GR L 42769; (December, 1991) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-42769 December 5, 1991
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. RAYMUNDO PASCUAL y Carlos, RUSTICO MORELOS y de la Cruz, MARIO SALVADOR y Reyes, and VIRGILIO GUTIERREZ y de la Cruz, defendants-appellants.
FACTS
Police officers Major Raymundo Pascual, Pat. Rustico Morelos, Pat. Mario Salvador, and Pat. Virgilio Gutierrez were charged with the murder of Olympio Galgo. The prosecution, through eyewitnesses Wenceslao Rivas and Eulaha Villa, established that in the early morning of March 27, 1971, Morelos fetched Galgo from his restaurant, claiming Major Pascual wished to see him. Salvador joined, and they escorted Galgo to a gas station. Gutierrez arrived and kicked Galgo, after which Morelos and Salvador pushed him down. Pascual then appeared and shot Galgo at point-blank range. The prosecution further alleged the killing was motivated by Galgo’s refusal to pay protection money demanded by the officers days earlier.
The defense presented a contradictory narrative, initially claiming Galgo was accidentally shot during a struggle for Gutierrez’s gun. The trial court convicted Pascual as principal and the other three as accomplices in murder. All accused appealed, challenging the credibility of prosecution witnesses and the finding of conspiracy.
ISSUE
Whether the accused-appellants are guilty of murder, and if so, whether they acted in conspiracy.
RULING
The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction but modified the trial court’s ruling by finding all appellants equally guilty as conspirators in murder. The Court upheld the credibility of the prosecution eyewitnesses, whose testimonies were consistent and remained unshaken despite rigorous cross-examination. Their account was deemed more reliable than the conflicting and vacillating defenses presented, particularly Gutierrez’s shifting statements.
The legal logic for finding conspiracy rests on the appellants’ coordinated actions demonstrating a common criminal design. Morelos fetched the victim, Salvador assisted in restraining him, Gutierrez initiated the assault by kicking him, and Pascual executed the fatal shot. These sequential and complementary acts, following an earlier attempt at extortion, proved a unity of purpose and action. In conspiracy, the act of one is the act of all; thus, all conspirators are liable as principals for the crime committed pursuant to their agreement. Consequently, the penalty of reclusion perpetua was imposed equally on all appellants, who were also held solidarily liable for civil indemnity.