Case Digest (G.R. No. 84163)
Facts:
Lito Vino v. The People of the Philippines and the Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 84163, October 19, 1989, the Supreme Court First Division, Gancayco, J., writing for the Court. Petitioner Lito Vino was charged with murder after Roberto Tejada was shot and later died. On the evening of March 21, 1985, Tejada went to watch television; shortly after, two gunshots were heard and Tejada cried out that he had been shot. Witnesses, including Tejada’s father Ernesto and brother Julius, saw Vino riding a bicycle with Jessie (Sgt.) Salazar as passenger; Salazar was observed carrying an armalite and allegedly pointed it at the victims before the two rode away. Tejada gave an ante-mortem statement, signed in his blood, identifying Salazar as his assailant; autopsy established death from a gunshot wound.A complaint for murder named Vino and Salazar. The municipal court indorsed Salazar’s case to the Judge Advocate General’s Office because of his military status; Vino’s case proceeded and an information for murder was filed in the Regional Trial Court (RTC), Rosales, Pangasinan. Vino pleaded not guilty and, after the prosecution presented its evidence and Vino filed a motion to dismiss instead of testifying, the RTC found him guilty as an accessory to murder on January 21, 1986, imposing an indeterminate prison term and damages. His motion for reconsideration was denied, and the Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction.
Meanwhile, Salazar’s military case was remanded to civil court; he was later tried separately in the RTC in Criminal Case No. 2027-A and was acquitted on August 29, 1988 for lack of positive identification. Petitioner sought review in the Supreme Court (a petition for review), which the Court initially denied by resolution dated January 18, 1989. Petitioner filed a motion for reconsideration of that resolution; the Solicitor General filed comments ...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Can an accused who was charged as a principal be validly convicted as an accessory when the evidence proves only accessory liability?
- May the trial of an accessory proceed and result in conviction without awaiting the outcome of a separate trial against the alleged principal?
- If the alleged principal is later acquitted in a separate proceeding, can the conviction of th...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)