G.R. No. 123273 - PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. RUBEN TIDULA, VICTORIO TIDULA, DOMINGO GATO, SALVACION GATO, AND JOSE PRIOR, ACCUSED-. D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE, the Court finds the accused guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of [r]obbery with [h]omicide and hereby sentences each to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua together with the accessory penalties provided by law. Furthermore, the herein accused are likewise ordered to pay the complainants, Spouses Joselito and Marilyn Manubag, the sum of [f]ifty [t]housand (P50,000.00) [p]esos, as death indemnity, and another sum of [f]ifty [t]housand (P50,000.00) [p]esos, as moral damages, and to pay the value of the Citizen wrist watch and the Sony tape recorder which were the items taken during the robbery, in the amount of [f]our [t]housand [f]ive [h]undred (P4,500.00) [p]esos. Exh. C, (gray jacket) and Exh. D (camouflage jacket) are ordered returned to the Spouses Manubag. The bail bond posted by accused Jose Prior is hereby cancelled, conformably with Adm. Cir. No. 2-92 of the Supreme Court, dated January 20, 1992. Consequently, his arrest is hereby ordered. The Facts Evidence for the Prosecution In his Brief, the solicitor general [3] adopted the trial courts summary of the prosecution evidence (to which he added references to the transcript of stenographic notes): The evidence of the prosecution shows that Joselito and Marilyn Manubag are husband and wife. They live in a rented family dwelling in Brgy. Trapeche, Oton, Iloilo, about 2-1/2 kilometers from the Poblacion of Oton. Mark Michael Lazaro Zulueta, son of the complainant Marilyn Manubag by a previous [live]-in partner Lazaro Zulueta Jr., before her marriage to Joselito Manubag, was living with them. (p. 7, November 24, 1992, TSN) At about 6:45 in the evening of August 31, 1992 when the spouses returned to their house from their grocery store at the public market, they found Mark Michael Lazaro Zulueta, inside the comfort room lying on his stomach, both hands tied behind his back, his mouth stuffed with [a] handkerchief, bloody from several stab wounds, dead. (pp. 31-34, Ibid.) Autopsy Report (Exh. A) shows that the victim sustained the following injuries: 1. Stab wound - length - 1, width - 1/2, depth - 3 1/2, 3 inches from the right nipple, 1 1/2 inches from the right anterior axillary line. 2. Stab wound - length - 1, width - 1/2, depth - 1 1/2, 1 1/2 inches from the right nipple, 4 inches from the right axilla. 3. Stab wound - length - 3/4, width - 1/2, depth - 1/2, 1 [inch] from the right nipple, 3 1/2 inches from the right axilla. 4. Rope markings - wrist both hands. 5. Cervical fracture. and the cause of death was cardio-respiratory arrest, secondary to multiple stab wounds and cervical fracture. The spouses also discovered that the victims cassette recorder worth P3,000.00 and wrist watch valued at P1,500.00 together with Joselitos two (2) jackets valued at P4,000.00 and undetermined cash were also missing. (p. 15, Ibid.) The incident was reported to the police authorities of Oton, Iloilo. Without loss of time, the police conducted an intensive inve