People vs. Larrañaga
G.R. Nos. 138874-75. February 3, 2004
Appellee: People of the Philippines
Appellants: Francisco Juan Larrañaga, Josman Aznar, Rowen Adlawan, Alberto Caño, Ariel Balansag, Davidson Rusia, James Anthony Uy, James Andrew Uy
Per curiam decision
G.R. Nos. 138874-75. February 3, 2004
Appellee: People of the Philippines
Appellants: Francisco Juan Larrañaga, Josman Aznar, Rowen Adlawan, Alberto Caño, Ariel Balansag, Davidson Rusia, James Anthony Uy, James Andrew Uy
Per curiam decision
FACTS:
On the rainy night of July 16, 1997, Marijoy and Jacqueline Chiong, sisters, failed to come home on the expected time. Two days after, a young woman was found dead at the foot of a cliff in Tan-awan, Carcar Cebu. Her pants were torn, her t-shirt was raised up to her breast and her bra was pulled down. Her face and neck were covered with masking tape, and attached to her left wrist was a handcuff. The woman was identified as Marijoy. After almost ten months, accused Davidson Rusia surfaced and admitted before the police having participated in the abduction of the sisters. He identified appellants Francisco Juan Larrañaga, Josman Aznar, Rowen Adlawan, Alberto Caño, Ariel Balansag, James Anthony Uy, and James Andrew Uy as co-perpetrators in the crime. Rusia provided the following before the trial court: that he met Rowen and Josman at Ayala Mall at 10:30 in the evening of July 16, 1997, who told him to ride with them in a white car. Following them were Larrañaga, James Anthony and James Andrew, who were in a red car. Josman stopped in front of the waiting shed where Marijoy and Jacqueline were standing, and were then forced to ride the car. Rusia taped their mouths while Rowen handcuffed them jointly, that after stopping by a safehouse at Guadalupe, Cebu City, the group thereafter headed to the South Bus Terminal where they met Alberto and Ariel, and hired the white van driven by the former. They traveled towards Tan-awan, leaving the red car at the South Bus Terminal, that after parking their vehicles near a precipice, they drank and had a pot session. Later, they started to rape Marijoy inside the vehicle, and thereafter raped Jacqueline, that Josman instructed Rowen and Ariel to bring Marijoy to the cliff and push her into the ravine, and that they made fun of Jacqueline, who was made to run while being followed by the group while boarding the van; and was beaten until she passed out.
 |
| Buildmate Online Depot Shopee |
In his defense, Larrañaga, through his witnesses, claimed the following:
that on July 16, 1997, he was at Quezon City taking his mid-term examinations at the Center for Culinary Arts, that he also attended his teacher’s lecture in Applied Mathematics, that in the evening of that day until 3:00 in the morning of July 17, 1997, he was with his friends at the R & R Bar and Restaurant, Quezon City, that representatives of four airline companies plying the route of Manila-Cebu-Manila presented proofs showing that Larrañaga does not appear in their records from July 15 to July 17, 1997, and that his neighbors at Loyola Heights Condominium, Quezon City, including the security guard saw him in his condo unit in the evening of July 16, 1997.
The brothers James Anthony and James Andrew claimed that they were at their home in Cebu City, celebrating their father’s 50th birthday, which ended at 11:30 in the evening.
Alberto and Ariel claimed that they had the van’s aircon repaired in the evening of July 16, 1997, accompanied by the former’s wife and the owners of the van. The repair shop was only able to finish the work at 10:00 the following morning.
Josman claimed that he was at his house together with his friends about 8:00 in the evening of July 16, 1997, ate dinner and drank, and thereafter went to BAI Disco, transferred to DTM Bar, and went home at 3:00 the following morning.
Rusia was discharged as an accused and became a state witness. Still, the body of Jacqueline was never found. The trial court found the other appellants guilty of two crimes of kidnapping and serious illegal detention and sentenced each of them to suffer the penalties of two (2) reclusiones perpetua. The appellants assailed the said decision, arguing inter alia, that court erred in finding that there was consipiracy. James Anthony was also claimed to be only 16 years old when the crimes were committed.
ISSUES:
1) Whether there was conspiracy.
2) Whether the trial court erred in characterizing the crime.
3) Whether the trial court erred in imposing the correct penalty.
HELD:
1) Yes. Conspiracy may be deduced from the mode and manner by which the offense was perpetrated, or may be inferred from the acts of the accused themselves, when such point to a joint design and community of interest. The appellants’ actions showed that they had the same objective to kidnap and detain the Chiong sisters. The Court affirmed the trial court’s finding that the appellants indeed conspired in the commission of the crimes charged.
2) Yes. The rule is that when the law provides a single penalty for two or more component offenses, the resulting crime is called a special complex crime. Article 267 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended by Section 8 of R.A. 7659, provides that in the crime of kidnapping and serious illegal detention, when the victim is killed or dies as a consequence of the detention, or is raped or is subjected to torture or dehumanizing acts, the maximum penalty shall be imposed. Thus, the resulting crime will change from complex crime to special complex crime. In the present case, the victims were raped and subjected to dehumanizing acts. Thus, the Court held that all the appellants were guilty of the special complex crime of kidnapping and serious illegal detention with homicide and rape in the case where Marijoy is the victim; and simple kidnapping and serious illegal detention in the case of Jacqueline.
3) Yes. Article 68 of the Revised Penal Code provides that by reason of minority, the imposable penalty to the offender is one degree lower than the statutory penalty. James Anthony was only 16 years old when the crimes were committed. As penalty for the special complex crime of kidnapping and serious illegal detention with homicide and rape is death, the correct penalty to be imposed should be reclusion perpetua. On the other hand, the penalty for simple kidnapping and serious illegal detention is reclusion perpetua to death. One degree lower from the said penalty is reclusion temporal. There being no aggravating and mitigating circumstance, the penalty to be imposed on him should be reclusion temporal in its medium period. Applying the Indeterminate Sentence Law, he should be sentenced to suffer the penalty of twelve (12) years of prision mayor in its maximum period, as minimum, to seventeen (17) years of reclusion temporal in its medium period, as maximum. With regard to the rest of the appellants, the statutory penalty as provided above should be imposed. Therefore, trial court erred in merely imposing “two (2) reclusiones perpetua”.
