G.R. No. L-9131; July 31, 1959
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. HIPOLITO TONDO, EDUARDO PARALLON and RUFO ELNAS, defendants. HIPOLITO TONDO and EDUARDO PARALLON, defendants-appellants.

FACTS

Hipolito Tondo, Eduardo Parallon, and Rufo Elnas were charged with robbery with homicide in the Court of First Instance of Zamboanga. On August 21, 1953, police responded to a report about an unopened sari-sari store in San Jose Interior, Zamboanga City. Inside, they found the store in disarray and the body of Ting Boon Tee, who had a fatal chest wound. Investigation at a nearby noodle factory led to the discovery of a blood-stained white underwear on a clothesline and, from Hipolito Tondo’s trunk, a blood-stained sharkskin pants. The ten factory laborers, including appellants Tondo and Parallon, were taken to police headquarters. There, Eduardo Parallon admitted ownership of the underwear and confessed that he was with Tondo when the latter killed Ting Boon Tee for the purpose of robbery. Hipolito Tondo also confessed to the killing for robbery. A dagger used in the killing was recovered. The appellants, in the presence of authorities, reenacted the crime. Chemical tests confirmed the stains on the underwear, pants, and dagger were human blood. At trial, the appellants repudiated their sworn confessions, claiming they were forced and maltreated by police. However, the Municipal Judge before whom they swore to their affidavits certified that the confessions were made voluntarily. Rufo Elnas was acquitted for insufficient evidence. Tondo and Parallon were convicted and sentenced to reclusion perpetua, indemnity, and restitution. They appealed.

ISSUE

Whether the appellants are guilty of the crime charged based on the evidence, particularly the admissibility and validity of their extrajudicial confessions and the corroborating evidence.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction but modified the legal qualification of the crime. The appellants’ repudiation of their confessions was insufficient to overcome the certification of the Municipal Judge, who testified that the confessions were made voluntarily and without coercion. The confessions were corroborated by the chemical examination proving the presence of human blood on Parallon’s underwear, Tondo’s pants, and the dagger. The Court also upheld the reliability of the chemist’s expert testimony based on his long experience. The evidence established that a homicide was committed on the occasion of an attempted robbery, not a consummated one. Therefore, the crime falls under Article 297 of the Revised Penal Code (homicide on the occasion of attempted robbery), punishable by reclusion temporal maximum to reclusion perpetua. Due to the aggravating circumstances of dwelling and nighttime, the penalty was imposed in its maximum period, reclusion perpetua. The part of the trial court’s judgment ordering restitution was deleted for lack of satisfactory evidence that money or goods were actually taken. The judgment, as modified, was affirmed.