PEOPLE
OF THE PHILIPPINES VS. NIEVES CONSTANCIO Y BACUNGAY, ERNESTO BERRY Y BACUNGAY
G.R. No. 206226 April 4, 2016
DEL CASTILLO, J.
FACTS:
On or about the 11th day of March 2001, the accused,
conspiring and confederating and all of them mutually helping and aiding one
another, by means of force and intimidation, did then and there willfully,
unlawfully and feloniously have carnal knowledge of "AAA" against her
will and consent. That on said occasion, all the above-named accused, did then
and there willfully, unlawfully and feloniously attack, assault and strangle
and gang up on her thereby inflicting upon the latter traumatic injuries which
caused her death.
The RTC of Parañaque City rendered its Decision
finding Constancio and Berry guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of
Rape with Homicide and sentenced them to suffer the penalty of reclusion
perpetua. As for Pagkalinawan, the RTC acquitted him of the crime for failure
of the prosecution to prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The RTC held
that the prosecution witnesses were not at all able to positively identify
Pagkalinawan as a participant in the crime, thus, he must be absolved of the
crime charged. The CA found that Constancio and Berry conspired to abduct,
rape, and kill "AAA." In an attempt to escape liability as a
co-conspirator, Berry argues that although he was present at the scene of the
crime, he was not at all privy to any plans to rape and kill "AAA."
ISSUE:
Whether Berry was a co-conspirator in the crime
charged.
RULING:
A closer examination of the prosecution's evidence
compels the conclusion that Berry was a co-conspirator in the rape and killing
"AAA." In People v. Foncardas, the Court held that: Conspiracy exists
when two or more persons come to an agreement to commit an unlawful act. There
is, however, no need to prove a previous agreement to commit the crime if by
their overt acts, it is clear that all the accused acted in concert in the
pursuit of their unlawful design. It may even be inferred from the conduct of
the accused before, during and after the commission of the crime.
In this case, while there was no direct proof of a
previous agreement to rape and kill "AAA," it was nonetheless clear
from Berry's conduct that he acted in concerted effort and was united in
intent, aim and purpose in executing the group's criminal design. This was
established by Adarna's testimony stating that he saw Berry throw the body of
"AAA" over a bridge and that he was in "AAA's" car the
night she was killed. By helping his cousin and co-accused Constahcio dispose
of the body of "AAA," Berry became 'a co-conspirator by direct
participation. It is immaterial that Berry was merely present at the scene of
the crime since it is settled that in conspiracy, the act of one is the act of
all. If it is true that Berry was not privy to the plan of raping and killing
"AAA," he should have prevented the same from happening or at the
very least, left the group and reported the crime to the authorities. Berry did
neither and he even helped Constancio dispose of "AAA's" body.
Clearly, Berry, by his overt acts, became a co-conspirator by directly
participating in the execution of the criminal design.
Art. 8. Conspiracy and proposal to commit felony –
Conspiracy
and proposal to commit felony are punishable only in the cases in which the law
specially provides a penalty therefor.
A
conspiracy exists when two or more persons come to an agreement concerning the
commission of a felony and decide to commit it.
Comments
Post a Comment