G.R. No. 134761 - PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. AGUINALDO CATUIRAN, JR., ELMER DE LA CRUZ, ALIAS "SMALL," REY DE LA CRUZ, ALIAS "PONTOY," JUSELITO DE PEDRO, ALIAS "LANO," RAMON PATRICIO, JR., ALIAS "BOGOY," RICARDO DE PEDRO, ALIAS "CADO," FERNANDO LAVAROSA, ALIAS "FANDO," AND REYNALDO CATUIRAN, ALI

Ruling

WHEREFORE, judgment is hereby rendered as follows: "1. This Court finds the accused AGUINALDO CATUIRAN, JR., REY DELA CRUZ, JUSELITO DE PEDRO, AND REYNALDO CATUIRAN GUILTY as principal (sic) of the crime of Homicide, without mitigating or aggravating circumstances, and they are hereby sentenced to suffer an indeterminate penalty of EIGHT (8) years, and ONE (1) DAY OF PRISION MAYOR as minimum to FOURTEEN (14) YEARS EIGHT (8) MONTHS and ONE (1) DAY OF RECLUSION TEMPORAL as maximum, and to indemnify the heirs of Joefredo Tulio the sum of Thirty Thousand Pesos (P30,000.00), without subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency, and to pay the costs; "2. This Court finds the accused ELMER DELA CRUZ, RICARDO DE PEDRO, and FERNANDO LAVAROSA GUILTY as accomplices of the crime of Homicide, without mitigating or aggravating circumstances, and they are hereby sentenced to suffer an indeterminate penalty of TWO (2) YEARS, FOUR (4) MONTHS and ONE (1) DAY OF PRISION CORRECCIONAL as minimum, to EIGHT (8) YEARS and ONE (1) DAY OF PRISION MAYOR as maximum, and to jointly and severally indemnify the heirs of Joefredo Tulio the sum of Thirty Thousand Pesos (P30,000.00), for the death of the victim, without subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency, and also to pay the costs; and "3. That a separate trial would be conducted for the accused RAMON PATRICIO, JR." [2] From the above judgment, the accused went on appeal to the Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals, through Justice Ricardo P. Galvez concurred in by Justice Pedro A. Ramirez and Justice B. A. Adefuin-dela Cruz, in its decision, dated 31 January 1997, affirmed the trial court but, finding the attendance of treachery in the commission of the crime, the appellate court adjudged: "WHEREFORE, premises considered, the appealed decision is hereby MODIFIED as to the nature of the offense committed. As MODIFIED, We find accused-appellants Elmer dela Cruz, Fernando Lavarosa, Aguinaldo Catuiran, Jr., Reynaldo Catuiran, Rey dela Cruz, Ricardo de Pedro and Juselito de Pedro guilty beyond reasonable doubt of murder and are each sentenced to suffer an indeterminate penalty ranging from Seventeen (17) years and Four (4) months of Reclusion Temporal as minimum to Reclusion Perpetua as maximum, with the corresponding accessory penalties as provided by law and to pay the costs. The preventive imprisonment which the accused had already undergone shall be credited in their favor in the service of their sentence, in accordance with, and subject to the conditions and exceptions laid down in Article 29 of the Revised Penal Code as amended by R.A. 6127." [3] The motion for reconsideration filed by accused-appellants before the appellate court was denied in its resolution of 29 June 1998. The statement of the case and the relevant facts introduced at the trial before the court a quo have been culled by the Court of Appeals in this wise; viz : "At the trial on the merits, the prosecution, through its witnesses Dr. Ronnie Payba,