Case Digest (G.R. No. 175781)
Facts:
People of the Philippines v. Francisca Talaro, et al., G.R. No. 175781, March 20, 2012, the Supreme Court En Banc, Peralta, J., writing for the Court.The prosecution charged several respondents with the murder of Atty. Melvin Alipio under an Information filed in the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Urdaneta, Pangasinan, alleging conspiracy, treachery, evident premeditation and that the killing was for a price and effected with the use of a motor vehicle (Art. 248, Revised Penal Code). The accused included Francisca and Gregorio Talaro, Norberto (Jun) Adviento, Renato Ramos, Rodolfo Duzon, Raymundo Zamora, and Lolito Aquino. The RTC convicted Francisca Talaro, Norberto (Jun) Adviento, Renato Ramos, Rodolfo Duzon and Lolito Aquino of murder and imposed the death penalty (with commutation for the elderly Francisca), acquitted Gregorio Talaro and Raymundo Zamora, and ordered damages and arrest warrants as appropriate.
Prosecution witnesses recounted events leading up to and following the April 26, 1994 killing. Raymundo Zamora testified that on April 24 he overheard Francisca Talaro and accused-appellants Adviento, Ramos and Aquino agree to kill Atty. Alipio for P60,000 (P30,000 advance and P30,000 after the killing). Aquino later demanded and received portions of the payment, according to Zamora. Aquino admitted in the preliminary investigation that he and Ramos had conducted surveillance on Atty. Alipio on April 25. On April 26 the victim was shot at close range at the garage of his clinic; eyewitnesses Rene Balanga and Eusebio Hidalgo heard three shots, saw the assailant flee to a waiting motorcycle, and later identified the motorcycle driver as Rodolfo Duzon and the assailant from a photograph as Renato Ramos. Duzon testified as to how Ramos used his motorcycle that morning and how, after hearing shots, Ramos returned and forced Duzon to drive him away; Duzon later executed affidavits identifying Ramos and describing threats he received not to speak.
The autopsy established three slugs and internal hemorrhage as cause of death. Police witnesses testified to proper custodial procedures and that Aquino’s and Zamora’s statements were taken in the presence of counsel. Defenses offered by accused-appellants included denial, alibi (Adviento) and claims of coercion and custodial mistreatment (Aquino), although Aquino admitted ownership of the getaway motorcycle and surveillance participation; Ramos and Aquino also escaped from detention while the case was pending.
The RTC found the prosecution evidence credible and convicted the principal accused, sentencing them to death and ordering damages. Because the penalty imposed included death, the case came to the Supreme Court for automatic review; pursuant to intervening procedural rules and People v. Mateo the Court initially transferred the case to the Court of Appeals (CA) for intermediate review. The CA, in a December 15, 2005 Decision, affirmed the RTC with modification: it acquitted Rodolfo Duzon and adjusted the awards for civil damages. The case thereafter returned to the Supreme Court on automatic revie...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Was the prosecution’s evidence sufficient to establish that accused-appellants conspired to kill Atty. Melvin Alipio and to prove their participation beyond reasonable doubt?
- Was the identity of Renato Ramos as the gunman sufficiently established?
- Given the enactment of R.A. No. 9346 abolishing the death penalty, what penalty should be imposed on those convicted an...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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