Case Digest (G.R. No. 119068)
Facts:
People of the Philippines v. Dante Castro, Rito Castro, Joel Castro, George Castro and Oscar Castro, G.R. No. 119068, July 31, 1997, Supreme Court First Division, Padilla, J., writing for the Court.The plaintiff-appellee is the People of the Philippines; the accused-appellants are Dante Castro, Rito Castro, Joel Castro, George Castro and Oscar Castro (also named in the information were Caridad Menor y Castro alias Caring and Genesia Garcia y Castro, who were acquitted by the trial court). Provincial Prosecutor Alejandro A. Pulido filed an information dated November 14, 1991 charging the named accused with murder under Article 248 of the Revised Penal Code for the killing of Alfonso Sosia on or about August 22, 1991 in Barangay Bacring, Municipality of Amulung, Cagayan.
The accused were arraigned on February 10, 1992 and pleaded not guilty. They waived pre-trial and elected continuous trial, which ran from March 2, 1992 and terminated on February 15, 1994 when both sides submitted the case for resolution. On May 10, 1994, the Regional Trial Court, Branch 02, Tuguegarao, Cagayan convicted Oscar, Dante, Rito, Joel and George Castro: Oscar received an indeterminate sentence (10 years and 1 day of prision mayor to 18 years, 8 months and 1 day of reclusion temporal medium) while Dante, Rito, Joel and George were sentenced to reclusion perpetua; Genecia (Genesia) and Caridad Castro were acquitted. The trial court found conspiracy, rejected alibi and self-defense defenses, and relied on eyewitness testimony (Clodualdo Escobar, Elon/Rodolfo Farinas and Lourdes Sosia) describing repeated stabbing/hacking and a fatal gunshot.
On appeal to the Court below (the Supreme Court being the tribunal that resolved the present petition), the accused argued, inter alia, that Lourdes Sosia’s contemporaneous statement to SPO1 Pedrito Catil identifying only Oscar as assailant should be admitted as part of the res gestae and should prevail over her later in-court testimony; that the alibi defenses of Dante, Rito, Joel and George were corroborated and meritorious; and that Oscar’s claim of self-defense was credible. The trial court’s finding of conspiracy and the weight given to eyewitness testimony were also challenged. The trial court had failed to order indemnity ...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Was the evidence sufficient to overcome the presumption of innocence and sustain the convictions for murder?
- Was Lourdes Sosia’s alleged contemporaneous statement to the police admissible as res gestae and controlling over her in-court testimony?
- Were the alibi defenses of Dante, Rito, Joel and George satisfactorily established?
- Was Oscar Castro’s plea of self-defense supported by evidence?
- Should the trial court have order...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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