Title
People vs. Tanedo
Case
G.R. No. 110405
Decision Date
Jan 2, 1997
A group ambushed Domingo Nepal with bladed weapons in 1982, leading to his death. The Supreme Court upheld murder convictions, citing treachery and conspiracy.
treachery
murder
conviction
A

Case Summary (G.R. No. 89684)

Parties and Setting

People of the Philippines prosecuted the case against the accused-appellants and their co-accused for murder, alleging conspiracy, treachery, and evident premeditation in the information. The matter was tried in the Regional Trial Court, Branch 62, Gumaca, Quezon, presided by Judge Antonio V. Mendez, Sr. On 14 December 1990, the trial court rendered its decision finding multiple accused guilty of murder. The record further showed that co-accused Jesus Lachica died on 27 March 1991 while the case was pending appeal, leading to the extinguishment of his criminal and civil liabilities pursuant to Art. 89 of the Revised Penal Code, with his appeal deemed closed and terminated.

Factual Background

On the evening of 25 April 1982, Domingo and Dominador Nepal walked by the store of Merly Pelago, where a group composed of barangay personnel and local residents was drinking. Berlito Lachica and Danilo Mercadal were also present, though they were not drinking. Domingo was called by Ruben Agoncillo, while Dominador proceeded to an adjoining house owned by Nemesio del Mundo.

While inside that house, Dominador heard shouts of women emanating from the store. He rushed back and saw Jesus Lachica kicking Ruben Agoncillo while Domingo and Dominador’s interaction unfolded amid a growing commotion. Dominador then saw Danilo Mercadal carrying a bolo and appearing to hack Domingo. Domingo managed to avert the attack by grabbing a piece of wood and driving Danilo away. Berlito Lachica, armed with a bolo, followed Danilo as Danilo headed toward the mountain.

Around 7:00 o’clock that evening, Domingo and Dominador were about to depart when Ruben, now drunk, asked them to accompany him to Barangay Captain Pacito Agoncillo to lodge a complaint. The Nepals left Ruben only after leaving him briefly with Boy Revadavia. As Domingo walked ahead and Dominador followed about four meters behind, the prosecution witnesses described a sudden emergence of multiple armed men from hiding places. Virgilio Tanedo, Berlito Lachica, Jesus Lachica, Enrico Gepaya, and Mercurio Lemina—all armed with bladed weapons—appeared from a banana grove and from the nearby house of Nuestro Tanedo, which was well-lit by electric light from the balcony.

Domingo was immediately attacked. Danilo boloed Domingo and struck him on the right side of his head, causing Domingo to stagger. The attackers then surrounded Domingo, and Virgilio delivered a final thrust using his balisong. Dominador shouted for help, but it was unavailing. Mercurio and Gepaya encircled Domingo, after which Domingo was left prostrate and bleeding profusely from fatal wounds, including a wound that went through the chest and lacerated the right lung. Maxima Remuyan, Domingo’s mother, was about five meters away. She testified that she saw the assault by multiple armed assailants seemingly coming from all directions. She cried out for help, but by the time responders arrived, Domingo was already dead.

Trial Court Proceedings

The information charged Virgilio Tanedo, Berlito Lachica, Danilo Mercadal, and their co-accused with murder, with allegations of conspiracy, treachery, and evident premeditation. Except for Virgilio Tanedo, all the accused testified and denied participation in the killing.

In their respective defenses, Jesus Lachica claimed that during the earlier drinking incident he was in Merly Pelago’s store, heard Ruben berating Danilo, and attempted to calm the situation by asking Danilo to leave the store; he denied later involvement in Domingo’s slaying, asserting that he remained at the store until around 10:00 o’clock that night. Berlito Lachica corroborated Jesus’s earlier narrative, stating that he went to the store around 6:00 o’clock, bought cigarettes, and waited for Jesus until 10:00 o’clock. Danilo Mercadal denied complicity by asserting that he went to retrieve borrowed dinner plates from Merly Pelago’s store; he claimed Ruben arrived drunk and tried to hit him, and that Jesus intervened and told him to leave. Danilo said he obeyed and left with his wife for home.

For Virgilio Tanedo, the defense presented Myrna Barretto, a barangay health worker, as a witness. She testified that at around 6:00 o’clock on 25 April 1982, Virgilio went to her house to ask for medicine for a stomach ache. After taking emital syrup, he allegedly rested at her house. She further claimed that at around 8:30, she heard Domingo shouting, “all brave men, come out!” and then heard a woman cry for help, but she remained inside because she feared to investigate. She stated that the following day she learned that Domingo had been killed. She asserted that Virgilio could not have participated because he had been with her for the whole night.

The defense also introduced Sofio Pollo, who purportedly identified Mercurio Lemina and Enrico Gepaya as the attackers. Pollo testified that he heard Domingo shouting at about 8:00, then saw Mercurio and Enrico—armed with a tagad and a bolo—approach Domingo. He claimed Enrico hacked Domingo on the head, causing him to fall, while Mercurio hit him with a tagad. Pollo further belied the participation of Virgilio Tanedo, Danilo Mercadal, Berlito Lachica, and Jesus Lachica, stating that they were not at the locus criminis.

On 14 December 1990, the trial court convicted the accused (including those later affected by Jesus Lachica’s death), applying the Indeterminate Sentence Law and imposing a sentence of twelve (12) years of prision mayor to twenty (20) years of reclusion temporal. It ordered indemnity of P30,000.00 for the heirs of Domingo Nepal and imposed accessory penalties.

Appellate Proceedings and Errors Assigned

Only certain accused appealed. During the pendency of the appeal, Jesus Lachica died on 27 March 1991, and the appellate court declared his liabilities extinguished under Art. 89 of the Revised Penal Code, with his appeal closed and terminated. On 14 January 1993, the Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s conviction, but modified the penalty, sentencing the accused-appellants to reclusion perpetua and increasing indemnity to P50,000.00. The Court of Appeals then certified the case to the Supreme Court for review under Rule 124, Sec. 13 of the Rules of Court.

The accused-appellants assigned errors: (1) misappreciation of the prosecution testimonies; (2) lack of basis for a finding of culpability for murder; and (3) insufficiency of proof beyond reasonable doubt that they committed murder. They argued that their conviction relied entirely on prosecution witnesses and that if the defenses were properly considered, the evidentiary standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt would not be met. They also contended that the trial court misappreciated the testimony of Maxima Remuyan and the defense testimony of Sofio Pollo. Specifically, Maxima allegedly testified that Domingo called out names of Mercurio Lemina and Enrico Gepaya, which appellants argued would corroborate Pollo’s assertion that only three men fought.

They additionally argued that, even if participation were established, the killing should have been treated as homicide, not murder, because treachery could not be appreciated due to an alleged absence of opportunity for reflection, and the prosecution supposedly failed to show the precise manner in which the aggression began and developed.

Issues for Resolution

The case required the Court to determine whether the lower courts erred in assessing witness credibility and whether the prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt the accused’s participation in Domingo’s killing in a manner qualifying the act as murder through treachery, and whether the defense’s denials and alibi could create reasonable doubt. It also required the Court to consider whether the facts supported the prosecution’s theory of a coordinated assault attributable to the accused in conspiracy.

The Parties’ Contentions

The prosecution relied on the testimonies of the eyewitnesses and close observers, including Dominador Nepal and Maxima Remuyan, describing a coordinated attack by multiple armed persons emerging from hiding places and immediately surrounding and finishing Domingo with fatal blows. The prosecution also countered that the trial court, having observed the demeanor of witnesses, properly found the prosecution accounts credible and the defense accounts unbelievable.

For their part, the appellants insisted that the defense evidence, including alibis and the witness testimony of Sofio Pollo, should have been believed. They maintained that if Pollo and the claimed timing and location of the accused were credited, the evidence would not meet the threshold of guilt beyond reasonable doubt. They further argued that the circumstances did not show the elements necessary to qualify the killing as murder by reason of treachery.

Legal Basis and Reasoning

The Court held that the trial court’s findings on witness credibility deserved great weight, because it had the opportunity to observe the witnesses’ demeanor. It agreed that the lower courts did not disregard the defense testimonies; they simply found them unbelievable in contrast to the prosecution’s credible narration.

On the appellants’ reliance on alibi, the Court reiterated settled doctrine that alibi is the weakest defense. For alibi to prosper, an accused must show not only that he was not at the scene of the crime at the time of its commission, but also that it was physically impossible for him to be there. The Court found that the defense failed to satisfy these requirements. It likewise rejected the argument that Maxima’s testimony disproved the participation of the other accused. Maxima’s testimony that Domingo called out names during the assault did not preclude the participation of additional assailants, because she had categorically named the persons who ganged up on her son: Jesus Lachica, Berlito Lachica, Danilo Mercadal, Mercurio Lemina, Virgilio Tanedo, and Boy Gepaya.

The Court then addressed th

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