Republic of the Philippines
SUPREME COURT
Manila
EN BANC
G.R. Nos. L-17486-88 February 27, 1965
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiffs-appellee,
vs.
CABAGEL MACATEMBAL, defendant-appellant.
Office of the Solicitor General for plaintiff-appellee.
Julian L. Lim for defendant-appellant.
BENGZON, C.J.:
Appeal from the judgment of the Court of First Instance of Cotabato wherein above appellant was:
(1) found guilty of double murder in Criminal Case No. 1959 and was sentenced to suffer reclusion perpetua, with the accessories of law and to indemnify the heirs of Avelino Hernandez in the amount of P4,000.00 and the heirs of Mene Bagia also in the sum of P4,000.00;
(2) found guilty of frustrated murder in Criminal Case No, 1980 and was sentenced to the indeterminate penalty of from 8 years and 1 day of prision mayor, to 14 years, 8 months and 1 day of reclusion temporal;.
(3) found guilty of assault upon an agent of person in authority with frustrated murder in Criminal Case No. 1979 and was sentenced to suffer from 4 months and 21 day of arresto mayor, to 3 years, 6 months and 21 days of prision correccional with the accessories of law.
In the separate informations filed for each of the said cases, it is alleged that above appellant committed the crimes charged in company with eight persons and others whose identities were still unknown.
On the day of arraignment in the first case, appellant escaped from custody. He was, however, apprehended in due time, and brought to trial; then he pleaded not guilty. Upon agreement of the parties, the hearing of the three criminal cases was consolidated. Thereafter, the lower court rendered the decision here on appeal.
Appellant's conviction is allegedly improper because the evidence presented by the prosecution is weak — the testimonies of the witnesses are inconsistent with each other, and the facts testified to are improbable.
The records reveal that the prosecution offered as evidence the death certificates of the victims Mene Bagia and Avelino Hernandez; the medical certificates as to the serious wounds of Enrique Oagdan, and Florencio Hernandez; and the witnesses, Dr. Santos V. Acosta, former Patrolman Enrique Oagdan, Mariano Abellera and Florencio Hernandez.
Dr. Santos V. Acosta testified on the contents of the death and medical certificates of the victims of the ambush.
Mariano Abellera, tractor operator of the Guerra logging outfit at Simoney, Kabacan, Cotabato said: In the afternoon of August 30, 1953, at about 12:30, he took a jeep at Carmen to bring his salary to his family in Kabacan, Cotabato; there were about ten passengers in the said jeep and among them were former Patrolman Enrique Oagdan, Avelino Hernandez, and Mene Bagia. Florencio Hernandez was its driver. Near Kilometer 95, Sayre National Highway, a person on the right side of the road, signalled the jeep to stop. As the jeep slowed down between two passenger trucks, one of Abrea Transportation and the other of Filipinas Transportation, (and each parked on the opposite sides of the road), he heard several gun explosions. He immediately jumped off to seek cover. The other passengers also panicked and scrambled for safety. As he got off from the vehicle, he noticed that Avelino Hernandez seated at the right side of the driver's seat was already dead, and Patrolman Enrique Oagdan and Florencio Hernandez, the driver of the jeep, were wounded. Mene Bagia lay lifeless on the road. After the ambush, the passengers of the jeep and the dead victims were brought to Carmen by the Abrea truck. He did not recognize the man who signalled the jeep to stop.
Former Patrolman Enrique Oagdan said: On his way to report for duty to the Police Station at Kabacan, he rode on the jeep from the Carmen Public Market at about past 12:00 in the afternoon of August 30, 1953. The jeep had about ten passengers, and among them were Mariano Abellera and Datu Togaya. Florencio Hernandez drove the vehicle. At Kilometer 95, Sayre National Highway, a Moslem by the name of Cabagel Macatembal stopped them. As the jeep slowed down, he saw that said Cabagel was armed with a bolo, a rifle and a pistol. Cabagel approached and struck him (Oagdan) with a bolo and he was hit on the left hand. Cabagel also fired at him on the right thigh. As he fell in the jeep, Cabagel took his (Oagdan's) gun, ammunitions, police insignia and police badge. Another person also fired at and hit him (Oagdan) on the left side of the chest. Cabagel touched his two ears to see if he (Oagdan) was still alive. The latter feigned death and so Cabagel and his companions left. He readily recognized Cabagel among the outlaws, because said Cabagel had been a detention prisoner in the Kabacan Police Station a few months before the ambush.
Florencio Hernandez, the driver of the jeep: In the afternoon of August 30, 1953, at about 12:30, at Kilometer 95, Sayre National Highway, a man armed with a bolo, signalled him to stop the passenger jeep he was driving. He did not stop the vehicle for the said man, but because there were many people in the middle of the road as well as on its sides, he slowed down the motor. Immediately, he heard gunshots coming from all directions, from behind, the sides and in front of the jeep. He was hit with a bullet. He stepped out of the jeep and ran away (towards Carmen) After having covered about two kilometers, he stopped on the road where the Abrea truck passed him by, and the people riding on it told him that they were going to call for PC soldiers. Not long afterwards, the Abrea truck returned for him.
Appellant Cabagel Macatembal was the only witness for the defense. He denied participation in the crimes charged, setting up alibi as defense. He said that on the day of the ambush, he was in Maridagao, Pagalunga where he lived.
The evidence thus established that an ambush had been perpetrated; that the passenger jeep driven by Florencio Hernandez en route to Kabacan, Cotabato, at about 12:30 in the afternoon of August 30, 1953, was stopped and fired at; that two (2) men, Avelino Hernandez and Mene Bagia were fatally hit and killed; that former Patrolman Enrique Oagdan and Florencio Hernandez were seriously wounded. The volley of gunshots coming from all directions, the wounds found in the bodies of the victims and the presence of quite a number of unidentified people at the scene of the crime clearly attest to the commission of the crime by several outlaws who obviously conspired for one common purpose. And the question now is — was appellant Cabagel Macatembal, one of them?
The positive testimony, during the trial, of Patrolman Enrique Oagdan points to him as the man who had signalled the jeep to stop, followed the jeep as it slowed down and struck the said patrolman with a bolo, shot him in the right thigh and took his gun, ammunitions, police badge and insignia. It is alleged that the same witness, Patrolman Oagdan, in a sworn statement of August 31, 1953, made no mention of accused Cabagel as the man who had flagged down the jeep to stop, etc. However, he explained the omission by stating that he was not then feeling very well because of the wounds and shock he had sustained. Indeed on January 29, 1954, at the preliminary investigation he pointed him out as among the attackers. And in open court, before Hon. Judge Juan Sarenas, this witness again fingered this Cabagel Macatembal.1äwphï1.ñët
The offenses are thus proven beyond reasonable doubt. There was double murder and frustrated murder, not only because of the suddenness of the attack by several armed persons (several shots from different directions) 1 but also by the use of firearms. Assault upon an agent of authority with frustrated murder was likewise committed.
The penalties for the two murders and the frustrated murder must be affirmed.
As to the "frustrated murder with assault upon an agent of authority," the penalty for the higher crime (frustrated murder) must be imposed in its maximum degree. 2 For that last crime, this defendant must, therefore, be sentenced to imprisonment for not less than 10 years and 1 day of prision mayor nor more than 17 years and 4 months of reclusion temporal, with all the accessories.
It is to be understood that according to Article 70 of the Revised Penal Code, the maximum period of imprisonment of this convict shall not exceed forty (40) years.
With these modifications, the appealed sentence is affirmed, with costs. So ordered.
Bautista Angelo, Reyes, J.B.L., Barrera, Paredes, Dizon, Regala, Makalintal, Bengzon, J.P., and Zaldivar, JJ., concur.
Footnotes
1As amended by Republic Acts 909, 834 1299, 1510 .
2Art. 48, Revised Penal Code.
The Lawphil Project - Arellano Law Foundation
