G.R. No. L-3663 May 31, 1954
EL PUEBLO DE FILIPINAS, plaintiff and appellee, vs. MARIA VELASCO RODRIGUEZ, ET AL., defendants. CARLOS PARDO, defendant and appellant.

FACTS

On the night of January 18, 1945, Tomas Rodriguez was killed by a stab wound to the chest while sleeping in his house in Guinobatan, Albay. His wife, Maria Velasco Rodriguez, and Carlos Pardo were charged with parricide. After trial, the court acquitted Maria for lack of evidence of conspiracy but convicted Carlos Pardo of murder as charged and sentenced him to reclusion perpetua, indemnification, and costs. Pardo appealed.
The evidence established that Pardo and the deceased were close friends and business partners. This relationship led to constant contact between Pardo and Maria, resulting in an illicit affair. On January 13, 1945, Tomas discovered the infidelity and decided to separate, but returned to the conjugal home for the sake of their children. On the night of the killing, witness Tomas Rebutiaco, a guerrilla sent to fetch Tomas Rodriguez, saw Carlos Pardo enter the Rodriguez house through a removable opening in a fence from a neighbor’s property. Shortly after, Rebutiaco heard groans and a man saying “Nabuno aco” (“I have been stabbed”). He then saw Pardo hastily leave the same way. Other witnesses, David Marbella and Constancio Argarin, also saw Pardo near the scene around that time. Additional evidence included a blacksmith’s testimony that Pardo had ordered a knife made in November 1944, and testimony from a relative that Pardo was sharpening something on the afternoon of the killing and returned home between 10 and 11 p.m. that night. Pardo presented an alibi, claiming he was at a guerrilla camp in Jovellar from January 17, 1945, at the invitation of his brother-in-law, Captain Augusto F. Gutierrez. This alibi was refuted by official army documents showing that Captain Gutierrez and Lt. Col. Licerio Lapuz were in Tacloban, Leyte, from December 26, 1944, to February 11, 1945. Maria Velasco initially gave a written statement to a guerrilla officer claiming an unknown robber assaulted her and stole money, but she did not mention this robbery at the trial and was evasive about the killer’s identity. After Tomas’s burial, Pardo visited Maria, and they later traveled together to Manila. On March 4, 1946, Maria gave birth to an illegitimate child.

ISSUE

Whether the trial court erred in convicting Carlos Pardo of the murder of Tomas Rodriguez.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction. The evidence of guilt was clear and convincing. The eyewitness account of Tomas Rebutiaco, corroborated by other witnesses, placed Pardo at the scene of the crime at the time it was committed. The defense’s attempt to impeach these witnesses’ credibility was insufficient. Pardo’s alibi was conclusively disproven by official documentary evidence. The insinuation that others (like Wheeler Octavo or disgruntled guerrillas) could have been the murderer did not weaken the prosecution’s case. The illicit relationship between Pardo and the victim’s wife provided a motive, and their conduct after the killing was consistent with guilt. The aggravating circumstance of dwelling was present. For lack of sufficient votes to impose the death penalty, the sentence of reclusion perpetua was affirmed.