Case Summary (A.C. No. 2468)
Factual Background
At midnight on July 4, 1986, an armed attack occurred at the home of spouses Juliet and Agapito Gambalan, Jr. in Barangay Osias, Kabacan, Cotabato. The victim, Agapito Gambalan, Jr., answered a knock at the back door, was confronted by armed men who declared a hold-up, and was shot. Juliet Gambalan testified that she saw a person fall near the water pump and two others run away; she did not personally identify any assailant at the scene. A man wounded near the premises was subsequently identified by police as Amado Ponce.
Arrests, Escape, and Custodial Statements
After the incident, Amado Ponce was first treated at a clinic and brought to the police station, where he gave an extrajudicial statement implicating Sabas Raquel and Valeriano Raquel as co-perpetrators and naming their place of residence. The police failed to find the Raquel brothers immediately because they had fled. Ponce later escaped from jail before he could testify in court and remained at large.
Alibi and Defense Evidence
Valeriano Raquel testified that he left Paatan on July 2, 1986, to harvest palay at Tunggol, Pagalungan, Maguindanao, and that he was with companions on July 3 and 4. His father, Antonio Raquel, corroborated that both sons left on July 2 and that he assisted police in locating Valeriano. Sabas Raquel’s military superior, T/Sgt. Natalio Zafra, testified that Sabas was then assigned to the 2nd Infantry Battalion and was on duty on July 4, 1986, at Maria Cristina, Iligan City. The defense thus rested principally on alibi.
Prosecution Evidence and Witness Identification
The prosecution relied on the testimony of Juliet Gambalan and on police evidence including the extrajudicial statement of Amado Ponce. Juliet testified on direct examination that she saw a person fall and two persons running but stated she did not know who they were and only identified the fallen person as Amado Ponce when the police pointed him out. Corroborating witness George Jovillano testified that he observed three men passing but that he did not recognize any of them because they walked fast.
Trial Court Judgment
On August 10, 1993, the trial court convicted all three accused of robbery with homicide, sentenced them to reclusion perpetua, and ordered indemnity of P50,000.00 to the heirs of Agapito Gambalan, Jr., and P1,500.00 for the value of the stolen revolver. The judgment was penned by Judge Fabiana Inserto-Tejada.
Appeal and Transmission to the Supreme Court
The convicted accused filed a notice of appeal to the Court of Appeals. Because of the penalty imposed, the records were forwarded to the Supreme Court pursuant to proper procedure, and the appeal reached this Court for review.
Issue Presented on Appeal
The lone assignment of error advanced by the defense before the Supreme Court was that the trial court erred in convicting Sabas Raquel and Valeriano Raquel despite absence of evidence positively identifying them as the perpetrators and despite reliance upon inadmissible extrajudicial statements.
Supreme Court’s Analysis on Identification and Hearsay
The Court scrutinized the identification testimony and found that the lone eyewitness, Juliet Gambalan, failed to identify the assailants in court. Her testimony acknowledged that one assailant was masked and that she identified Ponce only after police presented him. The Court found the testimony of George Jovillano likewise failed to identify any of the men he saw. The Court concluded that positive identification of the Raquel brothers by an eyewitness was lacking.
Application of the Res Inter Alios Rule and Admissibility of Confessions
The Court held that the prosecution’s primary link of the Raquel brothers to the crime rested on the extrajudicial statement of Amado Ponce, who escaped and did not testify in court, and that such a statement was hearsay as to the co-accused unless repeated in open court. The Court applied the res inter alios principle that an extrajudicial confession binds only the confessant and is inadmissible against co-accused who did not have the opportunity to cross-examine the confessant. The Court noted jurisprudential exceptions to that rule but found none applicable here because there was no corroborating evidence linking the Raquel brothers to the crime.
Constitutional Right to Counsel and the Exclusion of the Statement
The Court further found that Ponce’s extrajudicial statement was made during custodial interrogation without advisement or assistance of counsel. The investigating officer, P/Sgt. Andal S. Pangato, admitted that he did not inform Ponce of constitutional rights or provide counsel and treated the interrogation as an information-gathering exercise. The Court therefore ruled the statement inadmissible under the principle that extrajudicial statements made during custodial investigation without assistance of counsel cannot be used in adjudication. The Court cited authority including People vs. Ola, L-47147, and People vs. Flores, G.R. No. 71980, in support of the rule and referenced People vs. Salangga, G.R. No. 10
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Case Syllabus (A.C. No. 2468)
Parties and Posture
- People of the Philippines was the plaintiff-appellee in the criminal prosecution below.
- Sabas Raquel and Valeriano Raquel were the accused-appellants who appealed their convictions.
- Amado Ponce was the co-accused who escaped custody before trial and remained at large.
- The case arose from an information charging robbery with homicide allegedly committed on July 4, 1986.
- The trial court of the Regional Trial Court of Kabacan, Cotabato, Branch 16 convicted all accused and imposed reclusion perpetua plus P50,000.00 and P1,500.00 in civil and property indemnity respectively.
- The accused-appellants appealed to the Court of Appeals and the record was forwarded to the Supreme Court because of the penalty imposed.
Key Facts
- At midnight of July 4, 1986, Agapito Gambalan, Jr. was shot dead after answering a knock at his backdoor.
- Juliet Gambalan, the victim's wife, heard shots, saw one man fall beside the water pump, and saw two others run away, but she did not identify any assailant in court.
- A bystander, George Jovillano, heard the cries and later stated to police that he saw three men but did not recognize any of them.
- The person found wounded near the scene was identified by the police as Amado Ponce, who gave an extrajudicial statement implicating the Raquel brothers.
- Amado Ponce escaped custody before he could testify in court and thus did not repeat his extrajudicial statements in open court.
- The prosecution presented evidence that the Raquel brothers were later apprehended on different occasions after the incident.
Alibi and Defense Evidence
- Valeriano Raquel testified that he was in Tunggol, Pagalungan, Maguindanao on July 3 and 4, 1986, harvesting palay with companions.
- Sabas Raquel presented testimony through T/Sgt. Natalio Zafra that he was on military duty on July 4, 1986, in Iligan City.
- The Raquel family testified to movements and arrests corroborating the claim that Valeriano was taken from Tunggol on July 5, 1986.
- The defense disputed a police claim that Sabas sought medical treatment under the name Dante Clemente, and Dr. Anulao denied treating anyone by that name.
Evidence Presented by Prosecution
- The prosecution relied principally on the extrajudicial statement of Amado Ponce naming the Raquel brothers as co-perpetrators.
- The prosecution introduced eyewitness testimony of Juliet Gambalan and George Jovillano, neither of whom positively identified the Raquel brothers in court.
- A police witness, P/Sgt. And