Title
People vs. Reyes
Case
G.R. No. 120642
Decision Date
Jul 2, 1999
Appellants Ronnie Reyes and Nestor Pagal, along with accomplices, robbed and killed Alfredo Macadaeg in 1992. Despite alibi defenses, they were convicted of robbery with homicide based on credible witness testimonies, sentenced to reclusion perpetua, and ordered to pay damages.
robbery with homicide
alibi defense
eyewitness identification

Case Summary (G.R. No. 120642)

Charges and Arraignment

The information charged appellants with robbery in band with homicide, alleging that they and unidentified co-accused acted with intent to gain and by means of violence and intimidation, took and carried away the chainsaw and two sacks of palay belonging to the spouses, and during the robbery shot Alfredo with intent to kill, thereby inflicting wounds that directly caused his death. Upon arraignment, both appellants pleaded not guilty, and the three unidentified co-accused remained at large.

Prosecution Evidence and the Manner of the Crime

The prosecution presented Felicidad, Reynaldo, and PO3 Jimmy Cabalo. Felicidad testified that at about six o’clock in the evening of December 30, 1992, she and Alfredo were inside the kitchen of their two-storey house in Wigan, Cordon, Isabela, while their children stayed upstairs. She heard gunfire and saw Alfredo fall. She rushed to embrace him after he told her that he had been shot. She then shouted for her children, fainted, and afterward regained consciousness to tell them that Alfredo had died. When Reynaldo attempted to seek help, four men suddenly barged in. Felicidad recognized Ronnie Reyes, who aimed a gun at her while she held Alfredo’s lifeless body, and Nestor Pagal, who aimed a gun at Reynaldo, who was about eight meters from where Felicidad was. The two other men demanded the chainsaw; upon learning it was not in the house, they threatened the family if they later found it. The men then went upstairs, discovered and passed the chainsaw to a companion outside acting as a lookout, ransacked the house, and took the two sacks of palay from below the stairs. The group left together with the chainsaw and the palay.

Reynaldo’s testimony largely corroborated Felicidad’s account. He stated that when Barangay Captain Jomer Hoggang (Huggang) arrived after he was called by their brother Juanito, he did not yet identify which men entered the house because he was crying at the time.

PO3 Jimmy Cabalo testified that he received the police report the same evening and arrived at the crime scene around nine o’clock. He found Alfredo sprawled on the kitchen floor. Based on the family’s initial statements, he learned that someone from outside shot the victim and that two assailants entered and took the chainsaw and palay. Cabalo also testified that on that night the Macadaegs failed to identify the assailants due to fear.

Alleged Delay in Identification and Sworn Statements

The decision noted that Felicidad and Reynaldo executed sworn statements only thirteen days after the killing, identifying Reyes and Pagal as the perpetrators. The prosecution explained the delay by Felicidad’s shock and the family’s frightened condition upon the immediate arrival of the barangay captain and police. The decision also recorded Felicidad’s cross-examination admissions that, during the initial investigation, the authorities had not yet inquired in a manner that prompted her to reveal the identities, and that she could not remember or did not understand what was being asked at the time.

The trial court further treated the delay as adequately explained. It also observed that Felicidad appeared not to be very bright and had difficulty understanding complicated questions. PO3 Cabalo’s testimony aligned with this, indicating that the family initially could not state the identities because they appeared frightened, and that later they would reveal the person who shot Alfredo.

Defense Evidence: Alibi and Denial of Knowledge

Appellants both raised alibi. Reyes testified that he had lived in Wigan, Cordon, Isabela from 1983 to 1989, knew the Macadaegs because he was godfather to their youngest child Marilyn, and frequently helped Alfredo operate the chainsaw. He claimed that he moved to San Benigno, Aglipay, Quirino in 1989 and, on the morning of December 30, 1992, he butchered and cooked a dog for the birthday of Barangay Councilor Tirso Manganawi, where he ate lunch at about one o’clock and began drinking liquor at three o’clock. He denied knowing Pagal and suggested that the Macadaegs implicated him because of his prior criminal record and his being a chainsaw operator. Reyes presented Tirso Manganawi and Agustin Buya to corroborate his alibi.

Pagal testified that from 1985 to 1991 he and his family lived in Wigan, Cordon, Isabela, about one kilometer away from the Macadaegs, and that he later relocated to Calimutoc, Nayon Lamut, Ifugao to own a farm. He claimed he did not visit Wigan thereafter. He said that on December 30, 1992 at about two o’clock in the afternoon he was at church rehearsal for a skit, attended mass at seven thirty in the evening, and the Christmas program ran from eight o’clock until midnight. He asserted that he returned to Wigan only on March 5, 1993 to harvest produce and that he was arrested and implicated on that day. He testified that he did not personally know Reyes and only saw him when Pagal still resided in Wigan, with the next meeting at the municipal jail in Cordon. His alibi was corroborated by Agustin Lunag.

Trial Court Ruling and Appellants’ Assignment of Errors

On December 8, 1994, the trial court convicted both appellants of robbery in band with homicide and sentenced each to reclusion perpetua. It also ordered joint and several payment to Alfredo’s heirs of P50,000 as death indemnity, P30,400 as actual damages, and P500,000 as compensatory damages. On appeal, appellants argued that the trial court erred in giving full weight to Felicidad and Reynaldo’s testimonies and erred in finding guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

Credibility of Witnesses: No Justification to Disturb Findings

The decision treated the credibility determination as the fundamental issue, emphasizing that appellate review accords great respect to the trial court’s assessment because the trial judge had the vantage position of observing witness demeanor. The Court found no reason to disturb the trial court’s findings.

Appellants contended that the Macadaegs’ delayed identification undermined their reliability. The Court rejected this. It held that failure to immediately disclose the identities of perpetrators does not impair credibility when the delay is explained. It credited the explanation that Felicidad and Reynaldo were in shock and frightened upon the arrival of authorities. The decision pointed out testimony that Felicidad could not readily answer questions framed in complicated ways, and that both the barangay captain and police had not effectively elicited identities on the night of the crime. It also treated Reynaldo’s failure to identify Pagal to Barangay Captain Hoggang at that moment as a reaction to crying and emotional shock from witnessing Alfredo’s fatal assault.

The Court likewise dismissed the argument that Reyes could not have been identified due to distance, noting that Reyes was known to the Macadaegs well before the incident through chainsaw operations and family acquaintance as godfather to Marilyn. As to Pagal, the Court observed that Reynaldo knew him for about two years and that Pagal had even invited Alfredo to a chainsaw operation two days before the incident.

The Court further rejected claims of improper motive. It held that it was implausible that relatives would implicate others in such a heinous crime merely because the accused had a criminal record or because the chainsaw was involved in the robbery, or because someone else had urged pointing to the accused. It deemed it unnatural for relatives of the victim to accuse anyone other than the real culprits. With identification considered possible and credible, the Court ruled that alibi could not prevail, reiterating that alibi is the weakest defense in criminal cases when identity is sufficiently and positively established by eyewitnesses.

The decision also addressed alleged inconsistencies in Reynaldo’s statements. It treated the inconsistencies as trivial and noted that slight contradictions may indicate truthful testimony rather than rehearsed fabrication. It also explained that affidavits, being generally incomplete and taken ex parte, are inferior to testimony given in open court.

Correct Denomination of the Offense: From “Robbery in Band with Homicide” to “Robbery with Homicide”

Although the trial court found appellants guilty of “robbery in band with homicide,” the Supreme Court held that the denomination was erroneous because there is no distinct crime labeled “robbery in band with homicide.” It explained that where robbery with homicide is committed by a band, the offense is properly denominated as “robbery with homicide” under Article 294(1) of the Revised Penal Code, while the element of band operates as an aggravating circumstance.

More importantly, the Court found the prosecution failed to establish the aggravating circumstance of band. Reynaldo testified that only two of the group were armed with guns, and Felicidad corroborated that only two persons carrying guns entered the house and were identifiable as Reyes and Pagal. On cross-examination, Felicidad admitted she did not know whether the other persons who took the chainsaw were armed. Given the statutory requirement that band exists when more than three armed malefactors act together, the Court ruled that the evidence did not support a finding of band.

Thus, appellants were held guilty of the special complex crime of robbery with homicide, as homicide was perpetrated by reason of or on the occasion of the robbery.

Conspiracy and Liability for the Killing

The Court held that the fact that Felicidad did not see who among the malefactors shot Alfredo did not absolve appellants. It found beyond reasonable doubt the presence of conspiracy based on the concerted manner of the assault and the robbery. Under the doctrine the Court applied, once conspiracy is established, it matters not who actually shot and killed the victim. It further held that all participants in the robbery with homicide are guilty of the special complex crime unle

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