Case Digest (G.R. No. L-19490)
Facts:
The People of the Philippines v. Gorgonio Ubaldo, et al., G.R. No. L-19490, August 26, 1968, the Supreme Court En Banc, Per Curiam. This is an automatic review of the decision of the Court of First Instance of Leyte (trial court) convicting six defendants of robbery in band with double homicide, with frustrated homicide, less serious physical injuries and direct assault upon agents of persons in authority, and sentencing them to death.The information originally charged nine persons for the April 24, 1958 robbery at the store of Eng Wan in Tunga, Leyte: Gorgonio Ubaldo, Valentin Superable, Norberto Lumpay, Alfonso Hembra, Severo Caigoy, Vicente Calabia, Crispin Villablanca, Jr., and brothers Antonio and Benjamin Pacli. During pendency of the case, Ubaldo and Lumpay died (Ubaldo of wounds sustained in the incident; Lumpay was shot to death while escaping custody) and Alfonso Hembra was later discharged to become a state witness. Trial proceeded against the remaining six: Valentin Superable, Severo Caigoy, Vicente Calabia, Crispin Villablanca, Jr., Antonio Pacli and Benjamin Pacli.
The prosecution’s case established that on April 24, 1958 a group assembled at Antonio Pacli’s house, armed themselves and planned the robbery of Eng Wan’s store. Three men entered the store to seize money and jewelry; others acted as lookouts. During the course of the robbery policeman Margarito Cotoner entered and was shot dead and a Chinese woman, Co Cui Hui, was also shot and later found dead; policeman Marcial Glore was wounded when he later approached the scene. Gorgonio Ubaldo was found wounded in a nearby river and, before he died, gave an ante‑mortem statement naming his companions; his revelations led to the arrest and interrogation of the remaining accused and to extra‑judicial statements attributed to them.
At trial, the prosecution relied principally on (1) the ante‑mortem declaration of Ubaldo; (2) testimony of state witness Alfonso Hembra (discharged from the information), who described the plan and each man’s role; (3) eyewitness testimony of Jorge Go (son of Eng Wan) who saw the killing of his mother; (4) the testimony of policeman Marcial Glore who identified several of the accused as gunmen who fired at him; and (5) physical evidence recovered at the scene. The accused uniformly interposed alibis and denied participation; some later repudiated their extra‑judicial statements, and the defense presented Lucio Palconit, a detained prisoner, who purportedly owned up to the crime, a confession that the trial court rejected as fabricated.
On January 18, 1962 the Court of First Instance of Leyte convicted each of the six tried accused of robbery in band with double homicide, e...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Was the evidence sufficient to sustain the convictions of appellants for robbery in band with double homicide, frustrated homicide, less serious physical injuries and direct assault upon agents of persons in authority?
- Were the extra‑judicial statements and the ante‑mortem declaration properly admitted and sufficiently reliable to be used against the accused?
- Was the imposition of the death penalty proper as...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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