People Vs Temblor
People Vs Temblor
People Vs Temblor
SUPREME COURT
Manila
FIRST DIVISION
GRIO-AQUINO, J.:
The accused-appellant Vicente Temblor alias "Ronald" was charged with the crime of murder in
Criminal Case No. 1809 of the Court of First Instance (now Regional Trial Court) of Agusan del
Norte and Butuan City for shooting to death Julius Cagampang. The information alleged:
Upon arraignment on June 8, 1982, he entered a plea of not guilty. After trial, he was convicted
and sentenced to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua, with the accessory penalties thereof
under Articles 41 and 42 of the Revised Penal Code, and to indemnify the heirs of the victim in
the amount of P12,000 without subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency. He appealed. virtualawlibrary virtual law library
The evidence of the prosecution showed that at about 7:30 in the evening of December 30, 1980,
while Cagampang, his wife and their two children, were conversing in the store adjacent to their
house in Barangay Talo-ao, Buenavista, Province of Agusan del Norte, the accused Vicente
Temblor alias Ronald, arrived and asked to buy a half-pack of Hope cigarettes. While
Cagampang was opening a pack of cigarettes, there was a sudden burst of gunfire and
Cagampang instantly fell on the floor, wounded and bleeding on the head. His wife Victorina,
upon seeing that her husband had been shot, shouted her husband's name "Jul" Two persons, one
of whom she later Identified as the accused, barged into the interior of the store through the main
door and demanded that she brings out her husband's firearm. "Igawas mo ang iyang armas!"
("You let out his firearm!") they shouted. The accused fired two more shots at the fallen victim.
Terrified, Victorina hurried to get the "maleta" (suitcase) where her husband's firearm was
hidden. She gave the suitcase to the accused who, after inspecting its contents, took her
husband's .38 caliber revolver, and fled. virtualawlibrary virtual law library
In 1981, some months after the incident, Victorina was summoned to the Buenavista police
station by the Station Commander Milan, where she saw and Identified the accused as the man
who killed her husband. virtualawlibrary virtual law library
The accused's defense was an alibi. He alleged that from 4:00 o'clock in the afternoon of
December 30, 1980, he and his father had been in the house of Silverio Perol in Barangay
Camagong, Nasipit, Agusan del Norte, where they spent the night drinking over a slaughtered
dog as "pulutan," until 8:00 o'clock in the morning of the following day, December 31, 1980. virtualawlibrary virtual law library
The accused and his companion, admittedly members of the dreaded NPA (New People's Army)
were not apprehended earlier because they hid in the mountains of Malapong with other
members- followers of the New People's Army. Temblor surrendered to Mayor Dick Carmona of
Nasipit during the mass surrender of dissidents in August, 1981. He was arrested by the
Buenavista Police at the Buenavista public market on November 26, 1981 and detained at the
Buenavista municipal jail. virtualawlibrary virtual law library
The accused capitalized the fact that the victim's widow, Victorina, did not know him by name.
That circumstance allegedly renders the Identification of the accused, as the perpetrator of her
husband's killing, insufficient. However, during the trial, the accused was positively identified by
the widow who recognized him because she was less than a meter away from him inside the
store which was well lighted inside by a 40-watt flourescent lamp and by an incandescent lamp
outside. Her testimony was corroborated by another prosecution witness - a tricycle driver,
Claudio Sabanal - who was a long-time acquaintance of the accused and who knew him as
"Ronald." He saw the accused in the store of Cagampang at about 7:30 o'clock in the evening of
December 30, 1980. He heard the gunshots coming from inside the store, and saw the people
scampering away. virtualawlibrary virtual law library
Dr. Alfredo Salonga who issued the post-mortem examination report certified that the victim
sustained three (3) gunshot wounds. virtualawlibrary virtual law library
Rebutting the accused's alibi, the prosecution presented a Certification of the Nasipit Lumber
Company's Personnel Officer, Jose F. Tinga (Exh. D), and the NALCO Daily Time Record of
Silverio Perol (Exh. D), showing that Perol was not at home drinking with the accused and his
father, but was at work on December 30, 1980 from 10:50 o'clock in the evening up to 7:00
o'clock in the morning of December 31, 1980. The accused did not bother to overcome this piece
of rebuttal evidence. virtualawlibrary virtual law library
In this appeal, the appellant alleges that the court a quo erred:
The appeal deserves no merit. Was the accused positively Identified as the killer of Cagampang?
The settled rule is that the trial court's assessment of the credibility of witnesses while testifying
is generally binding on the appellate court because of its superior advantage in observing their
conduct and demeanor and its findings, when supported by convincingly credible evidence as in
the case at bar, shall not be disturbed on appeal (People vs. Dava, 149 SCRA, 582). virtualawlibrary virtual law library
The minor inconsistencies in the testimony of the eyewitness Victorina Vda. de Cagampang did
not diminish her credibility, especially because she had positively Identified the accused as her
husband's assailant, and her testimony is corroborated by the other witnesses. Her testimony is
credible, probable and entirely in accord with human experience. virtualawlibrary virtual law library
Appellant's self-serving and uncorroborated alibi cannot prevail over the positive Identification
made by the prosecution witnesses who had no base motives to falsely accuse him of the crime.
Furthermore, the rule is that in order for an alibi to be acceptable as a defense, it is not enough
that the appellant was somewhere else when the crime was committed; it must be demonstrated
beyond doubt that it was physically impossible for him to be at the scene of the crime. Here it
was admitted that Perol's house in barrio Camagong, Nasipit is accessible to barrio Talo-ao in
Buenavista by jeep or tricycle via a well-paved road in a matter of 15 to 20 minutes. The
testimony of the witnesses who had positively Identified him could not be overcome by the
defendant's alibi. (People vs. Mercado, 97 SCRA 232; People vs. Venancio Ramilo, 146 SCRA
258.) virtual law library
Appellant's alleged lack of motive for killing Cagampang was rejected by the trial court which
opined that the defendant's knowledge that Cagampang possessed a firearm was motive enough
to kill him as killings perpetrated by members of the New People's Army for the sole purpose of
acquiring more arms and ammunition for their group are prevalent not only in Agusan del Norte
but elsewhere in the country. It is known as the NPA's "agaw armas" campaign. Moreover, proof
of motive is not essential when the culprit has been positively Identified (People vs. Tan, Jr., 145
SCRA 615). virtualawlibrary virtual law library
The records further show that the accused and his companion fled after killing Cagampang and
taking his firearm. They hid in the mountains of Agusan del Norte. Their flight was an implied
admission of guilt (People vs. Dante Astor, 149 SCRA 325; People vs. Realon, 99 SCRA 422).
library
virtualawlibrary virtual law
WHEREFORE, the judgment appealed from is affirmed in all respects, except as to the civil
indemnity payable to the heirs of the Julius Cagampang which is increased to P30,000.00. virtualawlibrary virtual law library
SO ORDERED.