G.R. No. 108454 - PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. TEDDY QUINAO, ROLANDO SIDRO AND BALTAZAR ORTIZ.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE, finding the accused Teddy Quinao, Rolando Sidro and Baltazar Ortiz Guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime charged, they are hereby sentenced to suffer each the penalty of RECLUSION PERPETUA. The accused are hereby ordered to pay, jointly and severally, the sum of P10,000.00 representing the expenses incurred by the wife for her husband's interment and to indemnify the heirs of Cecilio Magpantay the sum of P50,000.00." [5] Hence, this appeal grounded on the sole issue of sufficiency of the prosecution evidence to prove the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt. The Facts Version of the Prosecution as Adopted by the Trial Court The prosecution presented five witnesses, namely: (1) Teresita Cuevas-Magpantay, wife of the victim and eyewitness to the murder of her husband, Cecilio Magpantay; (2) Rizalito Basa and (3) Reynaldo Ancheta who had seen the accused, two of whom were armed, running from the house of the victim immediately after gunshots were heard; (4) Dr. Juan B. Zaldarriaga, Jr., who had conducted the autopsy on the body of the victim and prepared the post mortem report; and (5) SPO1 Virgilio Villano, who had taken and reduced into writing the statements of the first three witnesses relative to the incident. Teresita Cuevas-Magpantay testified [6] that at about 6:30 in the evening of September 14, 1991, while she was making paper bags inside their one-bedroom residence located at No. 12. Salud Street, Balubaran, Malinta, Valenzuela, Metro Manila, she heard the sound of a gunshot coming from the direction of their store. Suddenly, two persons, whom she identified in court as Accused Teddy Quinao and Rolando Sidro, barged into their house, calling the name of her husband. Seeing the latter who was then sleeping in the bedroom with its door open, both accused went toward him. Quinao then fired his gun at the face of the victim, hitting his right eye. The shocked Teresita tried to approach her injured husband but was quickly held back by Quinao and Sidro who both poked their guns at her. At about the same time, two other persons, one of whom was Accused Baltazar Ortiz, likewise came into the house by jumping over piled sacks of rice. With Sidro pointing his gun at Teresita, Quinao exited the house, followed by Sidro, then Ortiz and his companion. Only after the four had left was Teresita able to approach her husband and shout for help. Her husband was brought to the Fatima Hospital where he expired. Rizalito Basa and Reynaldo Ancheta testified [7] that at about 5:30 in the afternoon of September 14, 1991, after playing basketball, they went to the house of Rolando Delgado, which was only one house away from that of the Magpantays. While seated along the street, they heard the sound of a gunshot coming from the direction of the Magpantay house. This was followed by another; immediately after, four men, among them Accused Rolando Sidro, Teddy Quinao and Baltazar Ortiz, came running out of the Magpantay house. The witnesses