Facts:
- Review and accused
- The case involved a review of the decision of the Court of First Instance of Davao finding the accused Abraham Lim alias Titing Lim, Angel Dy alias Baba Isa, Ceferino Caturan alias Fred, Edgardo Seneres alias Broke, Romualdo Raboy alias Romy, and Saturnino Galliano guilty of Robbery in Band, Arson, and Robbery with Homicide and Physical Injuries, and sentencing each of them in three separate criminal cases.
- The accused were identified in the appeal as Defendants-Appellants: Abraham Lim alias Titing Lim, Ceferino Caturan alias Fred, Romualdo Raboy alias Romy, and Saturnino Galliano.
- The People of the Philippines were the Plaintiff-Appellee.
- Lower court dispositions in the three criminal cases
- Crim. Case No. 9987 (Robbery in Band)
1) The accused were sentenced to an indeterminate penalty ranging from
TWO (2) YEARS and FOUR (4) MONTHS of prision correccional (minimum) to
EIGHT (8) YEARS and ONE (1) DAY of prision mayor (maximum).
2) Each of them was imposed accessory penalties of the law.
3) Each was ordered to indemnify, jointly and severally,
Gorgonio Mosende in the amount of
P720.00, with
no subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency, and to pay the costs.
- Crim. Case No. 9988 (Arson)
1) The accused were sentenced to
reclusion perpetua, with accessory penalties of the law.
2) They were ordered to pay, jointly and severally, the heirs of the deceased
George Kalitas the amount of
P20,000.00, with no subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency, and to pay costs.
- Crim. Case No. 9989 (Robbery with Homicide and Physical Injuries)
1) The accused were sentenced to the
death penalty.
2) They were ordered to indemnify, jointly and severally, the heirs of the deceased
George Kalitas in the amount of
P12,000.00, with no subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency.
- Inculpatory facts: Mosende robbery and the subsequent Kalitas attack and fire
- Date, time, and locations
1) At about
10:00 o’clock in the evening of July 2, 1966,
Gorgonio Mosende and his wife
Fausta were preparing to go to sleep in their house in
Sitio Suapit, Barrio Limot, Mati, Davao.
2) Several persons arrived and called “
Good evening, tiyo,” and Mosende invited them to come up thinking they were relatives.
- Initial armed demand and firearm display at Mosende’s house
1)
Two men armed with .45 cal. pistols arrived, later identified as the accused
Romualdo Raboy and
Edgardo Seneres.
2) They demanded: “
hain na ang iyong armas” (where is your firearm?).
3) Mosende denied having a firearm, but Fausta was frightened and pointed to their shotgun and pleaded not to kill Mosende.
- Taking of money and shotgun from Mosende
1) Accused
Edgardo Seneres took the shotgun and asked for money.
2) Fausta opened their
aparador, and Seneres ransacked it.
3) They took
P170.00 in coins and paper bills.
4) The two accused then left with Mosende’s shotgun valued at
P550.00.
- Gunshots, movement toward Kalitas’ house, and arson
1) Shortly thereafter, Mosende heard gunshots from the direction of
George Kalitas’ house, about
25 meters away.
2) Mosende and Fausta sought cover behind a coconut tree.
3) A blaze began at Kalitas’ house and rapidly spread until the entire house was engulfed in flames and completely burned down.
- Occupants of Kalitas’ house and physical injuries during the fusillade
1) George Kalitas, a
70-year old paraplegic, slept in their bedroom with his wife
Sylvia Mingming, his grandchildren
Jessie Renopal and “
Bebot,” and their maid’s son
Fortunato ‘Ato’ Malapong.
2)
Narciso Bauyot, Kalitas’ nephew, slept in the dining room.
3) The maid
Babbadon Odal slept in the kitchen.
4) Babbadon rushed to the master’s bedroom to get her son Ato but was hit by a bullet on the left wrist, lost consciousness, and regained it only at the
Mati Baptist Hospital.
5) Jessie Renopal, hit by a bullet in the head, did not lose consciousness and saw the robbers enter.
- Actions of Narciso Bauyot and threat/terror
1) When the toilet of the main house was set on fire, Narciso left his hiding place through a small window in the kitchen.
2) He landed safely but fell into the hands of accused
Romualdo Raboy, who pointed a gun at his abdomen and told him to surrender or be killed.
3) Accused
Edgardo Seneres also told Narciso to surrender and raise his hands, after which Seneres continued firing at Kalitas’ house.
4) Accused
Saturnino Galliano approached and threatened to pour a can of kerosene on Narciso, but Narciso pleaded and was spared.
5) Galliano instead poured kerosene on the walls of the kitchen and ignited the fire with dried fronds.
- Door-breaking, firing, and acquisition of shotgun from the Kalitas family
1) The robbers broke open the main door with an axe.
2) After access to the sala, George Kalitas fired his “
Stevens” 12-gauge shotgun, hitting one of them.
3) Kalitas crawled with his wife and grandchildren after Jessie and Babbadon were hit.
4) The armed men fired back and hit George Kalitas; he dropped his shotgun.
5) Bebot picked up the shotgun but threw it to the robbers after they ordered: “
surrender, surrender; throw that gun to us… throw the gun below, by the stairs.”
- Final assault, taking of cash, and forcing of surrender
1) Immediately thereafter, four armed men—later identified as
Angel Dy,
Romualdo Raboy,
Saturnino Galliano, and
Abraham Lim—rushed the victims.
2) Angel Dy held Mrs. Kalitas by the neck and kicked the wounded George Kalitas.
3) The others forcibly opened a trunk placed under the bed containing cash
of P40,000.00, said to have been at the last counting
two months before the incident.
4) They took old coins from a container inside the trunk, and Saturnino Galliano and Angel Dy also got the money of Jessie Renopal.
- Death of George Kalitas and extent of destruction
1) After taking the money, the robbers left.
2) The inmates later went out due to the fire and brought the wounded to the hospital.
3) George Kalitas died before reaching the hospital in Mati.
4) The fire destroyed the main house and bodega of George Kalitas and a truck parked between the buildings, valued at
P34,545.00, completely burned.
- Police investigation and apprehension of accused
- Initial police actions after the crime
1) The crime was reported immediately.
2) Sgt. Jose Blones of the 433rd PC Company conducted an investigation.
- Evidence regarding the getaway vehicle and recovered ballistics
1) Blones learned that a light green Buick Electra 225 sedan (1964 model), Plate No.
H-6357-Manila-65, refueled at a Caltex station in Mati around
9:00 o’clock in the evening of July 2, 1966, then proceeded toward Barrio Limot and was seen parked at some distance from George Kalitas’ house.
2) Blones recovered
twenty-nine (29) spent cartridges of various calibers and a mutilated slug at the still smouldering house and turned the same over to the PC company investigator.
3) An alarm was flashed to intercept the Buick and apprehend its occupants.
- July 3, 1966 interception attempt and abandoned sack
1) At about
3:00 o’clock in the afternoon of July 3, 1966, Pat. Bonifacio Dano received a telephone call that the wanted car was spotted going toward Davao City.
2) Dano and two companions boarded a jeep to intercept the car, saw it stop at Bajada near the EMCOR, and observed a man alight with a sack.
3) They gave chase, but the car sped away; they attempted to run aft...
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