GR L 77107; (January, 1988) (Digest)
G.R. Nos. L-77107-08 January 21, 1988
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. TITO DATAHAN, LEONCIO DATAHAN, CENEN COSCOS, NARCISO LUSICA and RUFO LUSICA, accused-appellants.
FACTS
On July 15, 1984, in Barangay Bayong, Guindulman, Bohol, Vedasto Piscos was attacked in his home after supper. He was struck on the head and body, causing him to flee before falling unconscious. Upon regaining consciousness at the hospital, he learned his house had been burned to the ground and his wife, Librada, was dead inside. Vedasto identified Tito Datahan as his assailant, accompanied by Cenen Coscos. Prosecution witness Rolando Betonio testified he saw Datahan and Coscos hiding behind a dike watching the fire that night. Separate informations for robbery with homicide, frustrated homicide, and arson were filed. After a joint trial, appellants Datahan and Coscos were acquitted of robbery with homicide but convicted of frustrated homicide and arson. The trial court imposed the death penalty for arson, prompting automatic review.
ISSUE
Whether the trial court erred in convicting appellants Tito Datahan and Cenen Coscos of frustrated homicide and arson based on the evidence presented.
RULING
The Supreme Court affirmed the convictions but modified the penalty. The Court upheld the rejection of the appellants’ alibis. Alibi is inherently weak against positive identification. Vedasto Piscos, despite minor inconsistencies attributed to his age (72), positively identified Datahan and Coscos as his attackers. Rolando Betonio’s testimony corroborated their presence at the crime scene, seeing them together hiding near the burning house. The Court found conspiracy in the commission of both crimes. The sequence of events—the assault rendering Vedasto defenseless, their presence during the fire, and the discovery of Librada’s charred remains—formed an unbroken chain of circumstantial evidence proving arson. The logical inference was that the appellants, having assaulted Vedasto, proceeded to burn the house. The death penalty for arson was reduced to reclusion perpetua in accordance with the 1987 Constitution . The penalties for frustrated homicide were affirmed.