G.R. No. 130627 - People vs. Alba

Case Summary (G.R. No. 130627)

Factual Background

On July 25, 1990, around seven o’clock in the morning, Randy Ricaforte worked in the fishpond. After placing potable water into a drum within the hut, Ricaforte went to the fishpond’s water gate. At the gate, David Kingking called out to him and asked him to join others. Ricaforte testified that Kingking held an M-16 armalite.

Ricaforte was then brought to Agueda T. Alba, who asked whether Ricaforte was one of Acevedo’s goons. Ricaforte denied the accusation. He was subsequently brought to Saturnino Rembulat and Adriano Gortayo, both of whom carried firearms. Rembulat and Gortayo then began firing repeatedly at the hut where Roberto Acevedo was staying. Acevedo ran out of the hut toward the fishpond tower. Gortayo continued firing at Acevedo, and when Acevedo reached the tower, Gortayo stopped firing the armalite and used a rifle grenade. After firing at the tower, Gortayo shouted, “Bobby, if we cannot get you now, we will get you tomorrow.”

Ricaforte further testified that after the firing, several accused, including Alicia Kingking, Danilo Tolis, and others, ran toward the fishpond carrying pieces of wood. After the shooting, accused brought Ricaforte to the house of Belen Artates, where he later heard, after about two hours, that Acevedo had been killed. The police later found Acevedo’s bullet-ridden body under the tower, surrounded by sacks of fertilizer.

Julito Magcope, Acevedo’s caretaker, also testified. He saw Acevedo running toward the tower while being shot at. When accused Gonzaga and Alovera noticed Magcope, they started shooting at him using their armalites. Magcope survived by jumping into the irrigation canal, then crawling toward the fishpond dike and hiding there during the firing.

Information and Arraignment

On October 11, 1990, the First Assistant Provincial Prosecutor of Aklan filed an information before the Regional Trial Court, Kalibo, Aklan. The information charged several accused with murder and attempted murder, alleging that, on July 25, 1990, in Brgy. Dongon West, Numancia, Aklan, the accused acted conspiring, confederating and helping one another, with evident premeditation, using a band and firearms—armalite M16 and M14 and carbine—with intent to kill. It alleged that Acevedo died from the gunshot injuries described in detail in the information, based on a necropsy report. It also alleged that as to Magcope, the accused had commenced directly by overt acts the commission of the crime of murder, but did not perform all acts of execution due to causes other than their spontaneous desistance, specifically the timely escape of Magcope.

After the information was filed, Agueda T. Alba, Gonzaga, and Rembulat submitted to the court’s jurisdiction and pleaded not guilty on January 22, 1991. Adriano Gortayo was arraigned on April 18, 1991, and Francisco Alovera on November 21, 1991; all pleaded not guilty.

Trial Court Findings

After trial, the RTC rendered its decision on June 18, 1997. The dispositive portion convicted Agueda T. Alba, Saturnino Rembulat, Jr., Adriano Gortayo, Ronnie Gonzaga, and Francisco Alovera beyond reasonable doubt of murder for the killing of Engr. Roberto alias “Bobby” Acevedo. Each was sentenced to reclusion perpetua. The RTC also ordered them to jointly and severally indemnify Acevedo’s heirs P50,000.00 and P100,000.00 for funeral, burial, and other necessary expenses.

The RTC also found the same five accused guilty beyond reasonable doubt of attempted murder for shooting Julito Magcope, imposing an indeterminate penalty of two (2) years, four (4) months and one (1) day of prision correccional as minimum, to six (6) years and one (1) day of prision mayor as maximum, and ordering them to pay the costs.

The RTC acquitted David Kingking, Alicia Kingking, and Danilo Tolis for failure of the prosecution to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt. It also ordered that cases against remaining accused at large be archived until arrest.

Procedural History of the Appeal

On June 24, 1997, the convicted accused-appellants—Agueda T. Alba, Saturnino Rembulat, Jr., Francisco Alovera, Ronnie Gonzaga, and Adriano Gortayo—filed a notice of appeal. The Court accepted their appeal on July 8, 1998.

In their appeal, accused-appellants essentially argued that the prosecution failed to establish their guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

Issues Raised and the Court’s Treatment of Proof

The Court held that proof beyond reasonable doubt does not require absolute certainty. It required only moral certainty. It also reiterated that the evidence need not exclude every possibility of error, so long as the totality of the testimony satisfied the requisite quantum.

The Court further held that witnesses are weighed and not numbered. It sustained the convictions because two prosecution witnesses gave positive and credible testimony pointing to accused-appellants’ participation.

Individual Culpability: Murder of Roberto Acevedo

The Court addressed the accused-appellants’ individual culpabilities, while also treating the prosecution theory of conspiracy as a crucial link.

First, the Court held that Francisco Alovera and Ronnie Gonzaga were categorically identified by prosecution witness Magcope. Magcope testified that Alovera and Gonzaga both shot at the tower where Acevedo had taken refuge. The Court treated these as specific and overt acts sufficient to establish guilt for murder.

Second, as to Adriano Gortayo, the Court adopted the trial court’s reasoning. It noted that based on Ricaforte’s testimony, Gortayo was identified as the person who fired from Gate No. 1. The Court emphasized that once conspiracy was established, it was not necessary to determine precisely which armed man among the shooters inflicted the fatal wound, because “the act of one is the act of all.” It cited People vs. M/Sgt. Reynaldo Landicho, et. al. and sustained the RTC’s finding that Gortayo’s culpability was indisputable.

Third, the Court held that Agueda T. Alba and Saturnino Rembulat, Jr. were likewise guilty of murder though they did not personally fire at Acevedo. Their guilt rested on their participation in the conspiracy, which the Court inferred from several circumstances: they were conspicuously present in a manner that precluded characterizing them as innocent bystanders; they arrived and left the scene with the other accused; they did nothing to stop the successive shooting of the tower despite knowing Acevedo was hiding there; and Alba had motive tied to the long-standing and bitter fishpond dispute over ownership and possession.

The Court agreed with the RTC that Alba could have dissuaded her son-in-law, Gortayo, from firing if she had no intention to harm Acevedo. Instead, the RTC found that Alba was determined to eliminate Acevedo to retake actual possession of the disputed fishpond. The Court treated the fishpond motive as clearly established and added that even circumstantial evidence of motive may support conviction where sufficiently persuasive. The Court also found flight indicative of guilt, particularly because Alba and Gortayo were not immediately apprehended even after a warrant issued, and they tried to flee.

The Court rejected alibi and denial as the weakest defenses, considering the straightforward, candid, and positive testimonies of the prosecution witnesses. It also stressed that the RTC had assessed witness credibility and that such assessment deserved great respect, given the trial court’s opportunity to observe demeanor and deportment.

Attempted Murder: Shooting of Julito Magcope

Given the finding of conspiracy, the Court held that all accused-appellants were equally liable for attempted murder of Magcope. Magcope testified that he saw Acevedo being fired at. When the accused-appellants Gonzaga and Alovera noticed Magcope, they started shooting at him with armalites. Magcope survived by jumping into the irrigation canal and hiding during the firing. The Court held that these acts constituted an attempt to murder, because the offenders commenced the commission of the felony directly by overt acts and did not perform all acts of execution due to a cause other than their spontaneous desistance, namely Magcope’s timely escape.

The Court grounded this conclusion on Article 6 of the Revised Penal Code, which defines consummated, frustrated, and attempted felonies, including the essential elements of attempt as the commencement of execution by overt acts and the non-completion of the acts of execution by reason of some cause or accident other than the offender’s spontaneous desistance.

Penalties for Murder and Attempted Murder

The Court recalibrated the penalties in light of the law at the time of the commission. It noted that on July 25, 1990, the penalty imposable under Article 248 of the Revised Penal Code—as it then stood—ranged up to death in its maximum period. Because the Court found no aggravating or mitigating circumstance attending the murder, the proper penalty for murder was reclusion perpetua.

For the attempted murder charge, the Court applied the rule on attempts under Article 51 of the Revised Penal Code, which provides that a penalty lower by two degrees than that prescribed for the consummated felony shall be imposed upon the principals in an attempt to commit the felony. It therefore imposed on the accused-appellants an indeterminate sentence of four (4) years and two (2) months of prision correctional as minimum, to ten (10) years of prision mayor as maximum, and ordered them to pay the costs.

Damages: Deletion of Funeral Expenses and Awards for Moral Damages and Civil Indemnity

On the issue of damages, the Court reviewed the RTC’s award of actual damages for funeral and burial expenses. It found the records bereft of receipt or voucher to justify such award. Applying the requirement that every pecuniary loss must be established by credible evidence, the Court deleted the award for funeral expenses.

The Court sustained an award of moral damages in the amount of P50,000

Case Syllabus (G.R. No. 130627)

The case arose from the appeal of Agueda T. Alba, Adriano Gortayo, Maribel Gortayo, Saturnino Rembulat, Jr., David Kingking, Alicia Kingking, Francisco Alovera, Danilo Tolis, Ronnie Gonzaga, Claudio Asper a, and “John Does” from a Regional Trial Court conviction for murder and attempted murder.
The prosecution charged the accused with a conspiracy to attack Roberto Acevedo and Julito Magcope using high-powered firearms, culminating in Acevedo’s death and Magcope’s survival.
The trial court convicted Alba, Rembulat, Alovera, Gonzaga, and Gortayo and acquitted David Kingking, Alicia Kingking, and Danilo Tolis, while it archived the cases against remaining accused at large.
The Court of Appeals posture in this record took the form of a Supreme Court appeal by the convicted accused, who argued that their guilt was not proven beyond reasonable doubt.
The Supreme Court affirmed the convictions with modification as to damages and penalties for attempted murder, while keeping the factual and conspiratorial findings intact.

Parties and Procedural Posture

The People of the Philippines prosecuted the case in the Regional Trial Court, Aklan, Branch 5, Kalibo, in Criminal Case No. 3209 for murder with attempted murder.
The appellants were Agueda T. Alba, Saturnino Rembulat, Jr., Francisco Alovera, Ronnie Gonzaga, and Adriano Gortayo.
The Supreme Court accepted the appeal filed on June 24, 1997 and resolved to entertain it on July 8, 1998.
Upon arraignment, the appellants pleaded not guilty, and the trial proceeded to judgment after due trial.
The trial court’s dispositive portion sentenced the convicted appellants to reclusion perpetua for murder and an indeterminate penalty for attempted murder, and it ordered indemnification for heirs of Roberto Acevedo.
The Supreme Court’s decision sustained the trial court’s result, but deleted funeral and burial expenses for lack of proof and adjusted the attempted murder penalty within the prescribed framework.

Key Factual Allegations

The underlying dispute concerned ownership and possession of a fishpond of forty-one (41) hectares located at Dongon West, Numancia, Aklan.
The fatal incident occurred on July 25, 1990, at around seven o’clock in the morning, in Barangay Dongon West, Numancia, Aklan.
Randy Ricaforte worked in the fishpond and proceeded from a hut to the water gate, where David Kingking called him out while holding an M-16 armalite.
Ricaforte was brought to Agueda T. Alba, who asked if Ricaforte was one of Acevedo’s “goons,” and Ricaforte denied the allegation.
Ricaforte was then brought to Saturnino Rembulat and Adriano Gortayo, who were also carrying firearms.
Rembulat and Gortayo began firing repeatedly at the hut where Acevedo was staying.
Acevedo ran out of the hut toward the fishpond tower, and Gortayo continued firing, later switching to a rifle grenade when Acevedo reached the tower.
Gortayo shouted: “Bobby, if we cannot get you now, we will get you tomorrow.”
Ricaforte testified that other accused, including Alicia Kingking and Danilo Tolis, ran toward the fishpond carrying pieces of wood after the firing.
After the shooting, the accused brought Ricaforte to the house of Belen Artates, where he later heard that Acevedo had died after about two hours.
The police later found Acevedo’s bullet-ridden body under the tower, surrounded by sacks of fertilizer.
Julito Magcope, Acevedo’s caretaker, testified that he saw Acevedo being shot at while he ran toward the tower.
When Magcope was noticed by Gonzaga and Alovera, they started shooting at him with armalites, and Magcope survived by jumping into an irrigation canal and hiding along the fishpond dike.
The information alleged that the accused, acting with evident premeditation and by means of a band, attacked Acevedo and Magcope with high-powered rifles including armalites M-16 and M-14 and a carbine.
The information further alleged that the accused had commenced the commission of the crime of murder by overt acts but did not perform all acts of execution due to Magcope’s timely escape.

Charging and Arraignment Timeline

On October 11, 1990, the First Assistant Provincial Prosecutor of Aklan filed the information in the Regional Trial Court.
The information named multiple accused including David Kingking, Alicia Kingking, Danilo Tolis, Maribel Gortayo, Claudio Aspera, and five “Does” in addition to Alba, Rembulat, Alovera, Gonzaga, and Gortayo.
The charging document alleged the incident date as on or about July 25, 1990 and located it in Barangay Dongon West, Municipality of Numancia, Province of Aklan.
On January 22, 1991, the accused Alba, Gonzaga, and Rembulat submitted to the court’s jurisdiction and pleaded not guilty at arraignment.
On April 18, 1991, Gortayo was arraigned and pleaded not guilty.
On November 21, 1991, Alovera was arraigned and pleaded not guilty.
After trial, the Regional Trial Court rendered its decision on June 18, 1997.
On June 24, 1997, the convicted appellants filed a notice of appeal, and the Court accepted the appeal on July 8, 1998.

Trial Court Disposition

The trial court convicted Agueda T. Alba, Saturnino Rembulat, Jr., Adriano Gortayo, Ronnie Gonzaga, and Francisco C. Alovera of murder under Article 248 of the Revised Penal Code for killing Engr. Roberto alias “Bobby” Acevedo.
The trial court sentenced each convicted accused to reclusion perpetua for murder.
The trial court ordered the convicted accused, jointly and severally, to indemnify the heirs of Acevedo in the sum of P50,000.00 and P100,000.00 for funeral, burial, and other necessary expenses.
The trial court also convicted the same accused of attempted murder for the shooting of Julito Magcope, imposing an indeterminate penalty of two (2) years, four (4) months and one (1) day of prision correccional as minimum to six (6) years and one (1) day of prision mayor as maximum.
The trial court acquitted David Kingking, Alicia Kingking, and Danilo Tolis for failure to establish guilt bey