G.R. No. 79123-25 - People vs. Trinidad

Case Summary (G.R. No. 79123-25)

Key Dates

Incident dates: January 19–20, 1983 (departure from Davao/Butuan and killings occurring en route). Relevant procedural dates and appellate decision appear in the record supplied; the trial and appeal transpired after the promulgation of the 1987 Constitution, which the court applied in modifying penalties.

Factual Narrative

The prosecution’s factual account, as testified primarily by Ricardo Tan, is that the victims Soriano and Laroa were fish dealers who traveled in a Ford Fiera. On 20 January 1983, after movements between Butuan City and Buenavista, Trinidad—in uniform and armed with a carbine and a .38 revolver—asked for a ride toward Bayugan. The Fiera left Butuan at approximately 5:20 P.M., with Tan driving and, seated to his right, Soriano, Laroa and Trinidad. Between El Rio and Afga, Trinidad warned them to drive slowly; shortly thereafter Tan heard two gunshots. Soriano and Laroa were found hit in the head and dead. Tan saw Trinidad fire the carbine at Soriano but did not actually see Trinidad shoot Laroa (he was alerted by the first shot and observed the second). Tan fled and hid; subsequently he boarded a passing jeep but Trinidad boarded another jeep and, after ordering Tan down and pursuing him, fired two shots, one striking Tan in the right thigh. Tan escaped and was assisted by a member of the P.C.

Procedural Posture and Trial Court Disposition

The Regional Trial Court convicted Trinidad of two counts of Murder and one count of Frustrated Murder and imposed: (a) Reclusion Perpetua for each Murder count and (b) eight years and one day to twelve years for the Frustrated Murder count, plus indemnities and costs. Trinidad appealed, challenging the sufficiency and credibility of the evidence, principally attacking the testimony of Ricardo Tan and asserting an alibi.

Issue on Appeal

The sole issue before the appellate court was whether the evidence adduced by the prosecution established Trinidad’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt for the charged crimes.

Eyewitness Testimony and Credibility Assessment

The court extensively reviewed Ricardo Tan’s testimony. The court found Tan to be an eyewitness who was present in the vehicle, was himself a victim, and gave a consistent and detailed account of the events. The court addressed alleged inconsistencies: Tan’s statements regarding when he reached Buenavista and when he boarded the Fiera were reconciled (Tan had initially remained in Langihan to dispose of fish and followed later), and minor discrepancies concerning uniform details (khaki or fatigue, cap or no cap) were characterized as trivial and not affecting positive identification. Felimon Comendador’s testimony corroborated that Trinidad rode in the Fiera with Tan, Soriano and Laroa. The court further rejected the argument that the absence of gunpowder burns contradicted point-blank shooting, noting that “point-blank” in the English meaning the court cited relates to aim and not to precise distance; more importantly, the decisive issue is whether the accused actually shot the victims.

Defense Alibi and the Court’s Rejection

Trinidad’s defense was primarily denial and an alibi asserting presence in Cagayan de Oro City on 20 January 1983. He claimed he left Butuan at about 3:00 P.M. for Cagayan de Oro, arrived around 8:00 P.M., and was seen by his sister and Sgt. Caalim. He further claimed to have returned to Butuan on 21 January and to have been arrested at Buenavista that evening. The court found this alibi inherently weak when measured against Tan’s detailed and contemporaneous account and the corroborative evidence; accordingly, the alibi did not prevail.

Legal Classification: Frustrated Murder Reduced to Attempted Murder

The court determined that while the facts supported convictions for the killings, the count charged as Frustrated Murder could not stand as such and should be reduced to Attempted Murder. The court applied the doctrinal rule that when the assailant commences execution by overt acts but the death does not occur due to causes other than spontaneous desistance (e.g., the jeep was in motion, a spare tire shielded other parts of the body, wound not fatal), the correct criminal classification is Attempted Murder rather than Frustrated Murder. The court cited established precedent (as reflected in the record) to that effect.

Application of the 1987 Constitution and Penalty Modification

The court recognized the abolition of capital punishment under the 1987 Constitution and accordingly adjusted the penalties. It noted that, under the post-1987 constitutional scheme and applicable penal provisions, the penalty for Murder is reclusion temporal in its maximum period to reclusion perpetua, and in the absence of aggravating or mitigating circumstances the medium period is appropriate. For purposes of the Indeterminate Sentence Law, the court identified the next lower penalty degree and calibrated the indeterminate terms consistent with statutory gradations.

Final Dis

Case Syllabus (G.R. No. 79123-25)

Case Citation, Court, and Date

Reported at 251 Phil. 50, Second Division, G.R. Nos. 79123-25.
Decision rendered January 9, 1989.
Decision authored by Justice Melencio-Herrera; Justices Paras, Padilla, Sarmiento, and Regalado concurred.

Parties and Roles

Plaintiff-Appellee: People of the Philippines.
Accused-Appellant: Emeliano Trinidad.
Presiding judge at trial: Judge Zenaida P. Placer (Regional Trial Court, Branch 7, Bayugan, Agusan del Sur).
Principal prosecution witness: Ricardo Tan (helper and driver).
Other deceased victims: Lolito Soriano and Marcial Laroa.
Corroborating prosecution witness: Felimon Comendador (fish vendor, Butuan City).

Procedural Posture

Accused Emeliano Trinidad appealed to the Supreme Court from the judgment of the Regional Trial Court, Branch 7, Bayugan, Agusan del Sur.
Trial Court rendered an "Omnibus Decision" convicting Trinidad of two counts of Murder and one count of Frustrated Murder and imposed corresponding penalties and indemnities.
On appeal, the sole issue presented was whether the adduced evidence was sufficient to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

Factual Background — General Chronology

Deceased Lolito Soriano was a fish dealer based in Davao City; his helpers included Ricardo Tan (driver) and Marcial Laroa (deceased).
January 19–20, 1983: The fish dealers arrived at Butuan City on January 19. On the morning of January 20, Soriano drove the Ford Fiera to Buenavista, Agusan del Norte, with Laroa and another helper; Tan remained in Butuan City to dispose of fish but later followed to Buenavista.
Emeliano Trinidad, an Integrated National Police member assigned at Nasipit Police Station and residing at Baan, Butuan City, requested a ride to Bayugan while in Buenavista; he was in uniform and armed with a carbine and a .38 caliber revolver.
On the return trip (January 20, 1983), the vehicle left Butuan at about 5:20 P.M. bound for Davao City; Ricardo Tan was driving the Fiera; seated to his right were Soriano, Laroa and Trinidad, in that order.
Between El Rio and Afga, Trinidad advised them to drive slowly and, suddenly, two gunshots were heard; Soriano and Laroa fell and were hit in the head; Tan saw Trinidad shoot Soriano with a carbine but did not actually see Trinidad shoot Laroa.
Tan fled the vehicle, hid in bushes, heard another shot from the Fiera, then after 20–30 minutes hailed a passing passenger jeep and rode on the front seat; Trinidad was seated at the back of that jeep, ordered Tan to get out, chased him, fired two shots and hit Tan in the right thigh while Tan clung to the side of the moving jeep; Tan later jumped to another jeep but was pushed out; a member of the P.C. found him and helped him board a bus for Butuan City.

Eyewitness Testimony — Ricardo Tan (Prosecution’s Principal Witness)

Tan narrated a detailed sequence: he initially did not go to Buenavista with the fish car in the early morning but went around 11:00 a.m. in another vehicle; on the return trip he was the driver of the Fiera.
Tan testified he heard two gunshots between El Rio and Afga, found Soriano and Laroa fallen and hit in the head, and personally witnessed Trinidad shoot Soriano with a carbine after being alerted by the first shot.
Tan described abandoning the running Fiera, hiding in the bushes, hearing another shot from the Fiera, and later being fired upon and wounded in the right thigh by Trinidad while clinging to a moving jeep.
Tan’s testimony was detailed, descriptive, and remained unshaken on cross-examination according to the Court.
Tan had no alleged ill motive identified by the defense to explain fabrication; he was both witness and a victim who narrowly escaped death.

Corroborating Evidence — Felimon Comendador

Felimon Comendador, a fish vendor and resident of Butuan City, testified that he saw Trinidad riding in the Fiera on the front seat in the company of Tan, Soriano and Laroa when the Fiera stopped by his house in Butuan City.
This testimony was offered to corroborate the presence of Trinidad in the Fiera at some point on the trip.

Accused’s Defense — Denial and Alibi

Trinidad denied involvement and asserted an alibi: he claimed he was in Cagayan de Oro City on January 20, 1983.
He stated he reported for duty on January 19 but secured permission to be relieved on January 20 because it was his birthday; he left Butuan around 3:00 P.M. on January 20 and arrived in Cagayan de Oro at about 8:00 P.M.
Trinidad claimed he was at his sister’s house in Camp Alagar to get a subsistence allowance and that Sgt. Caalim corroborated seeing him there.
He said he left Cagayan de Oro at lunchtime on January 21, arriving Butuan around 6:00 P.M., went to his house to get his service carbine, and was en route to Nasipit to report for duty on January 21 when he was arrested at about 6:00 P.M. at Buenavista.