Case Summary (G.R. No. 209146)
Facts of the Killing and Post-mortem Findings
On June 19, 1988, Alfredo Altamarino, Sr. was found dead in his bedroom. His body exhibited multiple injuries: eight stab wounds (two to the neck and six to the chest), a depressed fracture on the right portion of the head, and a laceration on the right eyebrow. Dr. Victorino Q. Arana performed a post-mortem and declared cardiac tamponade the immediate cause of death. The deceased’s bedroom was ransacked, with drawers opened and property missing.
Stolen Items and Initial Investigation
Emma Altamarino Ibana, the deceased’s eldest child, identified missing items including a diamond ring (P20,000), a Rolex watch (P8,000), a Seiko watch (P3,000), a tie clip with 18 diamonds (P50,000), two men’s rings (P25,000), cash (about P7,000–P8,000), and an unspecified amount of U.S. dollars. Initial suspicion fell upon the caretakers, William Verzo and Ofelia Ritual, but the Mauban police investigation produced no evidence sufficient to file charges against them. Emma sought assistance from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
NBI Inquiry, Polygraph Examination, and Extrajudicial Confession
NBI Agents Manzanero and Ginga arrived in Mauban on January 11, 1989, learned of a suspected syndicate, and interrogated Adelberto Camota (a detained syndicate member). The agents requested a polygraph examination; on February 1, 1989, Camota allegedly underwent a polygraph administered by Polygraph Examiner II Ernesto A. Lucena at the Mauban Chief of Police’s office. On the same day, confronted with the polygraph results, Camota executed an extrajudicial confession in the presence of Atty. Albert Siquijor, admitting participation in the robbery-killing and naming Virgilio Conde, Jose de Jesus, Solito Tena and an unidentified person as companions.
Charging and Trial-Court Proceedings
An information for robbery with homicide was filed against Virgilio Conde, Jose de Jesus Jr., Adelberto Camota, Solito Tena and John Doe. Arraignments: Virgilio Conde and Solito Tena pleaded not guilty on November 12, 1989; Camota pleaded not guilty upon arraignment on January 17, 1990. Jose de Jesus and John Doe remained at large; Virgilio Conde later escaped and was tried in absentia. On February 26, 1991, the trial court found Virgilio Conde, Adelberto Camota and Solito Tena guilty beyond reasonable doubt of robbery with homicide, imposing reclusion perpetua and ordering indemnity of P120,000 jointly and severally. The trial court later issued an amended judgment (April 10, 1991) purportedly correcting a typographical error by changing the indicated number of years for reclusion perpetua from twenty (20) to thirty (30) years. Only Solito Tena appealed.
Principal Issue on Appeal and the Evidentiary Rule Invoked
The central issue on appeal concerned the use and admissibility of Camota’s extrajudicial confession and whether Tena’s conviction could rest on that confession. Although the trial court found the confession voluntary and constitutionally valid (finding that Camota’s rights to remain silent and to counsel were observed and that there was no coercion), the Supreme Court’s disposition focused on the doctrine res inter alios acta and Rule 130, Section 28 (formerly Section 25): “The rights of a party cannot be prejudiced by an act, declaration, or omission of another, except as hereinafter provided.” This rule embodies the principle that acts or declarations of strangers ordinarily may not be used as evidence against a party.
Conspirator Exception and Its Legal Requirements
The Rules recognize an exception: the admission by a conspirator may be given in evidence against a co-conspirator (Rule 130, Section 30). For that exception to apply, three elements must be satisfied: (a) the conspiracy must be first proved by evidence other than the admission itself; (b) the admission must relate to the common object of the conspiracy; and (c) the admission must have been made while the declarant was engaged in carrying out the conspiracy.
Why the Conspirator Exception Did Not Apply Here
The Court found multiple dispositive deficiencies preventing application of the conspirator exception. There was no independent evidence, apart from Camota’s extrajudicial confession (Exh. K), establishing a conspiracy between Camota and accused-appellant Tena. No eyewitness testimony linked Tena to the crime; the circumstantial facts the trial court considered did not establish a conspiracy between Camota and Tena. The extrajudicial confession was executed on February 1, 1989—after the commission of the crime—and thus not necessarily made while the declarant was engaged in carrying out the conspiracy. Critically, Camota repudiated the extrajudicial confession in open court, denied knowledge of the offense, and denied knowing Solito Tena; his in-court repudiation further undermined use of Exh. K against co-accused Tena.
Legal Conclusion and Appli
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Procedural Posture and Relief Sought
- Appeal from a judgment of conviction in Criminal Case No. 1213 of the Regional Trial Court of Mauban, Quezon, Branch 64, presided over by the Hon. Antonio O. Cabungcal, in which accused Virgilio Conde, Adelberto Camota and Solito Tena were found guilty of the complex crime of Robbery with Homicide.
- Only accused-appellant Solito Tena appealed to the Supreme Court from the trial court’s conviction and sentence.
- The trial court initially sentenced the convicted accused to "TWENTY (20) YEARS of reclusion perpetua" and later issued an amended judgment on April 10, 1991 changing the number of years specified in relation to reclusion perpetua from twenty (20) to thirty (30) years; the Supreme Court reviewed both the conviction and the trial court’s handling of the specification of years for reclusion perpetua.
- The relief sought by appellant was reversal of conviction and acquittal, or otherwise correction of sentencing; the Supreme Court ultimately granted the relief of acquittal for Solito Tena.
Facts — Death and Crime Scene
- On June 19, 1988, Alfredo Altamarino, Sr., aged 82, was found dead inside the bedroom of his house at corner Gardner and Regidor Streets, Barangay Sadsaran, Mauban, Quezon.
- The deceased’s body was described as laid out in an orderly manner on his bed; the body initially was described as bearing eight (8) stab wounds — two in the neck and six in the chest — and also a depressed fracture on the right portion of his head and a lacerated wound on his right eyebrow.
- The victim’s bedroom was in a topsy-turvy state; the cabinet’s drawers had been opened and ransacked, indicating possible theft/robbery in conjunction with the killing.
Autopsy and Medical Cause of Death
- Dr. Victorino Q. Arana, then resident physician of the Mauban District Hospital, conducted the post mortem examination.
- Dr. Arana declared cardiac tamponade as the immediate cause of death (cardiac tamponade defined in source material as mechanical compression of the heart by large amounts of fluid or blood within the pericardial space that limits normal motion and function of the heart).
- The trial court later referred to wounds numbering ten in all when discussing the nature of injuries and the inference that two or more persons could have inflicted the wounds (reflecting differing enumerations in the record).
Missing Property and Valuations (as testified by victim’s eldest child Emma Altamarino Ibana)
- Items testified missing from the ransacked cabinet included:
- A diamond ring valued at P20,000.00.
- A Rolex watch worth P8,000.00.
- A Seiko watch costing P3,000.00.
- A tie clip with 18 diamonds worth P50,000.00.
- Two men’s rings costing P25,000.00.
- Cash in the approximate amount of P7,000 to P8,000.
- An undetermined amount of dollars.
- Emma Altamarino Ibana traveled from Manila to Mauban upon learning of her father’s death and identified the missing articles.
Initial Investigation and Local Suspects
- Suspicion initially fell on the deceased’s caretakers, the spouses William Verzo and Ofelia Ritual, but the Mauban Police Force’s investigation yielded no evidence to warrant filing charges against them.
- Mauban Police Station Commander Lt. Geronimo de Gala later informed arriving NBI agents that suspicion had shifted to a syndicate operating in Lucena City and nearby municipalities; that syndicate had reportedly been involved in the robbery of a Petron Gas Station owned by Benjamin Lim.
- A member of the alleged syndicate, Adelberto Camota, was in detention and was interrogated by NBI agents upon their arrival.
NBI Involvement, Polygraph Examination, and Extrajudicial Confession
- On January 11, 1989, NBI Agents Reynaldo Manzanero and Celso Ginga arrived at Mauban to conduct an investigation at the request of Emma Altamarino Ibana.
- The NBI agents interrogated Adelberto Camota and, suspecting he knew more than he disclosed, requested use of an NBI polygraph examiner.
- On February 1, 1989, Camota allegedly with his consent underwent a polygraph examination conducted by Polygraph Examiner II Ernesto A. Lucena at the office of the Mauban Chief of Police (Exh. D referenced).
- On the same day, after being confronted with the results of the polygraph, Adelberto Camota executed an extrajudicial confession (marked Exh. K; also Exh. K-1), allegedly in the presence of Atty. Albert Siquijor.
- In his extrajudicial confession Camota admitted participation in the robbery-killing of Alfredo Altamarino, Sr. and identified Virgilio Conde, Jose de Jesus, Solito Tena and an unidentified person as his companions in the crime.
Criminal Information, Arraignments, and Co-accused Status
- An information for Robbery with Homicide was filed by the Assistant Provincial Fiscal against Virgilio Conde, Jose de Jesus Jr., Adelberto Camota, Solito Tena and John Doe (docketed as Criminal Case No. 1213).
- Virgilio Conde and Solito Tena pleaded not guilty upon arraignment on November 12, 1989.
- Adelberto Camota pleaded not guilty upon arraignment on January 17, 1990.
- Jose de Jesus and John Doe were never apprehended and remained at large.
- Virgilio Conde later escaped from detention and was tried in absentia.
Trial Court Findings and Conviction (Trial Court Decision dated February 26, 1991)
- The trial court found Virgilio Conde, Adelberto Camota and Solito Tena guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the complex crime of Robbery with Homicide.
- The trial court’s findings, as summarized by the Supreme Court, rested chiefly on the extrajudicial confession of Adelberto Camota (Exh. K) and several circumstantial circumstances it deemed corroborative:
- The time, date and place of the commission of the crime were exactly as confessed by Camota.
- The wounds sustained