G.R. No. L-38831 December 27, 1982
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. MARVIN MILLORA and JUSTO MILLORA, accused-appellants.

FACTS

On the night of April 27, 1972, in San Carlos City, Pangasinan, Arnulfo Benitez was conversing with friends when a red jeep carrying Marvin Millora, his brother Justo (Tito), and Feliciano Munoz stopped nearby. All three were armed and members of the city mayor’s security squad. Benitez, who had a prior altercation with Marvin, fled into the Virgen Milagrosa Hospital upon seeing them. Tito and Munoz pursued him inside. Benitez later re-emerged onto the street, where Marvin shot him. As Benitez attempted to walk away, Tito and Munoz also shot him. Tito then stabbed the fallen victim with a balisong. The assailants loaded Benitez’s body into the jeep, and his corpse was discovered in a ricefield the next day.
The city fiscal charged the trio with murder. At trial, the Millora brothers presented alibis, claiming they were at home playing mahjong during the incident. The trial court convicted Marvin and Munoz of murder and sentenced them to life imprisonment. It found that Tito, a minor at the time of the crime, acted with discernment but suspended his sentence and ordered his commitment to a rehabilitation center. Only the Millora brothers appealed, challenging the credibility of the prosecution eyewitnesses and the rejection of their alibis.

ISSUE

Whether the guilt of appellants Marvin and Justo Millora for the crime of murder was proven beyond reasonable doubt.

RULING

Yes, the Supreme Court affirmed the convictions but modified the penalties. The Court upheld the trial court’s assessment of the eyewitness testimonies of Isabelo Pagdanganan, Felipe Canilang, and Councilor Manuel Magali. While minor inconsistencies existed on peripheral details, their accounts were consistent and credible on the central fact of positively identifying the Millora brothers and Munoz as the perpetrators. Their delay in reporting the crime was satisfactorily explained by fear of the accused, a sentiment shared by the local police, which necessitated a Constabulary investigation. Given this positive identification, the appellants’ alibis were correctly rejected as fabricated.
The crime was properly classified as murder, qualified by abuse of superior strength. The Court clarified that treachery was not present, as the initial attack was not sudden and the victim was forewarned. Abuse of superior strength absorbed the aggravating circumstance of nocturnity. The penalty for Marvin Millora is reclusion perpetua, not “life imprisonment.” For Justo Millora, who was a minor over nine but under sixteen at the time of the crime, the privileged mitigating circumstance of minority applies. However, as he was over twenty-four years old at the time of the decision, he was no longer entitled to a suspended sentence. He was instead sentenced to an indeterminate penalty of six months of arresto mayor as minimum to four years, two months and one day of prision correccional as maximum. Both appellants were held solidarily liable for the indemnity.