People Vs Campos
People Vs Campos
Campos
G.R. No. 111535 July 19, 2001
Facts:
That on or about the 17th day of August 1989, in Kalookan City, Metro-Manila and
within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, conspiring
together and mutually helping one another, with intent to gain and by means of force,
violence and intimidation employed on the person of one MERCELINA ALFARO DE
JACOBE, did then and there, willfully, unlawfully and feloniously take, rob and carry
away cash money amounting to P10,000.00 belonging to said complainant, to the damage
and prejudice of the latter in the aforestated amount of P10,000.00; that on the occasion
of the said robbery and for the purpose of enabling them to take, rob and carry away the
said amount of P10,000.00, the herein accused in pursuance of their conspiracy did then
and there willfully, unlawfully and feloniously with intent to kill the victim, attack and
stab on the different vital parts of the body, thereby inflicting upon said MERCELINA
ALFARO DE JACOBE, serious physical injuries, which directly caused her death; and
also with deliberate intent to kill, did then and there willfully, unlawfully and feloniously
attack, assault and stab with a bladed instrument on the vital parts of the body one
FELICIDAD ALFARO y CRUZ, thus, performing all the acts of execution which would
have produced the crime of Homicide as a consequence, but which nevertheless did not
produce it by reason of causes independent of the will of the herein accused, that is due to
the timely, able and efficient medical attendance rendered the victim at the Quezon City
General Hospital, which prevented the victim's death.
The case is an appeal from the decision of the Regional Trial Court, Caloocan City,
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Branch 124, convicting Alejandro Campos y Armado and Renato dela Cruz y Borac of
robbery with homicide with frustrated homicide, and sentencing each of them to
reclusion perpetua and to indemnify jointly and severally Felipa Jacobe in the amount of
P30,000.00 for burial expenses of Mercelina Alfaro Jacobe, the amount of P60,000.00 for
hospital expenses of Felicidad Alfaro, and the amount of P10,000.00 representing the
amount stolen from the victims, and to pay the costs.
Issue:
The trial court erred in convicting him because his participation in the crime was not
clearly established.
II
The prosecution witness failed to see anyone taking the contents of the bag containing the
store earnings.
III
The prosecution also failed to prove conspiracy between the two accused in the stabbing
incident.
Ruling:
In order to be convicted of robbery with homicide, four (4) elements are necessary: (a)
the taking of personal property with the use of violence or intimidation against the
person; (b) the property taken belongs to another; (c) the taking is characterized by intent
to gain or animus lucrandi; and, (d) on the occasion of the robbery or by reason thereof
the crime of homicide was committed
We find insufficient evidence to show that accused-appellant dela Cruz was guilty of the
first three elements of robbery with homicide. In robbery with homicide cases, the
robbery itself must be proved as conclusively as any other essential element of the crime.
Robbery is the taking of personal property belonging to another, with intent to gain, by
means of violence against or intimidation of any person or by using force upon things. In
this case, all that the witness Felicidad saw that night was the stabbing of her sister, not
the taking of personal property. The taking cannot be assumed from the actions of
accused-appellant as seen by Felicidad. She saw him at the doorway and then noticed him
running out the store after the stabbing occurred. Felicidad claimed that the bag
purportedly containing money was recovered empty the next day. However, it was
undisputed that various persons had entered the store of the victims after the incident,
including investigators and onlookers. The bag was not conclusively shown to contain
money nor was the money ever recovered. Further, there was no substantial link from the
loss of the contents of the bag to the accused, for the money was never seen in the
possession of the accused.
Conspiracy exists when two or more persons come to an agreement concerning the
commission of a felony and decide to commit it. Direct proof is not essential to prove
conspiracy; however, the evidence to prove the same must be positive and convincing.
Similar to the physical act constituting the crime itself, the conspiracy must be proven
beyond reasonable doubt. It must be founded on facts, not on mere surmises or
conjectures.
In this case, there was no clear indication of the existence of conspiracy. First,
eyewitness' identification of accused-appellant at the scene of the crime was not clear.
Although the witness was familiar with the accused-appellant, the lack of lighting in the
store at the time left doubt as to her proper identification of accused-appellant, who was
several meters away from her. Second, Felicidad merely stated that she saw him standing
by the door of the store. Mere presence at the scene of the crime is insufficient to prove
conspiracy. A conspirator must perform an overt act in furtherance of the plan to commit
a felony; mere presence at the scene of the incident, knowledge of the plan or
acquiescence thereto are not sufficient grounds to hold a person liable as a conspirator.
Mere presence, knowledge, acquiescence to or agreement to cooperate, is not enough to
constitute one as a party to a conspiracy, absent any active participation in the
commission of the crime, with a view to the furtherance of the common design and
purpose.
WHEREFORE, the Court REVERSES the decision of the Regional Trial Court,
Caloocan City, Branch 124, convicting accused-appellant Renato dela Cruz y Borac of
robbery with homicide. Accused-appellant Renato dela Cruz is hereby ACQUITTED on
reasonable doubt and is ordered released immediately from confinement unless he is held
for another case.
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