G.R. No. L-49808 February 26, 1988
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. ARNULFO AQUINO, ALFREDO POSADAS, JR., alias “Fred”, JULIO GUMBAN and JEFFREY MONTANO, defendant-appellants.

FACTS

The accused were charged with Murder with Rape for the killing of Inocencia Tiaga on December 19, 1972, in Ilog, Negros Occidental. The prosecution evidence established that at midnight, appellants Alfredo Posadas, Jr. and Arnulfo Aquino forcibly entered the victim’s house, dragged her out, and assaulted her. Appellants Jeffrey Montano and Julio Gumban were positioned as lookouts and later followed the group. The victim was found dead the next day with multiple fatal injuries. The trial court convicted all four accused of Murder as principals but acquitted them of Rape due to reasonable doubt. It imposed the death penalty, citing aggravating circumstances. The case was elevated for automatic review. During the appeal, appellant Julio Gumban withdrew his appeal, and appellant Arnulfo Aquino failed to manifest his intent to continue, leaving only Posadas, Jr. and Montano for review.

ISSUE

The primary issue is whether the trial court correctly found the appellants guilty of Murder, particularly regarding the existence of conspiracy and the appreciation of aggravating circumstances.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction but modified the penalty. Conspiracy was sufficiently proven by the appellants’ coordinated actions: Posadas, Jr. and Aquino directly assaulted the victim, while Montano and Gumban acted as lookouts, demonstrating a unity of purpose to commit the crime. The Court agreed with the trial court’s finding of treachery, qualifying the killing as Murder, as the attack was sudden and rendered the victim defenseless. Regarding aggravating circumstances, the Court corrected the trial court’s findings. It upheld the circumstance of disregard of respect due to the offended party on account of her sex but found no evidence that the crime was committed by a band, as there was no proof all four were armed. It also ruled that the hacking of the victim’s animals did not aggravate the crime of murder, as it did not augment the victim’s suffering. However, the Court noted the trial court should have considered dwelling as an aggravating circumstance, as the attack commenced in the victim’s home where she gave no provocation. Nevertheless, given the absence of mitigating circumstances, the presence of multiple aggravating circumstances still warranted the imposition of the maximum penalty. Consequently, due to the abolition of the death penalty under the 1987 Constitution , the penalty was commuted to reclusion perpetua. The indemnity to the victim’s heirs was increased to P30,000.00.