431 Scra 366

People v Comadre (Antonio Comadre, George Comadre and Danilo Lozano)
G.R. No. 153559 June 8, 2004

Per Curiam
FACTS:
 Around 7:00 in the evening of August 6, 1995, Robert Agbanlog, Jimmy Wabe, Gerry Bullanday, Rey
Camat and Lorenzo Eugenio were having a drinking spree on the terrace of the house of Robert’s
father, Barangay Councilman Jaime Agbanlog, situated in Barangay San Pedro, Lupao, Nueva Ecija.
Jaime Agbanlog was seated on the banister of the terrace listening to the conversation of the
companions of his son.
 Robert and the others noticed appellants Antonio Comadre, George Comadre and Danilo Lozano
walking. The three stopped in front of the house. While his companions looked on, Antonio suddenly
lobbed an object which fell on the roof of the terrace.
 The object, which turned out to be a hand grenade, exploded ripping a hole in the roof of the house.
Agbanlog, Wabe, Bullanday, Camat and Eugenio were hit by shrapnel and slumped unconscious on
the floor. They were all rushed to the San Jose General Hospital in Lupao, Nueva Ecija for medical
treatment. However, Agbanlog died before reaching the hospital.
 Dr. Tirso de los Santos, the medico-legal officer who conducted the autopsy on the cadaver of
Agbanlog, certified that the wounds sustained by the victim were consistent with the injuries inflicted by
a grenade explosion and that the direct cause of death was hypovolemic shock due to hand grenade
explosion.The surviving victims sustained shrapnel injuries.
 The shrapnel recovered was forwarded to Camp Crame and turned out to be an MK2 hand grenade.
 Antonio Comadre claimed that, he was with his wife and children watching television in the house of his
father, Patricio, and his brother, Rogelio. He denied any participation in the incident and claimed that he
was surprised when three policemen from the Lupao Municipal Police Station went to his house the
following morning and asked him to go with them to the police station, where he has been detained.
 George Comadre testified that he is the brother of Antonio and the brother-in-law of Danilo Lozano. He
claimed that he was at home when it happened. He stated that he is a friend of Rey Camat and Jimmy
Wabe, and that he had no animosity towards them whatsoever.
 Lozano He declared that he was at home with his ten year-old son. He added that he did not see
Antonio and George that night and has not seen them for quite sometime, either before or after the
incident.
 Antonio’s father, Patricio, and his wife, Lolita, corroborated his claim that he was at home watching
television with them during the night in question. Josie Comadre, George’s wife, testified that they were
resting inside their house after working all day in the farm.
 Trial Court charged them with Murder and Multiple Attempted Murder with indemnification for damages.
ISSUE: Whether or not Lozano and George Comadre is guilty of conspiracy.
HELD: Only Antonio Comadre is Liable. It was established that prior to the grenade explosion, Rey Camat,
Jaime Agbanlog, Jimmy Wabe and Gerry Bullanday were able to identify the culprits, namely, appellants
Antonio Comadre, George Comadre and Danilo. Lozano because there was a lamppost in front of the house
and the moon was bright. No conspiracy. Only Antonio is liable for the crime. When Antonio Comadre was in
the act of throwing the hand grenade, George Comadre and Danilo Lozano merely looked on without uttering a
single word of encouragement or performed any act to assist him. A conspiracy must be established by
positive and conclusive evidence. It must be shown to exist as clearly and convincingly as the commission of
the crime itself. Mere presence of a person at the scene of the crime does not make him a conspirator for
conspiracy transcends companionship.
Article 8. Conspiracy and proposal to commit felony. - Conspiracy and proposal to commit felony are
punishable only in the cases in which the law specially provides a penalty therefor.
A conspiracy exists when two or more persons come to an agreement concerning the commission of a felony
and decide to commit it.
There is proposal when the person who has decided to commit a felony proposes its execution to some other
person or persons.
The trial court found appellant guilty of the complex crime of murder with multiple attempted murder under
Article 48 of the Revised Penal Code:
Art. 48. Penalty for complex crimes. – When a single act constitutes two or more grave or less grave
felonies, or when an offense is a necessary means of committing the other, the penalty for the most
serious crime shall be imposed, the same to be applied in its maximum period.
The underlying philosophy of complex crimes in the Revised Penal Code, which follows the pro reo
principle, is intended to favor the accused by imposing a single penalty irrespective of the crimes
committed. The rationale being, that the accused who commits two crimes with single criminal impulse
demonstrates lesser perversity than when the crimes are committed by different acts and several
criminal resolutions.
The single act by appellant of detonating a hand grenade may quantitatively constitute a cluster of
several separate and distinct offenses, yet these component criminal offenses should be considered
only as a single crime in law on which a single penalty is imposed because the offender was impelled
by a "single criminal impulse" which shows his lesser degree of perversity.
DISPOSITION: WHEREFORE, in view of all the foregoing, the appealed decision of the Regional Trial Court of
San Jose City, Branch 39 in Criminal Case No. L-16(95) is AFFIRMED insofar as appellant Antonio Comadre
is convicted of the complex crime of Murder with Multiple Attempted Murder and sentenced to suffer the
penalty of death. He is ordered to pay the heirs of the victim the amount of P50,000.00 as civil indemnity,
P50,000.00 as moral damages and P18,000.00 as actual damages and likewise ordered to pay the surviving
victims, Jaime Agbanlog, Jimmy Wabe, Rey Camat and Gerry Bullanday, P25,000.00 each as temperate
damages for the injuries they sustained. Appellants Gregorio Comadre and Danilo Lozano are ACQUITTED for
lack of evidence to establish conspiracy, and they are hereby ordered immediately RELEASED from
confinement unless they are lawfully held in custody for another cause. Costs de oficio.
EMERGENCY RECIT DIGEST:
Robert Agbanlog, Jimmy Wabe, Gerry Bullanday, Rey Camat and Lorenzo Eugenio (drinking group) were
having a drinking spree on the terrace of the house of Robert’s father (Jaime). As the drinking session went on,
Robert and the others noticed appellants Antonio Comadre, George Comadre and Danilo Lozano (appellants)
walking. The three stopped in front of the house. While his companions looked on, Antonio suddenly throw a
hand grenade, ripping a hole in the roof of the house. Drinking group were hit by shrapnel (fragments of the
grenade) and slumped unconscious on the floor. They were all rushed to the Hospital. However, Robert died
before reaching the hospital. Trial Court held the appellants guilty of complex crime of murder with multiple
attempted murder. However the SC held that Only Antonio is liable for the crime since there was no
established evidence of conspiracy by Lozano and George Comadre as they were merely looking at Antonio
when he threw the grenade without any assistance.

431 Scra 366

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People v Comadre (Antonio Comadre, George Comadre and Danilo Lozano)

G.R. No. 153559 June 8, 2004

ISSUE: Whether or not Lozano and George Comadre is guilty of conspiracy.

EMERGENCY RECIT DIGEST:

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