Case Digest (G.R. No. 74964)
Facts:
People of the Philippines v. Remigio Maturgo, Sr., Remigio Maturgo, Jr. and Adelio Hipolito, G.R. No. 111872, September 27, 1995, Supreme Court First Division, Padilla, J., writing for the Court.
In an information dated 6 September 1988, Remigio Maturgo, Sr., Remigio Maturgo, Jr. (appellant) and Adelio Hipolito were charged before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Manila, Branch 12, with murder for the shooting death of Ricardo Olivo, Jr. At the arraignment Maturgo, Jr. and Hipolito pleaded not guilty; Maturgo, Sr. was at large and was not arraigned. A policeman, Albert Casimiro, alleged to have done the shooting, was separately tried by a General Court Martial and convicted for homicide with the attendant circumstance of incomplete self-defense.
After trial the RTC (Judge Sibanah E. Usman) rendered judgment on 28 February 1992 finding Maturgo, Jr. and Hipolito guilty of murder and sentencing them to reclusion perpetua, while the case against Maturgo, Sr. was ordered archived for his failure to submit to court jurisdiction. On Hipolito’s motion for reconsideration the trial court, in an order dated 26 May 1992, reduced Hipolito’s liability from murder to less serious physical injuries and found no conspiracy between him and the other accused.
Appellant Maturgo, Jr. appealed his conviction to the Supreme Court. The prosecution’s version, supported by several eyewitnesses, described an evening altercation in Tondo in which Casimiro and Maturgo, Jr. chased and fired at the victim; Casimiro fired multiple shots with the last hitting the victim’s back, and after the victim fell Maturgo, Jr. allegedly struck the victim’s head and face. Appellant’s version portrayed the victim as drunk and aggressor, recounting provocations, a warning shot by Casimiro, and that the victim fell after being hit with a knife. The trial court credited the prosecution witne...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Was there sufficient evidence to prove that appellant Remigio Maturgo, Jr. conspired with others to kill Ricardo Olivo, Jr.?
- Was appellant properly convicted of murder — specifically, were the aggravating circumstances of treachery or evident premeditation established?
- Did the trial court err in giving full credence to the prosecution witnesses and in denying appellan...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)