G.R. No. L-18661 - People of the Philippines, vs. Jose Alto, et al.
Republic of the Philippines
SUPREME COURT
Manila
EN BANC
G.R. No. L-18661 November 29, 1968
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES,plaintiff-appellee,
vs.
JOSE ALTO, ET AL.,defendants-appellants.
Office of the Solicitor General Arturo A. Alafriz Assistant Solicitor General Antonio G. Ibarra and Solicitor Raul I. Goco for plaintiff-appellee.
Alfonso G. Espinosa, Ricardo Paras and Celso Jamora for defendants-appellants.
CASTRO,J.:
On December 7, 1956 an indictment for multiple murder (criminal case 4167) and another for frustrated multiple murder (criminal case 4181) were filed with the Court of First Instance of Nueva Ecija.
In criminal case 4167, Jose Alto, Bienvenido Almuete, Melencio Gregorio, Melchor de Leon, Melencio Marcos, Pedro Paras and Ismael Dungao were charged with multiple murder, committed, in the language of the information, as follows:
That on or about the 15th day of December, 1951, in the Municipality of Quezon, Province of Nueva Ecija, Republic of the Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the abovenamed defendants, Jose Alto, alias "Alonso", Bienvenido Almuete alias "Almo", Melencio Gregorio alias "Melencio", Melchor de Leon alias "Commander Melchor", alias "Melchor", Melencio Marcos alias "Commander Rodil", Pedro Paras alias "Golong" and several others whose names and identities are still unknown, all armed members of the HMB Organization, conspiring together and mutually helping one another, with intent to kill, treachery and evident premeditation, night time purposely sought to facilitate the commission of the crime with impunity and in consideration of the reward of P2,000.00 made by the accused Jose Alto, did then and there wilfully, unlawfully, criminally, feloniously and illegally waylay and ambush Mayor Eduardo Joson, Cayetano Tangunan, Pedro Elvinia, Simplicio Siazon, and their other companions while on their way to reinforce the TPs at Barrio Bertese, Quezon, Nueva Ecija, and fire and shoot at said Mayor Eduardo L. Joson and his companions as a result of which, Cayetano Tangunan, Pedro Elvinia and Simplicio Siazon received various fatal and serious gunshot wounds in different parts of their bodies which caused their instantaneous death.
Of the above-named accused only Jose Alto, Bienvenido Almuete, Melencio Marcos, Melencio Gregorio and Ismael Dungao stood trial. The rest were either at large or already dead.
In criminal case 4181, Jose Alto, Melchor de Leon, Pedro Paras, Ismael Dungao, Melencio Gregorio and others were charged with multiple frustrated murder. The information recites:
That on or about November 12, 1950, in the Municipality of Sto. Domingo, Province of Nueva Ecija, Republic of the Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the said defendants, Jose Alto alias "Alonso", Melchor de Leon alias "Melchor", John Doe alias "Johnny", Pedro Paras alias "Golong", Ismael Dungao alias "Maeng", Melencio Gregorio alias "Melencio", and several others whose names and identities are still unknown, all armed members of the Huk Organization, conspiring together and mutually helping one another, with intent to kill, evident premeditation and at the instigation of the accused Jose Alto alias "Alonso", who paid P2,000.00 to his co-accused as a reward for the killing of Mayor Eduardo L. Jocson, of Quezon, Nueva Ecija, did then and there wilfully, unlawfully, feloniously, criminal and illegally waylay and ambush said Mayor Eduardo L. Joson while riding in a jeep accompanied by Araceli N. Joson, Consuelo L. Joson, Vicente Bautista, and Tomas N. Joson on their way from Sto. Domingo to Quezon and fire and shoot at said Mayor Eduardo L. Joson and his companions, said accused having performed all the acts of execution which should have produced the crime of multiple murder as a consequence but which nevertheless did not produce it by reason of causes independent of the will of the said accused and as a result of which serious physical injuries were inflicted upon the bodies of Eduardo L. Joson, Araceli N. Joson and Consuelo L. Joson, necessitating their hospitalization for quite sometime.
Of the above-named accused only Jose Alto, Ismael Dungao and Melencio Gregorio stood trial. The others were either at large or already dead.
After a protracted trial at which the prosecution presented separate evidence for each of the two cases while the defense introduced joint evidence for both cases, the trial court, on May 3, 1961, or almost five years after the filing of the two informations, rendered judgment as follows:
WHEREFORE, in Criminal Case No. 4167, the accused Jose Alto, Bienvenido Almuete, Melencio Gregorio, and Melencio Marcos are each sentenced to three reclusion perpetua for the death of Cayetano Tangunan, Pedro Elvina and Simplicio Siazon, and to pay the heirs of each of the said victims P6,000.00 and the costs of the suit. Ismael Dungao is acquitted for lack of evidence. In Criminal Case No. 4181, the accused Jose Alto, Ismael Dungao, and Melencio Gregorio are each sentenced to four (4) indeterminate penalties, each of four years, two months and one day ofprision correccional, as minimum, to twelve years five months and eleven days ofreclusion temporal, as maximum, to indemnify the offended parties in the total amount of P10,000.00, for the frustrated murder of Eduardo Joson, Consuelo Noriel, Tomas Joson and Vicente Bautista, and to pay the costs of the suit; provided, however, that the maximum penalty to be served by the accused Jose Alto, Melencio Gregorio, Melencio Marcos, and Bienvenido Almuete shall not exceed threefold of the severest penalty and in no case shall it exceed 40 years. The accused shall pay the costs. The accused should be credited with one-half of their preventive imprisonment.
From this decision, all the defendants except Bienvenido Almuete, appealed directly and separately to this Court. The appeals of Melencio Gregorio,1Melencio Marcos2and Ismael Dungao3were subsequently withdrawn by them. We are here therefore concerned solely with the appeal of Jose Alto.
The following are the uncontroverted salient facts: (1) In the years 1949, 1950, and 1951 Nueva Ecija was a Huk-infested province. Frequent clashes took place during that period between the dissidents and the temporary police (T.P.) and the "civilian guards" of the various municipalities. In the municipality of Quezon, in particular, the then incumbent Mayor Eduardo L. Joson, the principal complainant in both cases, led a vigorous and unrelenting campaign against the Huks. (2) In the local elections of 1947 and 1951 Eduardo Joson and Jose Alto were the major candidates for the mayoralty of Quezon, Nueva Ecija. Joson won over Alto in both elections. The latter admitted that after the 1947 election he chanced to remark that he had been cheated because "the civilian guards of Mayor Joson had carried away the ballot boxes." However, he never filed any formal protest. (3) On November 12, 1950, at the junction of Sto. Domingo and Quezon, Nueva Ecija, dissidents ambushed Joson who was returning to Quezon in a jeep with an aide and members of his family. Mayor Joson, Vicente Bautista, Consuelo L. Joson, Arcaceli Joson and Tomas Joson sustained serious physical injuries. (4) On December 15, 1951, at Curva, Quezon, the Huks ambushed Mayor Joson and some regular and temporary policemen of Quezon while these were on their way to reinforce the temporary detachment detailed atbarrioBartese. As a result, policemen Cayetano Tangunan, Pedro Alvinia and Simplicio Siazon of Quezon were slain.
The appellant Alto was linked to the two offenses solely on the basis of the price or reward of P2,000 he allegedly had given to the Huks for the liquidation of Mayor Joson.
The complete measure of the evidence on record inculpating the appellant as principal inducement is the totality of the declarations of prosecution witnesses Laureano Salvador, Toribio Garcia and Dominador Pineda and a sworn statement of Melencio Marcos, one of the accused.
In adjudging the appellant guilty, the trial court almost wholly relied upon the testimony of Laureano Salvador. What is Salvador's story? He testified that he was "in charge" of theTanggulang Bayan4inbarrioParukot, Quezon, Nueva Ecija from 1946 to 1952. (In this latter year he surrendered to the authorities and severed his connections with the Huks. In such capacity, he operated under the command of Isaac Francisco who was the supreme leader of the variousTanggulang Bayanunits in Quezon and the neighboring localities. At the behest of Francisco, he attended a meeting at the house of Carlos Gabriel around the middle of August, 1950. Present at the meeting, aside from Francisco and Salvador, were commanders Marcial, Melchor and Reyes. Francisco informed them that Jose Alto had offered P2,000 for the liquidation of Mayor Joson, and those present unanimously agreed to the proposal. More than two months later, or more specifically on the day following All Saints' Day (November 2, 1950), Salvador went with Francisco to the house of Jose Alto in thepoblacionof Quezon where they conveyed to the latter the acceptance by the Huk commanders of the appellant's proposition. Alto then gave to Francisco the promised P2,000, with the explicit instructions that the money be delivered to commander Marcial and that the ambush of Mayor Joson be effected. Forthwith, the two emissaries left. On the afternoon of the same day they proceeded to Pantok inbarrioParukot, a part of the land owned by Alto, where Francisco delivered the P2,000 to commander Marcial in the presence of commanders Melchor and Reyes and another person whom Salvador could not identify. Francisco informed the Huk commanders about Alto's instructions. The commanders then issued a receipt for P2,000, and swore — by raising their hands — that, they had received the money. After this occasion, he never again saw Marcial, Melchor and Reyes. He admitted that he did not witness the two ambushes in question.
Because the principal foundation of the entire case against the appellant is Salvador's testimony, it behooved us to scrutinize and examine it with painstaking care. Even after three readings of the entire transcript, we must confess that we are unable to shake off nagging doubt as to the veracity of Salvador's declarations.
1. To begin with, his testimony is utterly uncorroborated in its vital points. As far as the record goes — and we have repeatedly probed the four corners of the record — Salvador was theonly eyewitnessto the handing by Alto of the amount of P2,000 to Francisco and the subsequent delivery by the latter to Marcial. The two other witnesses, Toribio Garcia and Dominador Pineda, were not privy to the passing of the money from hand to hand. The sworn statement of Melencio Marcos speaks of knowledge supposedly acquired by himafterthe money had been delivered. On top of this, Francisco, who was allegedly with Salvador when the money was given by Alto is already dead and therefore cannot be cross-examined.
This uncorroborated testimony of Salvador is considerably enfeebled by his own admission that he was an accomplice. Although the law does not exclude evidence given by an accomplice, our jurisprudence has consistently enjoined courts, in the appreciation of such evidence, to exercise the greatest degree of caution and circumspection. InPeople vs. Asinas,5this Court emphasized "that a defendant in a criminal case cannot be convicted on the evidence of an accomplice only, and to sustain such conviction, there must be other evidence corroborating that of the accomplice which tends to show the guilt of the defendant." In an earlier case, this Court stated that the testimony of an accomplice "must be assayed and weighed with scrupulous care," and that "the corroborating testimony must be strong and convincing."6And the proper test to determine whether there is sufficient corroboration of the testimony of an accomplice is to "examine the evidence or evidences of the other witness or witnesses with a view to ascertaining if there be inculpatory evidence — evidence tending to connect the defendant with the offense. If there is, the accomplice is corroborated; if there is no inculpatory evidence there is no corroboration, although the accomplice may be corroborated in regard to any number of facts sworn to by him."7
2. The intrinsic and basic inverisimilitude of Salvador's testimony is underscored by his repetitious invocation of dead persons like Francisco and Marcial who can never be confronted by the accused. The defense proved the fact of death of Francisco and Marcial by presenting their respective death certificates (exh. 3-A and exh. 3-E, respectively). Salvador himself, in his affidavit, owned that he knew at the time he was testifying in court that Francisco was already dead, as was Carlos Gabriel in whose house the alleged initial meeting took place (exh. C).
3. Not only is the testimony of Salvador uncorroborated in its essential points; it is gravely flawed by a plethora of material contradictions. To mention only aglaringfew.
(a) During the trial Salvador declared that he and Francisco went to the house of Alto on the day following All Saints' Day (November 2, 1950) in order to convey to the appellant the adherence of the Huk commanders to his proposal and to receive the promised reward. Thus —
Q. Now, sometime in November, 1950, did you have occasion of seeing the accused Jose Alto?
A. I saw him sir.
Q. Can you give the precise time and date when you saw him in that month of November, 1950?
A. I could.
Q. Please state it.
A. The next day after All Saints' Day of November.
Q. What time of the day did you see him?
A. At about 8:00 more or less.
Q. Day or night?
A. In the morning.
Q. Where?
A. In his house, sir.
Q. Were you alone or in company?
A. I was in company.
Q. Who was your companion?
A. Isaac Francisco.
Q. Were you able to see him that morning, and will you please state to the court what transpired between you and the accused Jose Alto?
A. We met in his house, sir, and Isaac Francisco and I told Jose Alto about our agreement with the Huks.
Q. What was that agreement with the Huks which you told Jose Alto?
A. The agreement we have had was that for Jose Alto to give P2,000 for the ambush of Mayor Joson.
Q. After you have conveyed to the accused Jose Alto that agreement of the Huk commanders that you have mentioned, what did the accused Jose Alto say?
A. The answer he made to me and to Isaac Francisco was "If they would agree, I will give P2,000.00," and it was then when he invited us to go upstairs in his house.
Q. You stated that the accused Jose Alto gave P2,000.00. To whom did he give the P2,000.00?
A. To Isaac Francisco.
The above declarations contradict his previous statement made at the preliminary investigation to the effect that he and Francisco went to the house of Jose Alto to get the money after only a few days had passed from the time the meeting was allegedly held, which was around the middle of August 1950 —or still within the month of August! We quote the pertinent portion of the transcript:
T. Anong buan noon ng kayo ay kapulungin ni Isaac Francisco?
S. Buan po ng Agosto taong 1950.
T. Nagpunta ba kayo doun sa bahay ni Carlos Gabriel?.
S. Nagpunta po.
T. Ano and nangyari doon sa bahay ni Carlos Gabriel?
S. Nagpulong po kami nila Isaac Francisco, Commander Melchor, Commander Marcial, Commander Reyes, at saka isa pang hindi ko kilala.
T. Ano ang inyong pinagpulungan?
S. Nagpahayag po si Isaac Francisco na ang ating pagpupulungan ay tungkol po kay Mayor Joson ng magbibigay raw po si Jose Alto ng dalawang libong piso para liquidahin si Mayor Joson. Ang sagot po nila Commander Melchor, Commander Marcial, Commander Reyes ng ayos.
T. Pagkatapos noung pulong na iyon ay ano ang nangyari?
S. Umowi na po kame atnagpaliban kami ng ilang araw at nagpunta kami sa bahay ni Jose Alto.
T. Sino ang kasama ninyo?
S. Si Isaac Francisco po.
T. Napunta ba kayo sa bahay ni Jose Alto?
S. Napunta po kami.
T. Ano ang nangyari sa bahay ni Jose Alto?
S. Dinaanan po namin sa lupa at niyaya po kami sa itaas at ng kami po ay nasa itaas ay itinanong ni Isaac Francisco kay Jose Alto na papano ba young ating pinag-usapan. Ang sagot po ni Mr. Jose Alto ay ibibigay ko ang halagang dalawang libong piso, isagawa lamang ang pagtambang kay Mayor Joson.
T. Naibigay ba noung araw ang halagang dalawang libong piso?
S. Naibigay po. (Preliminary investigation conducted by Judge Ignacio Lustre of the Justice of the Peace Court of Quezon on July 1, 1955.).
(b) In a previous testimony (exh. N) Salvador categorically stated that he did not know the real name of Commander Melchor. At the trial, however, he testified that he knew Melchor because they were "in-laws" (magbilas). It stands to reason that Salvador should have known the real name of Melchor, especially so when both resided in the same community and belonged to the same subversive organization.
(c) Salvador declared that after he and Francisco delivered the money to Marcial, at no occasion did he again see Marcial, Reyes and Melchor. This contradicts his previous affirmation that he saw Melchor in December, 1951 when the latter told him about the plot to ambush Mayor Joson at Curva (exh. N).
4. Furthermore, the long continued silence of Salvador — for a duration of almost four years — before he suddenly volunteered to testify for the prosecution, engenders serious doubt as to his motives and renders his testimony suspect. Of course he tried to justify his long silence by saying that he feared reprisal from the Huks. To our mind, this is preposterous — for did he in 1952 have any apprehensions about incurring the animosity of his comrades when he deserted them and jumped over to the side of the law and the duly constituted authorities? If indeed he had knowledge of the events, as he professed he had, why did he not make report of them earlier, or in 1952 when he abandoned his arrant ways and retraced his steps to the path of the law? InPeople vs. Marcos, et al,8a witness for the prosecution claimed to have been present in the various stages of a conspiracy and to have participated in the commission of the offense. Nevertheless he remained silent for approximately three years. This Court took a dim view of the witness' "long continued silence" and his motives for breaking his silence, saying, in no uncertain terms, that the change of attitude "could have not been due to a desirable impulse to serve the interest of justice and proves, if it proves anything at all, the tardy revival of stultified civic consciousness."
5. Finally, the testimony of Salvador was traversed to his very core not only by the appellant Alto but more importantly by Lucia Vda. de Gabriel, the widow of Carlos Gabriel in whose house the alleged initial meeting in the middle of August, 1950 took place. The transcript speaks for itself.
Testimony of Alta:
Q. You said you had seen the person of Laureano Salvador this morning in the provincial jail. Was this morning your first time to see him?
A. No, sir.
Q. When did you see him before today?
A. The first time when he testified against me.
Q. In these cases at bar?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you know Commander Marcial?
A. No, sir, I do not know him.
Q. Do you know Commander Reyes?
A. No, sir, I do not know him.
Q. According to this Laureano Salvador, he and Isaac Francisco went to see you at your house in Quezon, Nueva Ecija, somewhere in 1950 and during that occasion you delivered P2,000.00 to Isaac Francisco to be delivered to commander Marcial, is that true or not?
A. That is not true.
Q. In November, 1950, that is after All Saints' Day where were you?
A. I was at home in Quezon, Nueva Ecija.
Q. In your drugstore?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. According to Laureano Salvador testifying before this Honorable Court on May 3, 1957, this Laureano Salvador and Isaac Francisco talked with you in your house at Quezon and the subject matter of your conversation was your agreement with the huks. Is it true you talked with Isaac Francisco and Laureano Salvador on the day after All Saints' Day of November, 1950 at your house in Quezon?
A. No, sir, that is not true.
Q. He also stated that there was an agreement between you and the Huks that you would give P2,000.00 for the ambush of Mayor Joson on the same occasion he testified before this Honorable Court on May 3, 1957, also regarding the agreement between you and the Huks that you would give P2,000.00 for the ambush of Mayor Joson?
A. There was no such agreement.
The appellant likewise denied knowing Carlos Gabriel and Isaac Francisco. Thus:
Q. Do you know Carlos Gabriel?
A. I do not know him.
Q. But do you know Isaac Francisco?
A. Neither I know.
Testimony of Lucia Vda. de Gabriel:
Q. Do you know Carlos Gabriel?
A. He was my husband, sir.
Q. Where is Carlos Gabriel now?
A. He is already dead.
Q. Where did he die?
A. In Parukot, sir.
Q. When did he die?
A. Long time ago already, about eight years ago, sir.
Q. When your husband died about eight years ago where were you residing?
A. At Parukot, sir.
Q. Do you have a house in Parukot?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. In 1950 you had a house in Parukot?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. According to the declaration of Laureano Salvador before this Honorable Court, he declared that in the month of August, 1950, during the night thereof, Isaac Francisco, Carlos Gabriel, Commander Melchor, Commander Marcial, Commander Reyes and one he could not identify in name gathered in your house in Parukot, Quezon, Nueva Ecija, and on that occasion Jose Alto offered to give P2,000.00 and in fact gave P2,000.00 to Isaac Francisco after the meeting in your house in Parukot, Quezon, Nueva Ecija, in 1950, is that correct?
A. No, sir.
Q. Have your house been the meeting place of the Huks during the period, that year 1950?
A. No, sir.
Q. In 1951 to 1953 had there been any meeting of the Huks in your house?
A. No, sir.
Q. Had the premises around your house been the meeting place of Huks from 1949 to 1953?
A. No, sir.
Of incalculable import is the fact that Lucia's disavowal of any meeting in her house attended by Francisco, Salvador and Alto was never rebutted by the prosecution.
II.
The second witness for the prosecution, Toribio Garcia, testified at length on Alto's alleged cabals with the Huks in furtherance of the conspiracy to liquidate Joson. At the outset, it bears emphasis that Garcia does not lay claim to anypersonalknowledge that Alto gave P2,000 to the Huks, or more particularly to Isaac Francisco, not that the said amount was in fact delivered by the latter to Marcial.
Let us examine Garcia's story. Since 1946, so he declared, he had been a member of theHukbong Mapagpalaya ng Bayan, otherwise known as the HMB. He abandoned this organization in September, 1951 when he surrendered at Camp Murphy to General Duque. In 1950 Ramson was in command of the HMB military forces in Nueva Ecija, Estrada of the 12th field unit which embraced Quezon and Sto. Domingo in its area of operations. Upon instructions of Ramson and Estrada, Garcia used to procure medicines and rice from Alto. In the year 1950 he saw and met Alto thrice: inbarrioOsmeña around the middle of October, in Pantok (Parukot) toward the end of October, and in Malayok about the end of December. When he met Alto in Osmeña, the latter was looking for Estrada in order to inquire why the agreement regarding Joson had not yet been implemented. He told Alto that he would relay the inquiry to Estrada. Before he left, Alto said that the Huks must send for him the moment they were in the vicinity. When he later met Alto in Pantok, the latter was accompanied by Laureano Salvador and Isaac Francisco. Also present at this meeting were Estrada and himself. Alto remarked that "Ding" — referring to Joson — could already be ambushed because he used to commute between Sto. Domingo and Quezon. Estrada told Alto that although he could no longer direct the ambush because he had been assigned to Laguna, he would nevertheless assign Marcial and Melchor to effect it, and added that money should be given to Marcial. Garcia did not witness the ambush staged on November 12, 1950, although he later learned about it from Marcial. Subsequently, he met Alto in Malayok, toward the end of December, 1950. Alto was then with Paulino Santiago while he (Garcia) was with Estrada. At this meeting Alto remarked that "Ding" could not be ambushed anymore because he was always "ready," and that they should wait a few months. Estrada agreed, adding that a new plan was necessary.
1. We are of the view that Garcia's version is not entitled to credence. Of the array of prosecution witnesses, only Garcia testified on the alleged meetings had by Alto with the Huks concerning the liquidation of Joson. Not even the principal witness, Laureano Salvador, made any advertence to the meetings allegedly had at Osmeña, Parukot and Malayok. Garcia was categorical on the presence of Salvador at the meeting between the appellant and Estrada in Parukot. But Salvador never even as much as hinted at this conference, and as a matter of fact he denied having had any conversation with Alto prior to November 2, 1950.
The drift of Garcia's declarations is that the conspiracy to liquidate Joson was originally conceived by Estrada and Alto, and that Marcial and Melchor learned of the plot only after the meeting in Parukot had toward the end of October, 1950, at which time Estrada informed Alto that he could not anymore direct the ambush as he had been assigned to Laguna. This belies the asseveration of Salvador that the conspiracy was forged in the middle of August, 1950, when Francisco for the first time relayed to Marcial, Melchor and Reyes the appellant's offer. Salvador testified thus: