Cited Laws
Accordingly, appellants were meted out the following penalties: "WHEREOF, in view of all the foregoing, the Court finds the accused Antonio Garcia and Leon Lumilan guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of 1) MURDER as defined and penalized under Article 248 of the Revised Penal Code in conjunction with Article 6 of the Revised Penal Code and in view of the absence of any mitigating or aggravating circumstances attending the commission of the crime, hereby sentences Antonio Garcia and Leon Lumilan to suffer the penalty of RECLUSION PERPETUA on three counts each for the killing of Meliton Asuncion, Modesto Roque and Eliong dela Cruz; 2) FRUSTRATED MURDER and are sentenced to a prison term of 8 years and 20 days as minimum to 14 years, 10 months, and 21 days as maximum on two counts each for the wounding of Jerry Palomo and Simeon Pacano and; 3) ATTEMPTED MURDER and are sentenced to a prison term of 5 years as minimum to 8 years and 21 days as maximum on three counts each for the wounding of Nolasco Estrada, Mario Palomo and Romeo Pacho, and to indemnify the heirs of the deceased MELITON ASUNCION damages in the amount of P30,000.00, moral damages of P10,000.00 each, actual damages of P4,150.00 and lost earning of P27,000.00 for one year as farmer; the deceased MODESTO ROQUE damages of P30,000.00, moral damages of P10,000.00 each actual damages of P8,00.00 and lost earning of P10,000.00 for one year as farmer; and the deceased ELIONG DELA CRUZ, damages of P30,000.00 and moral damages of P10,000.00 each; for the wounding of SIMEON PACANO and JERRY PALOMO, moral damages of P10,000.00 each and actual damages of P11,550.00 for JERRY PALOMO; and for an attempt on the life of NOLASCO ESTRADA and MARIO PALOMO, an actual damages of P100.00 for NOLASCO ESTRADA and actual damages of P200.00 and lost earning of P 10,500.00 for one year as farmer for MARIO PALOMO, with costs. SO ORDERED" [10] Appellants file a motion for reconsideration which was, however, denied by the trial court in its Resolution [11] dated October 24, 1991. Hence, the instant appeal. Appellants Leon Lumilan and Antonio Garcia raise the following errors: I THE TRIAL COURT COMMITTED A REVERSIBLE ERROR IN FINDING THAT THE GUILT OF APPELLANTS WAS PROVEN BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT. II THE TRIAL COURT COMMITTED A REVERSIBLE ERROR IN NOT GIVING CREDENCE TO THE EVIDENCE OF APPELLANTS. The important first question We must answer is whether or not appellants may be properly convicted of murder, frustrated murder and attempted murder under an Information that charges them with qualified illegal possession of firearms used in murder in violation of Section 1 of Presidential Decree (P.D.) No. 1866, as amended [12] At the time the trial court promulgated its judgment of conviction in September 1990, it had already been six (6) months since We held in People v. Tac-an [13] that the unlawful possession of an unlicensed firearm or ammunition, whether or not homicide or murder resulted from its use, on one