G.R. Nos. 118335-36 - PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. ROSELLER ALAS ALIAS “BAGONG” AND MANUEL APORBO, ACCUSED-.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE, finding both accused Roseller Alas y Arasan alias Bagong and Manuel Aporbo guilty beyond reasonable doubt of two separate offenses of Murder in Criminal Case(s) Nos. 2052 and 2053, and there being no modifying circumstance which attended the commission of said offenses, the Court hereby sentences each of them to suffer two separate penalties of Reclusion Perpetua, to jointly and severally pay the heirs of the deceased-victims, the spouses Fidel and Andresa Lagura, the sum of One Hundred Thousand (P100,000.00) Pesos as life indemnity, and Twenty Thousand (P20,000.00) Pesos as moral damages, without subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency; and to pay the cost. Being detained, both Accused are credited in the service of their respective sentences with the full term of their preventive imprisonment if they agreed in writing to abide by the same disciplinary rules imposed on convicted prisoners, otherwise four-fifths (4/5) thereof. On ground of reasonable doubt, Accused Roseller Alas y Arasan alias Bagong is acquitted in Criminal Case Nos. 2056, 2057, 2058 and 2059. He is also absolved from civil liability. Let the respective records of said cases be archived to be retrieved upon arrest of either accused Santiago Isiang alias Titi or Rene Requirme (sic). Hence, this appeal. The Facts Version of the Prosecution The trial court discussed the facts presented by the prosecution as follows: [7] In Crim. Case Nos. 2052 and 2053, prosecutions evidence shows that in the evening of April 30, 1992, at about 10:00 o clock, the spouses Fidel Lagura and Andresa Lagura, residents of Barangay Manlico, Cortes, Surigao del Sur, were on their way home. They came from the novena in the house of Santos Polinar, their neighbor who just passed away. Following them were prosecution witnesses Esterlito Laquinta and Vicente Guiduvia (sic), who also attended the novena and were likewise on their way home. As the Laguras were about to enter their house, accused Roseller Alas and Manuel Aporbo, who had waited for them from behind a coconut tree near their house, suddenly sprang up and stabbed them many times until they died on the spot. Early in the following morning Esterlito Laquinta and Vicente Guiduvia (sic) informed the deceased-victims eldest son Danny Lagura of what happened to his parents. They also reported the incident to Barangay Captain Teodoro Bibat of Manlico. As for the motive of the killing, Laquinta and Guiduvia (sic) testified that the two Accused were paid P6,000.00 by Soyna Villapañe, who suspected the deceased-victims of having practiced witchcraft (gibarang) on her. Both Accused allegedly admitted this fact before the policeman who investigated them in the presence of Guiduvia (sic). Version of the Accused Appellants Alas and Aporbo interposed the defense of alibi. The trial court narrated the circumstances of the defense, thus: [8] x x x. And on April 30, 1992 (the date of the incident alleged in Crim. Case Nos. 2052 and 205