People v. Ubaldo
REITERATIONFacts
The Antecedents: On August 14, 1995, at around 5:00 PM in Barangay Sto. Domingo, San Manuel, Pangasinan, Alfredo Buccat y Tabelin was driving his tricycle with four passengers. Three appellants (Rene Ubaldo, Eman Posos, Lito Montejo) were in the sidecar, and accused Aladin Calaos was behind the driver. When the tricycle stopped near an irrigation canal, Calaos ordered the victim to alight and then shot him in the neck. Ubaldo stabbed the victim, and with Montejo's help, dragged the body to the canal. Posos stood by the tricycle. The four assailants then boarded the tricycle, with Calaos driving away. The tricycle collided with a jeep. Calaos escaped, while Ubaldo and Posos were arrested. Montejo escaped but was later arrested. Procedural History: Appellants and Calaos were charged with carnapping and murder. The Regional Trial Court of Urdaneta, Pangasinan, Branch 45, convicted them. In Criminal Case No. U-8666 for carnapping, they were sentenced to death. In Criminal Case No. U-8667 for murder, they were sentenced to death and ordered to pay civil indemnity, actual damages, and moral damages. The Petition: Appellants appealed their conviction, contending that their guilt was not proven beyond reasonable doubt and that conspiracy was not established. They argued their mere presence at the crime scene did not prove conspiracy and that some of them even tried to pacify Calaos. Ubaldo also assailed the trial court's findings of fact and claimed the prosecution eyewitnesses were coached.
Issue(s)
Whether the guilt of the appellants has been proven beyond reasonable doubt, and whether conspiracy was sufficiently established among the appellants. Whether the appellants should be convicted of two separate crimes or a special complex crime. Whether the trial court erred in imposing the death sentence for carnapping. Whether the trial court erred in its determination of aggravating circumstances for the murder conviction. Whether the penalties and damages awarded by the trial court are proper.
Ruling
The consolidated decision of the Regional Trial Court is AFFIRMED with modifications as to the penalty imposed and the amount of damages awarded. Appellants are sentenced to imprisonment for carnapping and reclusion perpetua for murder, with modified civil damages.
Ratio Decidendi
On the guilt of the appellants and the existence of conspiracy: The Court affirmed the trial court's assessment of witness credibility, noting that the relationship of an eyewitness to the victim does not impair credibility. The eyewitness account was corroborated by the post-mortem examination. Conspiracy was inferred from the appellants' presence with Calaos before and during the crime, their presence at the locus criminis, their actions in dragging the victim's body and Posos's role in providing moral support, and their subsequent flight from the scene and the accident. The Court reiterated that conspiracy implies a concert of design and may be inferred from the conduct of the accused. The overt act required for conspiracy liability can be moral assistance by being present at the commission of the crime. On the nature of the crime and the conviction: The Court held that appellants could not be convicted of the special complex crime of qualified carnapping because they were charged with separate crimes of carnapping and murder. Convicting them of a complex crime would violate their constitutional right to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation. Therefore, they were properly convicted of two separate crimes. On the penalty for carnapping: The trial court improperly imposed the death sentence for carnapping because the Information did not allege that the victim was killed in the course of the commission of the carnapping or on its occasion. Appellants were convicted of carnapping committed by means of violence against or intimidation of any person, penalized by imprisonment of not less than seventeen years and four months and not more than thirty years under R.A. No. 6539, as amended by R.A. No. 7659. On the penalty for murder: The killing was qualified by treachery, and the aggravating circumstance of abuse of superior strength was necessarily included. Evident premeditation was not sufficiently proven. Murder is penalized under Article 248 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended by R.A. No. 7659, with reclusion perpetua to death. In the absence of aggravating or mitigating circumstances, the penalty of reclusion perpetua was imposed. On damages: The P50,000.00 death indemnity and P35,568.00 actual damages were affirmed. The P300,000.00 moral damages was reduced to P50,000.00 as excessive. The Court also awarded P1,962,500.00 for loss of the victim's earning capacity, computed using the formula: life expectancy x (gross annual income - living expenses).
Main Doctrine
Conspiracy may be inferred from the acts of the accused, whose conduct before, during, and after the commission of the crime can show its existence. To hold an accused liable as a co-principal by reason of conspiracy, he must be shown to have performed an overt act in pursuance or furtherance of the conspiracy, which may consist of active participation or moral assistance by being present at the time of the commission of the crime.