G.R. No. 117970 - PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. ULYSSES M. CAWALING, ERNESTO TUMBAGAHAN, RICARDO DE LOS SANTOS, AND HILARIO CAJILO, ACCUSED-.

Ruling

WHEREFORE, this Court finds the accused (1) ULYSSES M. CAWALING, (2) ERNESTO TUMBAGAHAN, (3) RICARDO DELOS SANTOS, (4) HILARIO CAJILO, AND (5) ANDRES FONTAMILLAS GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of MURDER under the Information, dated June 4, 1987, and sentences each of them to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua, with the accessory penalties of the law. The accused, jointly and severally, are ORDERED to pay Nelson Elisan the sum of P6,000.00 as actual damages and the heirs of the deceased Ronie Elisan the sums of P116,666.66 by way of lost earnings and P50,000.00 as indemnity for death, without subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency, and to pay the costs. The bail bonds of all the accused are ORDERED CANCELLED and all said accused are ORDERED immediately confined in jail. The slug (Exh. A); the .38 caliber revolver (with 3 empty shells and 3 live bullets) (Exh. G); and the slug of bullet (Exh. H) are confiscated in favor of the government. After the judgment has become final, the Officer-in-Charge, Office of the Clerk of Court, this Court, is ordered to deliver and deposit the foregoing Exhibits A, F, G and H, inclusive, to the Provincial Director, PNP, of the Province of Romblon properly receipted. Thereafter, the receipt must be attached to the record of the case and shall form part of the record. The period of preventive imprisonment the accused had undergone shall be credited in their favor to its full extent pursuant to Article 29 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended. The case against co-accused ALEX BATUIGAS who is at large is ORDERED ARCHIVED pending his arrest. [17] Hence, this appeal. [18] The Facts Version of the Prosecution The trial court gives this summary of the facts as viewed by the prosecution witnesses: The killing occurred on December 4, 1982 at around 9:00 oclock in the evening at the ricefield of Poblacion, San Jose, Romblon when the bright moon was already above the sea at an angle of about 45 degrees, or if it was daytime, it was about 9:00 oclock in the morning (Imelda Elisan Tumbagahon, on direct examination, tsn, Jan. 17, 1989, p. 5, and on cross examination, tsn, April 18, 1989, p. 22). On December 4, 1982, about 8:00 oclock or 8:30 oclock in the evening, Vicente Elisan and his elder brother Ronie Elisan, the victim, were drinking tuba at C & J-4 Kitchenette of co-accused Andres Fontamillas in Poblacion, San Jose, Romblon. When they stood up to go home, Luz Venus, the wife of Diosdado Venus, told them not to go out because the accused were watching them outside about three (3) meters from the restaurant. Diosdado Venus accompanied them upon their request and they went out and walked towards home. About a hundred meters from the restaurant, the six (6) accused, that is, Mayor Cawaling, the four (4) policemen, namely, Hilario Cajilo, Andres Fontamillas, Ernesto Tumbagahan and Ricardo delos Santos, and civilian Alex Batuigas, the mayors brother-in-law, flashlighted them and Diosdado Venus ran