Case Digest (G.R. No. 119005)
Facts:
People of the Philippines v. Sabas Raquel, Valeriano Raquel and Amado Ponce, G.R. No. 119005, December 02, 1996, Supreme Court Second Division, Regalado, J., writing for the Court. The plaintiff-appellee is the People of the Philippines; the accused are Sabas Raquel, Valeriano Raquel and Amado Ponce, with the Raquel brothers as accused-appellants on appeal.An information dated August 27, 1986 charged the three accused with robbery with homicide allegedly committed on July 4, 1986 in Barangay Osias, Municipality of Kabacan, Cotabato. At arraignment all pleaded not guilty. While trial was underway, accused Amado Ponce escaped from jail before he could testify and remained at large. The case was tried before the Regional Trial Court of Kabacan, Cotabato, Branch 16.
The prosecution presented the testimony of Juliet Gambalan (wife of the deceased victim Agapito Gambalan, Jr.), who described hearing shots, seeing one man fall near a water pump and two others run away, but did not positively identify any of the assailants in court and admitted she only learned the identity of one man (Amado Ponce) when police presented him. George Jovillano, who answered the complaint, likewise could not identify the perpetrators. Police found a wounded man near the scene identified as Amado Ponce, who allegedly gave an extrajudicial statement implicating the Raquel brothers; police testimony also claimed Sabas had been wounded and treated under an alias, a fact denied by the physician. The police investigator admitted he did not inform Ponce of his constitutional rights nor afford him counsel during the custodial interrogation.
The defense asserted alibi: Valeriano Raquel testified he was in Tunggol, Pagalungan, Maguindanao harvesting palay on July 3–4; his father Antonio corroborated. Military testimony was offered to show Sabas Raquel was on duty elsewhere on July 4. On August 10, 1993 the trial court found all three accused guilty beyond reasonable doubt of robbery with homicide and sentenced them to reclusion perpetua and to indemnify the heirs; the Raquel brothers appealed and filed a notice of appeal to the Court of Appeals.
Because of the penalty imposed, the ...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Was the extrajudicial statement of accused Amado Ponce admissible against the Raquel brothers when it was not repeated in open court and was obtained during custodial interrogation without counsel?
- Did the prosecution prove beyond reasonable doubt the identity and participation of Sabas and Valeriano Raquel as perpetrators of ...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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