Case Summary (G.R. No. 86939)
Factual Background
The Information charged that on October 12, 1986, in Valenzuela, Metro Manila, the accused, with intent to kill five named persons, conspired, attacked and shot them with a .45 caliber pistol and a shotgun, causing the deaths of Pacita Labos and Manuel Labos, and inflicting injuries on Lina Labos-Mojica, Edwin Labos, and Ma. Cristina Labos, the latter three allegedly surviving due to timely medical attendance. The case was tried on the merits after both accused pleaded not guilty.
Prosecution Evidence
The prosecution presented eyewitness and medical evidence. Edwin Labos gave a sworn statement within hours of the shooting identifying the appellant as one of the assailants and later testified in court to the same effect. Lina Labos executed a sworn statement two days after the incident and identified the appellant in court. Both witnesses described seeing the two assailants in the sala at dawn, one armed with a shotgun and the other with a .45 pistol, and recounted the shooting that killed Manuel and Pacita and wounded the other victims. Medical witnesses, including Dr. Rodolfo Lizondra, performed autopsies establishing cause of death as hemorrhage from gunshot wounds. Medico-legal certificates and hospital records described multiple gunshot wounds to the surviving victims and confirmed that without medical treatment they would likely have died.
Defense Evidence and Contentions
The accused testified to an alibi, claiming presence in their house in Area 4 at the time of the incident and that a neighbor, Martin Gabukan, told them they were being suspected but not believed by many. Several defense witnesses testified that the two men they observed leaving the Labos house were not the accused and described one assailant as tall, curly-haired and mestizo in appearance. The defense also sought to introduce a paraffin test report showing a negative result for powder burns on the appellant’s hands as newly discovered evidence after conviction.
Trial Court Findings and Judgment
The trial court found Santos Ducay guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the complex crime of double murder and multiple frustrated murder and acquitted Edgardo Ducay on the ground of reasonable doubt. The trial court credited the positive identifications of Lina and Edwin Labos, relied on the prior quarrel between Santos and Manuel as motive, and found the aggravating circumstances of treachery and abuse of superior strength and the presence of evident premeditation. The trial court stated that two murders and three frustrated murders were committed but treated the prosecution’s pleading as charging a single complex crime and imposed a single principal penalty equivalent to the medium period of the penalty for the complex crime. The court sentenced Santos to reclusion perpetua and awarded specified indemnities and reimbursement of medical expenses.
Procedural History on Appeal
After the trial court denied a Partial Motion for Reconsideration and/or New Trial, the appellant filed a Notice of Appeal. On appeal, the appellant raised three assignments of error challenging (1) the trial court’s acceptance of the identifications of Edwin and Lina Labos and rejection of the alibi; (2) the denial of his motion for a new trial to admit the paraffin test result; and (3) his conviction generally.
Identifications and Credibility Issues
The Court examined the eyewitness identifications closely. It emphasized that Edwin Labos executed a sworn statement (Exhibit “H”) within hours of the shooting while in the emergency room and later unhesitatingly identified the appellant in court. Lina Labos likewise made a sworn statement two days after the incident and identified the appellant in her testimony. The Court rejected the appellant’s contention that these identifications were the product of fabrication or that the maxim falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus required wholesale rejection of their testimony. The Court applied precedents, including People v. Dasig, People v. Pacada, and People v. Osias, to hold that parts of a witness’s testimony may be believed and other parts disbelieved, and that the trial court’s superior opportunity to observe witness demeanor warrants great weight on appellate review.
Exclusion of Erwin Labos’ Statement and res gestae Argument
The Court sustained the trial court’s exclusion of the supplemental statement (Exhibit “4”) attributed to Erwin Labos and his alleged contemporaneous oral statement to Edgardo Ducay. The Court held these declarations were hearsay because Erwin was not called as a witness by the defense. The written supplemental statement lacked oath and was less credible than the earlier sworn statement implicating the appellant. The Court also rejected the contention that Erwin’s alleged oral utterance constituted an exception to the hearsay rule as part of the res gestae under Section 42, Rule 130, Rules of Court, reasoning that the utterance did not concern the incident itself, was not made under the stress of a startling occurrence, and occurred two days after the shooting.
Paraffin Test and Motion for New Trial
The Court addressed the appellant’s claim that a paraffin or powder residue test showing a negative result on October 13, 1986 constituted newly discovered evidence warranting a new trial under Section 2, Rule 121, Rules of Court. The Court applied the requisites for new trial on the ground of new evidence and found them unmet. The chemistry report existed before trial and was discoverable with reasonable diligence; forgotten or unproduced evidence is not a ground for new trial. The Court further noted that a negative paraffin test is not conclusive proof that an accused did not fire a weapon because gloves or washing may produce a negative result.
Multiple Crimes, Multiplicity and Waiver
The Court reviewed the trial court’s treatment of the offenses. It agreed that the evidence established separate criminal acts for each victim because different shots produced separate deaths and injuries. The Court corrected the trial court’s error in failing to impose separate penalties on each crime on the ground that the accused had not moved to quash the Information for multiplicity and had thus waived any such defect under Section 8, Rule 117, Rules of Court. Consequently, the Court treated the Information as charging five separate crimes and assessed conviction accordingly for two counts of murder and three counts of frustrated murder.
Conspiracy and Circumstances of the Offense
The Court found conspiracy properly proven under Article 8, Revised Penal Code by the coordinated approach to the house, simultaneous attack, common flight, and an utterance reported at the scene. The Court affirmed the aggravating circumstance of dwelling since the victims were attacked inside their domicile, and it found abuse of superior strength and treachery established by the dawn attack on sleeping victims. The Court declined to uphold evident premeditation, citing insufficient proof of when the appellant formed a determination to kill and the necessary lapse of time to reflect.
Applicable Penalties and Sentencing Modifications
Applying Article 248, Revised Penal Code, and recogni
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Case Syllabus (G.R. No. 86939)
Parties and Procedural Posture
- People of the Philippines prosecuted the case before the Regional Trial Court (RTC), Branch 172, Valenzuela, docketed as Criminal Case No. 7792-V-6.
- Santos Ducay and Edgardo Ducay were charged in an Information with the complex crime of double murder and multiple frustrated murder arising from the 12 October 1986 attack on the Labos family.
- Both accused pleaded not guilty at arraignment and stood trial on the merits after preliminary hearings and bail proceedings.
- The RTC convicted Santos Ducay and acquitted Edgardo Ducay, and the appellant Santos Ducay filed a notice of appeal to the Court in this decision.
- The appeal challenged primarily the identification testimony, denial of a motion for new trial based on a paraffin test, and the conviction itself.
Key Factual Allegations
- The prosecution alleged that at about five o’clock in the morning of 12 October 1986 the accused entered the Labos family home and fired a shotgun and a .45 caliber pistol at sleeping family members.
- Two victims, Pacita Labos and Manuel Labos, died from gunshot wounds, while Lina Labos, Edwin Labos, and six-month-old Ma. Cristina Labos sustained serious injuries.
- Surviving victims Lina and Edwin Labos identified the appellant at the scene and shortly thereafter while hospitalized.
- A prior altercation between Santos Ducay and Manuel Labos on 24 December 1985, involving mutual stabbing, was asserted as motive for the attack.
Evidence Presented
- The prosecution presented eyewitness testimony from Edwin Labos and Lina Labos, hospital records and medico-legal reports by Dr. Rodolfo Lizondra and other physicians, and police investigative testimony including Sgt. Ponciano Casile.
- Edwin Labos executed a sworn statement (Exhibit “H”) about four hours after the incident that identified the appellant as one of the assailants.
- The defense presented the accuseds’ alibi testimony and several neighbors who testified that the two men they saw leaving the scene were not the accused.
- A paraffin test report showing negative gunpowder residue on the appellant’s hands was later proffered but was not introduced at trial.
Issues on Appeal
- Whether the trial court erred in accepting as positive the identification by Edwin and Lina Labos and in rejecting the appellant’s alibi defense.
- Whether the trial court erred in denying the appellant’s partial motion for reconsideration and/or a new trial to admit the paraffin test chemistry report as newly discovered evidence.
- Whether the evidence as a whole supported the conviction for the crimes charged.
Contentions of Parties
- The appellant contended that the eyewitness identifications were vague, delayed, and tainted by motive and suggestive investigation and that the falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus maxim required rejection of the witnesses’ testimony.
- The appellant further contended that the paraffin test constituted newly discovered exculpatory evidence that would likely have changed the judgment.
- The prosecution maintained that the immediate sworn statement of Edwin Labos and the corroborative testimony of Lina Labos established positive identification and that the paraffin report was neither newly discovered nor conclusive.
Trial Court Findings
- The RTC found Santos Ducay guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the complex crime charged and found Edgardo Ducay not guilty on reasonable doubt grounds.
- The trial court relied on positive identifications by Lina and Edwin Labos, the established motive from the prior quarrel, and the timing of the attack to infer evident premeditation, abuse of superior strength, and treachery.
- The trial court concluded that multiple acts of firing produced multiple crimes but declined to impose separate penalties because the Information was framed as a sing