PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES VS. MARLON DELA CRUZ, ET AL.G.R. No. 174658, February 24, 2009
Criminal Case Digest / Digested Case
Anti-Carnapping; Robbery with Homicide (Can one absorb the other?)
FACTS:
Two Informations, one for violation of Republic Act No. 6539 (the Anti-Carnapping Law), and the other for Robbery with Homicide, were filed against 1) appellant Marlon dela Cruz (DELA CRUZ), together with 2) Adriano Melecio (Melecio), 3) Jessie Reyes (REYES), and 4) Jepoy Obello (Obello) before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Dagupan City. Melecio and Obello have remained at large.
From information gathered from bystanders, the police learned that de la Cruz, a notorious thief who had previously been convicted for theft, and an unidentified man were seen riding on a red Yamaha motorcycle on June 4, 2001, that from a surveillance conducted, de la Cruz was not in his Dagupan residence; and that his mother Maria Rosario (Maria) is living in the municipality of San Quintin. The carnapped motorcycle was owned by a certain Juliana Tamin.
De la Cruz’s friends Angelica Perez (Angelica) and Anna Datlag (Anna), who were at the time staying at Maria’s house, were invited for questioning.
Anna further related: On June 6, 2001, she asked de la Cruz who owns the red motorcycle to which he replied that he took it from an old man who was sleeping after he hit the old man with a stone and Melecio stabbed him at the right side of his body, following which they took the money of the old man.
Upon the other hand, de la Cruz put up alibi, claiming that he was asleep in his house at Callejon Extension, Dagupan City on the night of January 3, 2001; that on waking up the following day, January 4, 2001, Obello and Melecio arrived and invited him to, as he did join them to San Quintin on board a motorcycle which the two claimed belongs to their uncle; that the group went first to Lupao, Nueva Ecija where they met Anna and Angelica who, on his invitation, joined them in San Quintin where they stayed for a few days.
After trial, Branch 43 of the Dagupan City RTC convicted DELA CRUZ of both charges. It acquitted Reyes. The conviction was affirmed by the CA.
Among others, DELA CRUZ argues that even if the allegation on the loss of some cash were true, the same should be absorbed in carnapping since carnapping and robbery have the same element of taking with intent to gain.
ISSUE:
Is the contention of DELA CRUZ tenable?
HELD:
No. Carnapping refers specifically to the taking of a motor vehicle. It does not cover the taking of cash or personal property which is not a motor vehicle. As the Court of Appeals noted:
x x x Two (2) articles were taken from TEOFILLO, SR., his tricycle and some cash. The taking of the tricycle constitutes a violation of the anti-carnapping law, RA 6539, while the taking of the cash from tEOFILO, SR. by hitting him with a stone and stabbing him in the chest constitutes the crime of robbery with homicide under Article 294 of the Revised Penal Code.