October 2009 - Philippine Supreme Court Decisions/Resolutions
Philippine Supreme Court Jurisprudence
G.R. No. 180421 - People of the Philippines v. Domingo Alpapara, Pedro Alpapara, Alden Paya, Mario Bicuna
SECOND DIVISION
[G.R. NO. 180421 : October 30, 2009]
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Appellee, v. DOMINGO ALPAPARA, PEDRO ALPAPARA, ALDEN PAYA AND MARIO BICUNA, Appellants.
D E C I S I O N
QUISUMBING, J.:
This is an appeal from the Decision1 of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. CR-HC No. 00294, dated February 15, 2007, which affirmed in toto the decision2 of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Quezon City, Branch 81, dated March 15, 2004 in Criminal Case No. Q-99-86307. The RTC had found appellants Domingo Alpapara, Pedro Alpapara, Alden Paya and Mario Bicuna guilty of murder beyond reasonable doubt.
On June 29, 1998, Domingo Alpapara, Pedro Alpapara, Alden Paya, Mario Bicuna and Nelson Guzman were charged with murder in an Information, the accusatory portion of which reads:
That on or about the 13th day of January 1998 at more or less 7:00 o'clock in the evening at Barangay Talin-Talin, Municipality of Libon, Province of Albay, Philippines and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, conspiring and confederating and mutually aiding one another [to] achieve a common goal, that is to kill GOMEZ RELORCASA, did then and there, with malice aforethought and with deliberate intent to take the life of the latter, willfully, unlawfully and feloniously, with the qualifying circumstances of treachery (alevosia), evident premeditation and with the aid of armed men, attacked, assaulted and fired upon Gomez Relorcasa with firearms, hitting and inflicting gunshot wounds upon the latter on the different and vital parts of his body, as evidenced by the Medico-Legal Report of Dr. Ma. Cristina U. Orbesom, mortally and fatally wounding him and thereby causing the direct and immediate death of Gomez Relorcasa, to the damage and prejudice of his legal heirs.
That the commission of this felony was attended with the aggravating circumstance of dwelling, the victim not having given any provocation.
ACTS CONTRARY TO LAW.3
The present case originated from Branch 13 of the Ligao, Albay RTC and was docketed as Criminal Case No. 3703. On arraignment, all the accused, except Nelson Guzman who was at large, pleaded not guilty.
On October 7, 1998, Atty. Manuel C. Relorcasa, the private prosecutor in this case, filed a Motion4 with the Supreme Court to change the venue of trial from the RTC in Ligao, Albay to an RTC in Pasig City, Quezon City or Metro Manila. The witnesses were allegedly receiving death threats from the accused, who were known hatchet men of politicians in Albay. On July 27, 1999, we issued a Resolution5 granting the said motion and transferring the venue of trial to Quezon City. The case was eventually raffled to Branch 81 of the RTC of Quezon City and docketed as Criminal Case No. Q-99-86307. Trial on the merits thereafter ensued.
The prosecution's account of the incident is as follows:
On January 13, 1998, at around 7:00 p.m., while Joey Bobis and Gomez Relorcasa were having a chat at the latter's home, the two heard thuds from stones being thrown at the roof. This was followed by a derisive call for Gomez to come out of the house in these words: "Gomez, kung matapang ka[,] lumabas ka."6 Shortly thereafter, three men armed with revolvers, and who were later identified by witnesses as the appellants Domingo Alpapara, Pedro Alpapara and Alden Paya, stormed into Gomez's house. Pedro grabbed Gomez by the right shoulder while Alden pinned down his left hand. Then, Domingo shot Gomez at the back followed by Pedro who shot Gomez at the right temple. As Gomez collapsed to the floor, Alden fired upward and warned those present not to testify to what happened. Present at the scene were Gomez's sister, Gavina Mata; his children, Mary Rose and Julius; and his friend, Romeo Buitizon.
Domingo, Pedro and Alden dashed outside to join their companions who threatened to hack the witnesses with bolos. The three took off in a passenger jeep driven by appellant Mario Bicuna. Thereafter, Gomez's companions brought him to the hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The Medico-Legal Report7 dated January 14, 1998, disclosed the cause of his death as hemorrhagic shock secondary to organ damage secondary to gunshot wound. On even date, Joey Bobis and Barangay Chairman Sofronio Mata filed an entry in the blotter with the police.
For their part, the appellants allege the following facts:
In the evening of January 13, 1998, the Alpapara brothers spotted Alden scuttling for cover in Domingo's yard as Joey hurled a stone and a bottle of gin at him. Before long, Gomez, who was drunk at the time started shouting invectives at the three. This led to a heated argument between Domingo and Gomez, but Pedro appealed for Gomez to just come back and talk the next day when he would already be sober.
Afterward, three gunshots echoed from Gomez's house. Upon hearing this, Domingo immediately closed his store while Pedro and Alden made their way home.
From his house, Alden heard Mary Rose crying for help from her aunt Gavina Mata, exclaiming "Tulungan ninyo si papa, nabaril siya ng sarili niyang baril." But Alden ignored her call for help and stayed home for the night.
Concurrently, defense witness Marilou Mata came upon Mary Rose and Julius who were screaming for help, saying "Si papa may tama, si Joy kasi." Marilou also saw Gomez being carried away on a chair by their neighbors.
About that time, Pedro reached his house and roused Mario from sleep. The two left in a passenger jeep driven by Mario. As they passed by Domingo's house, the latter flagged them and hitched a ride along with his wife Zenaida. They dropped off Zenaida at the house of Cesario Alpapara, Pedro and Domingo's brother, in Polangui, Albay before reporting the shooting incident to the Libon Police.
Following trial, the Quezon City RTC, Branch 81, found Domingo Alpapara, Pedro Alpapara, Alden Paya and Mario Bicuna guilty beyond reasonable doubt of murder for the death of Gomez Relorcasa. In a Decision dated March 15, 2004, the court a quo held that the killing of Gomez was attended by the qualifying circumstance of treachery and was carried out by appellants in conspiracy with one another.???�r?bl?�
