G.R. No. L-46890. November 29, 1977
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE, VS. WILLIAM LIM Y TUMALIUAN AND WILSON LIM Y TUMALIUAN, DEFENDANTS-APPELLANTS.
FERNANDEZ, J.:
This is an appeal of the
defendants William Lim y Tumaliuan and Wilson Lim y Tumaliuan from the decision of the Circuit Criminal Court,
First Judicial District, Ilagan, Isabela
in Criminal Case No. CCC-1-46 Isabela (220) entitled
“People of the Philippines vs. Victor Dayag y Turaray, William Lim y Tumaliuan
and Wilson Lim y Tumaliuan“, the dispositive part of which reads:
“WHEREFORE, the Court finds, after trial on the merits, the
accused Victor Dayag y Turaray
and William Lim y Tumaliuan GUILTY beyond
reasonable doubt of the crime of Murder, qualified by treachery and penalized
under Article 248 of the Revised Penal Code, as co-principals thereof, while
the accused Wilson Lim y Tumaliuan is likewise found GUILTY
beyond reasonable doubt as accomplice to said crime, and favorably appreciating
the mitigating circumstance of voÂluntary surrender with respect to accused
William Lim, and applying the benefits of the Indeterminate Sentence Law to him
as well as accused Wilson Lim, hereby sentences them as follows: (1) the accused Victor Dayag
to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua
or life imprisonment; (2) the accused William Lim to suffer the indeterminate
penalty of imprisonment for TEN (10) YEARS and ONE (1) DAY of prision mayor as the minimum to SEVENTEEN
(17) YEARS, FOUR (4) MONTHS and ONE (1) DAY of reclusion temporal
as the maximum; (3) and the accused Wilson Lim to suffer the indeterminate
penalty of imprisonment for FOUR (4) YEARS, TWO (2) MONTHS and ONE (1) DAY of prision correccional as the minimum to TEN (10) YEARS and
ONE (1) DAY of prision mayor as the maximum; all of them to inÂdemnify jointly and severally
the heirs of the deceased Calixtro B. Cauan in the amount of P12,000.00 plus P18,000.00 as moral
and exemplary damages, without subsidiary imprisonÂment in case of insolvency,
and to pay proportionately the costs of this action.
The accused William Lim and Wilson Lim shall be creÂdited with the
benefits of Republic Act No. 6127, it appearing that they were under preventive
imprisonment from September 20, 1971
to SeptemÂber 28, 1971 in
the case of the former, and from January
28, 1972 to April 15, 1972
in the case of the latter.
SO ORDERED.
Given this 20th day of April, 1974, at Ilagan
Isabela.
(SGD)
ROMEO M. ESCAREAL
Judge”[1]
It does
not appear that the defendant Victor Dayag y Turaray has appealed from the aforementioned decision.
Victor Dayag y Turaray, William Lim y Tumaliuan and Wilson Lim y Tumaliuan
were charged with murder in the Court of First Instance of Isabela
in the following:
“AMENDED
INFORMATION
The undersigned Provincial Fiscal accuses VICTOR DAYAG Y TURARAY,
WILLIAM LIM Y TUMALIUAN and WILSON LIM Y TUMALIUAN of the crime of MURDER,
provided for and penalized under Article 248 of the Revised Penal Code,
committed as follows:
That on or about the 29th day of July, 1970, in the municipality of
Cabagan, province of Isabela,
Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the herein
accused, together with Leticia Lim and Fred Nison,
who are still at large, conspiring and confederating together and all helping
one another, with eviÂdent premeditation and treachery and in consideration of
a prize, reward and/or promise, did then and there wilÂfully,
unlawfully and feloniously, with intent to kill, suddenly and unexpectedly and
without giving him chance to defend himself, shoot with a 38 Caliber revolver
one Calixtro Cauan, inflicting
upon the latter a gunshot wound located on the mid-portion of the coronal
region of the head (dome), bullet traversing almost perpendicuÂlarly downwards
plowing thru the brain tissue and a superficial tangential gunshot wound at the base of the right fore-finger, inner aspect,
which directly caused the death of said Calixtro Cauan due to failure of vital centers due to brain
injuries.
CONTRARY TO LAW.
Ilagan, Isabela,
July 12, 1972.
(SGD.)
JOSEFINO C. DRACULAN
Provincial
Fiscal”[2]
The case
was later transferred to the Circuit Criminal Court at Ilagan,
Isabela.
The
defendants William Lim y Tumaliuan and Wilson Lim y Tumaliuan appealed to the Court of Appeals assigning the following
errors:
“First
Assignment of Error
THE LOWER COURT
ERRED IN NOT GIVING WEIGHT AND CREDIT TO THE DEFENSE OF ALIBI INTERÂPOSED BY
DEFENDANTS-APPELLANTS.
Second
Assignment of Error
THE LOWER COURT
ERRED IN GIVING TOO MUCH IF NOT FULL WEIGHT AND CREDIT TO THE EXTRA-ÂJUDICIAL
CONFESSION OF VICTOR DAYAG PARTICULARLY ON THE PORÂTION THEREOF INCRIMINATING
THE DEFENDANTS-APPELLANTS AND IN REJECTING HIS AFFIDAVIT OF RETRACTION AND
STATEMENT OF AFFIRMANCE.
Third
Assignment of Error
THE LOWER COURT
ERRED IN NOT FINDING VICTOR DAYAG ALONE AS THE AUTHOR OF THE CRIME.
Fourth
Assignment of Error
THE LOWER COURT
ERRED IN NOT ACQUITTING THE DEFENDANTS?APPELLANTS.”[3]
The Court of Appeals in a
resolution promulgated on July 25, 1977, written by Justice Conrado
M. Vasquez and concurred in by Justice Delfin Fl. Batasan and Justice Jose B. Jimenez certified the case to
this Court in acÂcordance with Section 31 of the Judiciary Act 1948, as
amended.
The Solicitor General adopted the
following findings of fact of the trial court:
“On July 29, 1970,
the Crystallyne Theatre at Cabagan,
Isabela, was showing a double feature. The first movie had Lopito
in the starring role, while the second feature starred Dolphy. Among those who were in the theatre were
Ex-Mayor Calixtro B. Cauan
of San Pablo, Isabela,
Mrs. Monserrat Masigan,
Domingo Mallanao alias Domingo Apostol
and accused Victor Dayag. (pp. 101-103, 1956-158, 215-216, 222-225, tsn, Miss Salvador; Exhibits ‘I-Dayag‘,
‘I-Lim’ and ‘2-Lim’, pp. 7, 9, 15, Records) ‘San Pablo is the next town
northward of Cabagan, while barrio Awitan, San Pablo, which is the residence of accused
William Lim and Wilson Lim is the next barÂrio to the north of Centro, San
Pablo, a distance of about 8-10 kilometers to Centro, Cabagan. From San Pablo
going south along the national highway, one passes the towns of Cabagan, Tumauini, Ilagan, Naguilian and turning
east on the provincial roads, the towns of Benito Soliven
and San Mariano. After Naguilian proceeding southward on the national highway, one
passes the towns of Reino MerÂcedes and then Cauayan. From San
Pablo to Cauayan is a distance
of almost 100 kilometers.’ (pp. 237-239, 504, 512-513, tsn,
Miss Salvador; pp. 210-211, 228, tsn, Mr. de Claro)
‘On that fateful day, ex-mayor Cauan and
Mrs. Masigan saw the first feature while sitting
beside each other in the left side of the theater just near the main
entrance. Mrs. Masigan
saw accused Victor Dayag, who was then seated on a
bench on the right side of the theater opposite them, fidgeting and staring
uneasily often at her and Cauan.’ (pp. 158-162, tsn, Miss Salvador; Exhibit ‘l-Dayag‘)
‘Soon thereafter, someone called her
and Cauan to play mahjong at the second floor of the
theater, hence, Cauan went upstairs and played a
round of 16 games. Mrs. Masigan followed after five minutes but did not play.’ (pp.
162-164, tsn, id.; Exhibit ‘1-Dayag’) ‘Afterwards,
they both went downstairs and Cauan took a bamboo
armchair and sat on it at the lobby, while Mrs. Masigan
went to her former seat. From there, she
saw accused Dayag rise from his seat, go to the main
door and look at Cauan and then at her. She went to the door and also looked
outside. Then both returned to their
seats. Cauan
went inside and stood in front of Mrs. Masigan, who
told him about Dayag’s staring at him. When he asked her if she knew him, she replied that she did and that Dayag is from Sta. Maria.
Cauan told her not to mind it, and he does not
have an enemy. Cauan
then went out and placed the armchair on the lobby facing the road, and conÂversed
with Anastacia Sia, the
theater owner, and one Mackly Palogan.’
(pp. 164-169, 178, 180-181, 229-230, tsn, id.;
Exhibit ‘1-Dayag’)
‘After the screening was over, Mrs. Masigan
went out together with others in the
audience and heard the sound of a door closing.
She went to the kitchen beside the lobby and saw Dayag
inside. She asked him what he was doing
there and he said he would like
to buy a coke, to which she told him that this was not a store. Dayag went out and
she also returned to the stairs leading to the main door of the lobby.’ (pp.
171-174, 182-183, tsn. id.; Exhibit ‘1-Dayag’) ‘She
then saw Dayag draw a nickel plated gun from his
waist, point it at the head of Cauan, who was then
reclining in the armchair with his right and left hands spread on top of his
head, and fire two shots at the latter.
Mrs. Masigan shouted for help upon seeing Dayag run away to the north and seeing Cauan
wounded. ImÂmediately thereafter, she
left for fear of her life and took a tricycle for her home in barrio Calamagui, San Pablo,
which is the barrio between the poblaciones of Cabagan and San Pablo.’
(pp. 174-177, 183-192, 196-197, 225-227, 235, tsn,
id.; Exhibit ‘1-Dayag’)
‘The flight of accused Dayag after the
shooting of Cauan had been witnessed by one Domingo Mallanao, who had returned to the theater at around 6:00
p.m. after taking a merienda at a bakery 100 meters
from the theater. He had gone to see the
movies at 2:00 p.m. and after the end
of the second feature past 4:00 p.m.
he had gone outside to take his merienda, since there
was no canteen inside or near the theater.
While inside and seeing the movie, he had sat beside accused Dayag whom he knew as a resident of Sta. Maria, Isabela, a town just across the Cagayan
River, and across which river, Mallanao operates a
ferry which Dayag uses in crossing over to Cabagan.’ (pp. 76-78, 88-97, 107-110, 137, 210-214, 218, tsn. id.; Exhibit ‘1-Lim’)
‘Upon his return, he went inside to his former seat and met Dayag who was then going out. He was not yet seated when he heard two gun
reports and so he went out to the lobby.
He saw Cauan lying wounded on the bamboo
armchair, and also saw Dayag with two companions,
about 10 meters behind him running together to the north. He identified the two companions of Dayag as the accused, brothers, William and Wilson Lim,
whom he knew to be residents of barrio Awitan, San
Pablo, Isabela, having
stayed in the Lims’ residence where there was a sound
system for dancing. He chased the three
but lost them near the church, so he returned to the theater, where he saw
policemen already hear Cauan’s body.’ (pp. 79-83,
120-125, 128, tsn, id.; Exhibits ‘1-Lim’ &
‘2-Lim’)
‘The flight of Dayag and his two
companions was also witnessed by one Macario Bautista
who was then going to the theater looking for his children. While at the corner of the road beside the
Evergreen restaurant, he heard two gun reports and saw three persons running
towards the north. They passed by the corner
where he was and he saw them continue running eastward toÂward the direction of
the church and the Alhambra
warehouse.’ (pp. 18-22, 24, 28, 31-34, 37, 40, 55-58, 64-66, tsn, Miss Camacho) ‘He followed them and at his next
corner, he saw Chief of Police Binag and a policeman
running towards the direction taken by the three men. He shouted to the policemen and pointed to
the fleeing figures. He also followed
the policemen and joined in the chase but they lost track of the three men someÂwhere
between the Chinese cemetery and the municipal cemetery.’ (pp. 22-27, 71-73, tsn.
id.)
‘Chief of Police Franco Binag was, at the
time of the shooting, then in front of the Cabagan
municipal building, giving instructions to his policemen. He heard gun reports coming from the
direction of the town’s commercial establishments, ran in that direcÂtion and
upon reaching a kiosk at the corner of the road, met one Arturo Palogan who shouted to him that ‘he was shot and is already
dead. Palogan
pointed to the north and Chief of Police Binag with
Pat. Taurino de la Rosa proÂceeded in that direction’
(pp. 248-255, 284-289, tsn, Miss Salvador; Exhibit
‘C’) where he met Macario Bautista who was shouting
‘police, police’ and also pointing to the three fleeing men going northwards.’
(pp. 259-260, tsn. id.; Exhibit ‘C’) ‘Binag recognized one of them as the accused Victor Dayag when the latter looked backÂwards while running with
a gun in his hand. He also noticed the
physical build and appearance of Dayag’s two
companions as very simiÂlar to those of the accused William Lim and Wilson Lim’
(pp. 256-258, 261-265, 290-Â294, tsn, id.; Exhibit
‘C’).
‘The chase reached as far as the Alhambra
warehouse then to the cemeteries where the pursuers lost track of the acÂcused Dayag and his companions because of darkness. Some of the policemen returned to the theater
while others remained to scour the area.’ (pp. 265-268, tsn,
id.; Exhibit ‘C’) ‘At the lobby of the theater, Binag
saw the victim lying dead in an armchair locally known as ‘butaka‘. Blood was oozing out of the back of the
victim’s head. Binag
also noticed the grazing of a bulÂlet on the bookrest
of the armchair and a chip on the cement floor.’ (pp. 269-272, tsn, id.; Exhibit ‘C’.).
‘He then called for a photographer, Fr. Balisi
of the Balisi studio, who took a photograph of the
victim, and also called for the municipal health officer of Cabagan,
Dr. Tercial Ramirez, who examined the victim while
still at the lobby.’ (pp. 36, 43-44, 272-275, tsn,
id.; Exhibits ‘C’ and ‘D’). ‘When Binag interviewed the persons around the scene, including
the owners of the theater, nobody wanted to cooperate or reveal what they had
witÂnessed because they were afraid.’ (pp. 305, 308-309, 310, 275-277, tsn, id.; ExÂhibit ‘C’) ‘It was only around October, 1970,
when Chief Binag was able to get the sworn statements
of Domingo Mallanao and Mrs. Monserrat
Masigan on the basis of which he filed the corresÂponding
criminal complaint against Victor Dayag and two John
Does.’ (pp. 277-279, 299, 302-304, tsn, id.; Exhibits
‘C’, ‘1-Lim’, ‘1-Dayag’)
Dr. Tercial Ramirez, after conducting a
post-mortem examination of the victim at the lobby of the theater, also went to
make another examination at the victim’s residence the next morning where it
lay in state to be sure of his findings, which he then prepared in a
post-mortem examination report dated Aug. 3, 1970.’ (Exh.
‘A’; pp. 36, 43, 46, 63-64, tsn, id.) ‘According to
him, he found the following injury on the victim, to wit:
INJURIES FOUND:
1. A gunshot wound
of medium caliber 1/3 of an inch in diameter at its point of entrance, located
on the mid-portion of the coronal region of the head (dome), the bullet
traversing almost perpendicularly downwards plowing thru the brain tissues to a
depth of 5 inches.
2. A superficial
tangential gunshot wound of about 1″ at the base of the right fore-finger,
inner aspect.
CONCLUSION, Cause of Death:
Death was almost instantaneous, due to failure of vital centers due
to brain injury.’ (ExhiÂbits ‘A’ and ‘B’; pp. 46-52, tsn,
id.)
(pp. 583-589, Records)”[4]
The appellants contend that they
had no particiÂpation in the offense charged; that they did not induce the
accused Victor Dayag to kill Calixtro
B. Cauan; and that they “were never present at
the scene of the crime and on the time and date when the same was
perpetrated.”[5] The appellants claimed that both of them stayed at
the house of Cauayan Municipal Judge Dominador Mendoza from 6:30 o’clock in the afternoon of July 28, 1970 until 7:00 o’clock in the morning of July 30, 1970.[6]
The only evidence of the
prosecution on the alleged participation of the appellants is the testimony on
cross-examination of the accused Victor Dayag that
the brothers Wilson Lim and William Lim broached to said Dayag
the idea of killing Calixtro B. Cauan
for P3,000.00; that in addition Dayag was promised
the hand in marriage of Leticia Lim, the appellants’ sister; that Dayag actually received only P300.00; and that on July 29,
1970 Dayag and the two appellants went inside the Crystallyne theater where Calixtro
B. Cauan was shot by Dayag.
The accused Victor Dayag is not a credible witness. He executed three statements admitting that
he killed Calixtro B. Cauan. Dayag also executed
three different statements repudiating his three extrajudicial confessions.
The testimony of Dayag that the appellants went inside the Crystallyne Theater on July 29, 1970 was not corroborated by the evidence of the
prosecution. Not one of the witnesses of
the prosecution declared having seen the appellants inside the said theater at
the time Calixtro B. Cauan
was shot by Dayag.
Indeed, the trial court found that “Among those who were in the
theater were ex-mayor Calixtro B. Cauan
of San Pablo, Isabela, Mrs. MonÂserrat
Masigan, Domingo Mallanao
alias Domingo Apostol and accused Victor Dayag,”[7] The appellants were not mentioned as among those
inside the Crystallyne theater. The witnesses for the prosecution could not
have failed to see the appellants if said appellants were inside the theater.
The appellants were only seen
running together with Victor Dayag by Domingo Mallanao and Macario Bautista,
both witnesses for the prosecution.
There is no reason why the
appellants should run away from the scene of the shooting if, according to the
theory of the prosecution, they did not participate in the killing of Calixtro B. Cauan. The evidence of the prosecution is that the
appellants are co-principals by inducement.
At the time of the actual shooting no person had reason to suspect the
appellants to have induced the shooting.
Hence there was no need for said appellants to run away immediately
after Dayag had shot Cauan.
The appellants have adduced
evidence that they were in the house of Cauayan Judge
Dominador Mendoza in Cauayan
at the time that Dayag shot Cauan
in the Crystallyne theater in Cabagan.
Although alibi is known to be the
weakest of all defenses for it is easy to concoct and difficult to disprove,
nevertheless, where the evidence for the prosecution is weak and betrays lack
of concreteness on the question of whether or not the accused committed the
crime charged, the defense of alibi assumes importance.[8]
Thus in the case of People vs. Fraga, et al.,[9] this Court held that:
“x x x an
accused cannot be convicted on the basis of evidence which, independently of
his alibi, is weak, uncorroborated, and inconclusive. The rule that alibi must be satisfactorily
proven was never intended to change the burden of proof in criminal cases;
otherwise, we will see the absurdity of an accused being put in a more
difficult position where the prosecution’s evidence is vague and weak than
where it is strong.”
In view of the foregoing, it is
clear that the evidence for the prosecution against the appellants William Lim
and Wilson Lim is weak and unsatisfactory to justify a finding of guilt as
against them.
WHEREFORE, the decision appealed from is hereby reversed as to
the appellants who are acquitted on reasonable doubt, without pronouncement as
to costs.
SO ORDERED.
Teehankee, (Chairman), Makasiar, Muñoz Palma, Martin, and Guerrero, JJ., concur.
[1]
Decision, pp. 74-76, Rollo, p. 16.
[2]
Rollo, p. 4.
[3]
Brief for Defendants-Appellants, p. 18, p. 26, p. 38 and p. 42, Rollo, p. 26.
[4]
Brief for the Appellee, pp. 5-13, Rollo,
p. 31.
[5]
Appellants’ brief, p. 19, Rollo, p. 26.
[6]
Ibid., pp. 11-12, Rollo, p. 26.
[7]
Decision, p. 13, Rollo, p. 16.
[8]
People vs. Bulawin, 29 SCRA 710; People vs.
Omega, 76 SCRA, 262, 270.
[9]
109 Phil. 241, 250.