sentencing them to reclusion perpetua. The evidence showed that on April 29, 1947, Primo Obsequio and Victorino Brun first approached Arpon’s store to locate him. Shortly after, Francisco Coricor and Quintin Ligutan suddenly appeared and shot Arpon while he was fixing a barrel faucet. As Arpon’s wife rushed to him, she saw Jose Glore, Clemente Macul, Primo Obsequio, and Victorino Brun firing shots toward the store from the street. Arpon died 30 minutes later. Prior to the incident, in late March, Jose Glore and companions, including some co-accused, had gone to the store and threatened Arpon’s wife that he would settle differences with her husband with a revolver.
ISSUE
Whether the trial court correctly convicted appellants Francisco Coricor and Jose Glore of murder, qualified by treachery (alevosia), and whether conspiracy among the accused was sufficiently proven.
RULING
Yes, the conviction is affirmed. The court held that treachery (alevosia) was present because the armed assailants, positioned strategically, shot the victim while he was preoccupied and completely unaware of the attack, constituting murder. For appellant Jose Glore, conspiracy was proven not by direct evidence of prior agreement but by the coordinated acts of the participants: the prior threat, the act of some to locate the victim, and the simultaneous shooting from different streets converging on the store. These acts indicated a concert of purpose. A conspirator need not participate in every act nor know all details of execution; it is sufficient that there is a general plan to achieve a criminal result. Glore was thus a co-principal, not merely an accomplice. The appealed judgment was in accordance with law and evidence.
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