G.R. No. 95939 - THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. FLORENTINO BRACAMONTE Y ABELLAR, MANUEL REGINALDO Y SAPON, AND ERNIE LAPAN Y CABRAL ALIAS ERNING BULAG.

Ruling

WHEREFORE, in view of the foregoing, the Court finds the accused Florentino Bracamonte y Abellar guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of Robbery with Double Homicide and he is hereby sentenced to RECLUSION PERPETUA, to indemnify the heirs of Jay Vee Parnala and Teresita Rosalinas the amount of P30,000 each and to pay unto Violeta Parnala P1,100.00 corresponding to the value of the articles lost without subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency and to pay the cost." [2] Hence, appellant interposed the present appeal, assigning the following errors: I "x x x IN GIVING CREDENCE TO PROSECUTION WITNESS' DECLARATION CONCERNING THE POSITIVE IDENTIFICATION OF THE ACCUSED-APPELLANT AS ONE OF THE THREE (3) MEN WHO ALLEGEDLY EMERGED FROM THE GARAGE DOOR OF THE VICTIM'S HOUSE AND SPRINTED AWAY THEREFROM ALMOST IMMEDIATELY. II x x x IN APPRECIATING THE THEN EXTANT CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCES AS INDICATIVE OF ACCUSED-APPELLANT'S GUILT. III x x x IN ITS PRONOUNCEMENT THAT ACCUSED-APPELLANT EVADED ARREST BY HIDING AFTER HIS ALLEGED COMMISSION OF THE HEINOUS CRIME IMPUTED AGAINST HIM. IV x x x IN DISREGARDING COMPLETELY THE DEFENSE OF ALIBI PUT UP BY THE ACCUSED-APPELLANT." [3] At the trial in the court a quo, the following facts appear to have been proven: On September 23, 1987, at about 8:30 in the evening, Violeta Parnala and her common-law husband, Clark Din, arrived home from the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses. She rang their doorbell and when she got no response, she pounded on the garage door while her husband went to the back of their house and stoned the window of their son's room. Then, she heard somebody trying to remove the padlock of the garage door and saw a man, prompting her to shout, "magnanakaw, magnanakaw." After the door was opened, three (3) men rushed out, one after the other, whom she recognized as appellant Bracamonte, Ernie Lapan and Manuel Reginaldo. Upon hearing his wife shouting, Clark Din rushed to her and saw a man about to turn at the other street. He ran after him but could not catch up. He thus proceeded back to their house. By this time, some of their neighbors, roused by the shouting of Violeta, came out of their houses, among whom were Pat. Sahagun and Pat. Punzal. The two (2) policemen went with Clark Din inside the house and saw the television set on. Din turned on the lights and started to look for his son. He tried the bathroom but it was locked. He then went to their room, got the keys and opened the bathroom where he saw their maid, Teresita M. Rosalinas, hands tied with her mouth gagged, and bathed in her own blood. Thereafter, he saw their son, Jay Vee Parnala, in the dirty kitchen, his head and body immersed in a pail of water, dead. Dr. Regalado Sosa, City Health Officer of Cavite City, conducted an autopsy on the cadavers of Jay Vee and Rosalina. His findings disclosed that Rosalina sustained six (6) stab wounds and one (1) incised wound, while Jay Vee sustained thirteen (13) stab wounds and three (3) in