G.R. No. L-2322 - People vs. Marcelo Alatiit

On June 13, 1996, at about 8:40 a.m., Colonel Rolando Abadilla was driving his black Honda Accord (RNA-777) along Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City, when four armed men surrounded the stopped vehicle and fired multiple shots, killing him instantly.
A security guard, Freddie Alejo, on an elevated guard post nearby, witnessed the attack and later described how one gunman (later identified as Lenido Lumanog) dragged the victim from the car, seized his clutch bag and fired additional shots. Two other men on the sidewalk (later identified as Joel de Jesus and Lorenzo delos Santos) acted as lookouts, shouting “Dapa… walang makikialam!” to keep onlookers at bay.

Police officers secured spent shells and slugs from .45 and 9 mm. firearms, prepared a sketch of the scene, and took photographs of the mangled car and victim.
Medico-legal examination by Dr. Jesusa N. Vergara confirmed death by massive gunshot wounds to head and chest, with wounds also caused by glass splinters.
Firearms and clothing seized from suspects were submitted for forensic and ballistic comparison; fingerprint examination of the Kia Pride getaway car yielded no matches to the accused.

On June 19, 1996, Joel de Jesus was apprehended in Fairview, Quezon City. In “sinumpaang salaysay” dated June 20–21, he implicated himself as lookout and named co-conspirators, including Lumanog, Cesar Fortuna, Rameses de Jesus and others.
Follow-up operations led to the arrests of Lorenzo delos Santos, Cesar Fortuna, Rameses de Jesus, Lenido Lumanog, Augusto Santos and Arturo Napolitano. Each executed sworn statements detailing their alleged roles. Defendants later alleged torture and denial of counsel during custodial investigation.
The Regional Trial Court (Branch 103, Quezon City) charged the seven with murder (Criminal Case No. Q-96-66684), plus related counts of theft and illegal possession of firearms (subsequently dismissed). In July 1999, the RTC convicted Fortuna, Rameses, Lumanog, Joel and Augusto of murder with evident premeditation and treachery, sentencing them to death; Delos Santos and Napolitano were acquitted.

Whether the eyewitness testimony of Freddie Alejo—a lone witness—was sufficiently reliable to identify each accused as a participant in the ambush.
Whether out-of-court identifications (photographic and lineup) were tainted by impermissible suggestion or lack of counsel.

Whether the extrajudicial confessions, allegedly obtained under torture and without proper counsel, should have been excluded.
Whether custody-phase violations (no counsel, alleged torture, failure to inform rights) vitiate subsequent in-court identifications or statements.

Whether the defense of alibi was credible and physically impossible to rebut.
Whether negative or inconclusive results of ballistic and fingerprint examinations undermine the prosecution’s case.

Whether warrantless arrests and alleged custodial abuses violated due process and required dismissal of evidence.
Whether undue delay in appellate resolution violated right to speedy disposition of cases.