Case Digest (G.R. No. 132160)
Facts:
The People of the Philippines v. Mario De Leon; Freddie De Leon and PO3 Cesar Cabildo (At Large), G.R. No. 132160, June 19, 2001, Supreme Court Third Division, Gonzaga-Reyes, J., writing for the Court.The prosecution charged Mario De Leon, Freddie De Leon, and PO3 Cesar Cabildo (at large) with murder by amended Information alleging that on or about April 15, 1993 in Quezon City the accused conspired and, with treachery and by taking advantage of superior strength, shot and killed Danilo Anez. At arraignment Mario and Freddie pleaded not guilty; Cabildo remained at large. Trial proceeded against Mario and Freddie only.
The Regional Trial Court (Quezon City, Branch 102, presided by Judge Perlita J. Tria Tirona) found both Mario and Freddie guilty in its October 17, 1997 decision and, applying the law in effect prior to R.A. 7659, imposed reclusion perpetua on each and ordered them to pay P50,000 indemnity to the victim’s heirs. Only Freddie De Leon filed a Notice of Appeal.
The prosecution’s evidence, as narrated by the Office of the Solicitor General, included eyewitness testimony by Edgardo Miranda (a barangay tanod) who saw at about 4:00 a.m. on April 15, 1993 the victim being held and then shot by Mario and Freddie while Cesar Cabildo stood nearby; Miranda knew the De Leon brothers from years of acquaintance, was about 15 meters from the scene, and testified that nearby lights illuminated the place. Corroborative testimony came from Leony Anez, the victim’s wife, who saw several armed men force her husband into an old white Ford Fiera shortly before his body was found; a medico-legal officer performed the autopsy establishing multiple gunshot wounds. Mario later executed an extrajudicial confession implicating himself and Cabildo.
Freddie’s defense consisted of denial and an alibi: he claimed to have been at Police Station 5 in Fairview from the evening of April 14 until after 4:00 a.m. on April 15 as a newsbeat reporter, corroborated by two policemen (SPO4 Jacinto Basilio and SPO2 Romeo Campo). He argued inconsistencies in the witnesses’ accounts, the fact that Mario’s extrajudicial confession did not name him, and procedural irregularities (such as not being included in the original information) to urge reasonable doubt.
...(Subscriber-Only)Issues:
- Did appellant Freddie De Leon’s alibi and asserted inconsistencies in the prosecution’s evidence create reasonable doubt so as to warrant acquittal?
- Was the positive eyewitness identification by Edgardo Miranda insufficient to sustain a conviction beyond reasonable doubt?
- Was the extrajudicial confession of co-accused Mario De Leon admissible against or e...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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