G.R. No. 143819 - PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. GERRY CUENCA Y MEDRANO, JACKSON CUENCA (AT LARGE), CRISANTO AGON Y MAGPANTAY, AND BERNIE AGON (AT LARGE), ACCUSED, GERRY CUENCA Y MEDRANO AND CRISANTO AGON Y MAGPANTAY.DECISION - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE, the Court finds the accused GERRY CUENCA and CRISANTO AGON, guilty beyond reasonable doubt, both as principals by direct participation for having conspired and confederated with one another in the commission of the crime of [m]urder, as alleged in the Information dated March 27, 1998, and defined and penalized under Article 248 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended by Republic Act 7659 and sentences each of them to suffer the penalty of RECLUSION PERPETUA , to pay the heirs of Wilfredo Castillo the sum of P50,000.00 as indemnity for his death, the sum of P38,800.00, as actual damages, the sum of P4,800,000.00 for loss of earning capacity, the sum of P20,000.00, as moral damages and to pay their proportionate share of the costs. The period during which both accused are under preventive imprisonment shall be deducted from their sentence. Finally, let also warrants of arrest be issued against the accused Jackson Cuenca and Bernardo Bernie Agon for their immediate apprehension. [3] On March 17, 1998, Lipa City Assistant City Prosecutor Mario G. Mayuga filed the Information charging appellants and their co-accused as follows: That on or about the 14th day of February, 1998 at about 9:30 oclock in the evening, at Barangay Tambo, Lipa City, Philippines and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, then armed with bladed/pointed and hard instruments, conspiring and confederating together, acting in common accord and mutually aiding one another, with intent to kill, with treachery and grave abuse of superior strength and taking advantage of nighttime, did then and there wilfully, unlawfully and feloniously attack, assault, beat and stab with the use of said bladed/pointed and hard instruments, suddenly and without warning, one Wilfredo Castillo, thereby inflicting upon the latter stab wounds, which directly caused his death. [4] When arraigned on April 27, 1998, appellants -- with the assistance of their lawyers -- entered a plea of not guilty. [5] Because their co-accused were at large, trial on the merits proceeded only as against them. The Facts Version of the Prosecution In its Brief, [6] the Office of the Solicitor General summarized the prosecutions version of the facts as follows: On February 14, 1998, around 9:30 in the evening, while lying down with his wife and family in his house at Module Subdivision, Barangay Tambo, Lipa City, Batangas, Marcial Morillo [7] heard a commotion taking place outside his house. Dogs were barking loudly, so he decided to go out of the house to see what was happening outside. He then saw a man being mauled and beaten by four (4) persons. Upon seeing the incident, he hid himself behind a PLDT telephone post. From a distance of about ten (10) meters, he recognized the four (4) assailants as Gerry Cuenca, Jackson Cuenca, Crisanto Agon and Bernie Agon, while the person being mauled was Wilfredo Edok Castillo. Marcial knew the four assailants and the victim for eight