Case Digest (G.R. No. 86728)
Facts:
The People of the Philippines v. Jesus Vargas, Jr., G.R. No. 86728, April 06, 1990, Supreme Court First Division, Gancayco, J., writing for the Court.On the evening of October 29, 1982, in Barangay Banugan, Municipality of Duenas, Iloilo, the home of Romeo Malones, Sr. was sprayed with bullets. Romeo Sr. was reading by kerosene lamp; his daughter Rosalie and other family members were in the receiving room. The attack caused the immediate death of Romeo Sr., the subsequent death of Rosalie at the hospital, and wounds to other family members.
A fourteen‑year‑old eyewitness, Romeo Malones, Jr., testified that the first burst of gunfire came from the back of the house; he peeped through the slitted bamboo (tadtad) wall and saw two men—identified as brothers Jesus Vargas, Jr. (appellant) and Fortunato Vargas—standing about five meters away and firing simultaneously (one with a long firearm, the other with an armalite). He recognized them by facial features and relationship and then lay flat; after more firing he saw his father fall. Barangay Captain Simplicia Segura investigated and, after interviewing witnesses including Romeo Jr., identified the same two suspects and recounted a prior hostile incident between the families in 1972.
Medical testimony (Dr. Melchor Tupaz and NBI medico‑legal Dr. Ricardo Jaboneta) and necropsy reports established cause of death: Romeo Sr. died of multiple gunshot wounds (liver, stomach, lungs) and Rosalie of a head wound; other family members sustained gunshot wounds and abrasions requiring medical attention. Exhibits of wounds and x‑rays were admitted.
An information was filed in the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Iloilo charging Fortunato and Jesus Vargas with double murder with multiple frustrated murder and attempted murder. Fortunato was at large; Jesus Vargas, Jr. was arraigned, pleaded not guilty, and was tried. On June 24, 1988 the RTC found Jesus Vargas, Jr. guilty: sentenced to reclusion perpetua for each murder, various penalties for injuries, ordered damages, funeral reimbursement and attorney’s fees, and credited detention. The case came to the Supreme Court on automatic review (G.R. No. 86728); however, because the 1987 Constitution abolished the death penalty and thus automatic review of capital cases, the matter was treated as if brought on ordinary appeal.
The appellant assigned errors challenging (I) conviction for all resultant crimes despite an alleged absence of conspiracy and evident premeditation, (II) the credibility of Romeo Jr.’s identification, (III) the trial court’s consideration of a weather‑bureau (PAGASA) certification submitted after trial as corroboration, and (IV) rejection of his alibi defense. The RTC denied a motion for new trial; the prosecution’s case rested heavily on the eyewitness testimony and corroborative evidence, including the PAGASA certification indicating a bright moon that night.
Issues:
- Did the trial court err in convicting the accused for each resultant crime (multiple murders and injuries) despite an alleged lack of conspiracy and evident premeditation?
- Was the trial court's reliance on the testimony of Romeo Malones, Jr. as positive identification of the accused erroneous?
- Was it improper for the trial court to consider a PAGASA certification submitted after trial as corroborative evidence in denying the motion for new trial?
- Did the trial court improperly discount the accused’s alibi such that his conviction must be overturned?
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)