Case Digest (G.R. No. L-69346)
Facts:
The People of the Philippines v. Prudencio Nulla, Alberto Jimenez, Bembo Cunag, and Efren Velasco (at large), G.R. No. 69346, August 31, 1987, the Supreme Court En Banc, Narvasa, J., writing for the Court.In March 1981, Agustin Mecaral, owner of the pump boat “Two Brothers,” loaded 56 sacks of rice and sailed with four crewmen—Prudencio Nulla, Bembo Cunag, Efren Velasco, and William Sanchez—to sell the rice at nearby islands. After selling most of the rice, they were returning to Naval, Leyte on the evening of March 22, 1981 when, near Maripipi Island, Mecaral was struck twice on the head with a bolo. His body was tied with an iron trailer and anchor and thrown into the sea; his money (about P10,000) was taken before the body was cast overboard.
After the killing, Nulla, Cunag and others traveled to several places (including Cebu and Tagum, Davao), spent the proceeds and were ultimately arrested in Cebu and brought back to Leyte aboard the victim’s pump boat. Velasco separated from the group earlier and sent a telegram to Mecaral’s widow advising of the slaying; he was not arraigned and remained at large. At investigation on September 24, 1981, Cunag, Nulla and Sanchez gave written statements sworn before Municipal Trial Court Judge Patino; the record shows the judge advised them of constitutional rights and conducted a preliminary investigation as to Nulla and Velasco.
In December 1981 the Provincial Fiscal filed an information in the Regional Trial Court (Branch XVI, Naval) charging Nulla, Cunag, Jimenez and Velasco with robbery with homicide under Article 294(1) of the Revised Penal Code, alleging aggravating circumstances: treachery, evident premeditation, outraging the corpse, nocturnity and commission in an uninhabited place. Nulla initially pleaded guilty but later testified claiming self-defense; Cunag and Jimenez pleaded not guilty. Separate trials ensued. On September 12, 1984 the Trial Court convicted Nulla, Cunag and Jimenez: Nulla was sentenced to death (with indemnity), Cunag to reclusion perpetua (with indemnity), and Jimenez to imprisonment of 6 to 10 years (with indemnity). All three appealed to the Supreme Court.
At the Supreme Court level the appellants principally challenged (a) admissibility of the extra‑judicial confessions of Nulla and Cunag as obtained in custodial interrogation without counsel; (b) the credibility and sufficiency of the prosecution’s “star witness,” William Sanchez; and (c) the claim of self-defense and the characteri...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Should the extra-judicial confessions of Nulla and Cunag be excluded because they were obtained during custodial interrogation without the assistance of counsel?
- Is the testimony of William Sanchez, the sole eyewitness to the killing, sufficiently credible and reliable to support conviction?
- Did the appellants prove self-defense so as to negate criminal liability, or do the facts establish the special complex crime of robbery with homicide under Article 294(1), Revised Penal Code?
- Is Alberto Jimenez criminally liable as a princi...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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