SECION 30, Case 3 confederating, mutually helping one another, with abuse of

superior strength and taking advantage of nighttime, did

G.R. No. 71980 March 18, 1991 then and there, wilfully, unlawfully, feloniously and with
lewd designs, forcibly took turns in having sexual
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, intercourse with Mercedes Dulay against her will, after
vs. which, and by reason of such rape accused with intent to
LEONARDO FLORES, ALEX KING CRUZ, SERVILLANO kill, did then and there, wilfully, unlawfully and feloniously
PARIAS and ERNESTO SARSOZA, defendants-appellants. strike and stab Mercedes Dulay on different parts of her
body inflicting mortal wounds which caused her death and,
The Solicitor General for plaintiff-appelle. thereafter, accused got a piece of ipil-ipil wood about 1 1/4
Francisco E. Antonio for defendants-appellants. centimeter in diameter and inserted it in her vaginal canal,
and on the occasion thereof accused with intent to gain, did
FERNAN, C.J.: then and there wilfully, unlawfully and feloniously take and
carry away a gold graduation ring valued at One Thousand
Quietly traversing the barrio road on her way home, unaware of (P1,000.00) Pesos, lady Seiko wrist watch valued at Eight
the danger that lurked in the night, the victim, a registered nurse, Hundred (P800.00) Pesos and cash money amounting to
did not have the slightest idea that she would fall into the abyss of One Hundred (100.00) Pesos all belonging to said Mercedes
death on that fateful night of September 21, 1984. She was Dulay, to the damage and prejudice of her heirs.
mercilessly raped and killed by four men.
That the commission of this offense was attended by the
The morning after, her naked body with a branch of ipil-ipil inserted aggravating circumstances of evident premeditation, use of
into her private part, was found lying prostrate with several hack superior strength, nighttime which was purposely sought by
and stab wounds. She was identified as Mercedes M. Dulay. the accused to facilitate and insure its commission and
circumstances brought about which added ignominy to the
Having received a report on the killing, the police at Manaoag, natural effects of the crime.
Pangasinan immediately went to the irrigation canal where the
body of Mercedes was found. A few hours later, Leonardo Flores Contrary to Article 335 of the Revised Penal Code as
was apprehended. He was taken to the Manaoag police station amended by Rep. Act No. 2632 & Rep. Act No. 4111. 1
where he was investigated. He revealed his companions in the
commission of the crime as Ernesto Sarsoza alias Ramon, Alex King At the arraignment, Alex King Cruz, Servillano Parias and Ernesto
Cruz alias Boy and Servillano Parinas alias Anong. The four were Sarsoza, assisted by counsel, pleaded not guilty to the charge.
later charged with rape with homicide and robbery in the Regional Leonardo Flores initially pleaded guilty but the court prudently
Trial Court at Lingayen, Pangasinan in an information which reads: deemed it wise to defer action on his plea to give him time to
engage the services of a counsel of his choice. The court forthwith
That on or about September 21, 1984, in the evening, in recorded a plea of not guilty for Leonardo Flores. 2
barangay Inamotan, municipality of Manaoag, province of
Pangasinan, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this On December 19, 1984, Leonardo Flores was rearraigned. He
Honorable Court, the above-named accused conspiring, reiterated his plea of guilty. Hence, the court admonished him once
more of the meaning, extent and effect of his plea. Since Flores Cruz insisted that they should kill her. Out of pity, Flores asked
insisted on entering a plea of guilty, the court ordered the them not to kill her but Parias retorted that they better kill her so
withdrawal of his recorded plea of not guilty and entered that of that she could not report the incident to the authorities. Sarsoza
guilty. The court, however, deferred its judgment until such time also believed that they should kill her.
when the prosecution had fully presented its evidence.3
Mercedes was lying down when Cruz tore her dress from neckline
Before the presentation of such evidence, Flores volunteered to to the hemline with a one-foot long bayonet and in the process also
testify for the government "to tell all the truth about the case." 4 tore her bra and half-slip. Flores was holding her hands while the
two others were holding her legs when Cruz ripped apart her panty
According to Flores the following transpired: also with his bayonet. 11 Cruz then lowered his pants and briefs to
his knees, went on top of Mercedes, mashed her breast and nipples
At about 6:00 o'clock in the evening of September 21, 1984, Flores and then "took her womanhood." Mercedes once more pleaded
was in the house of a friend named Jose Cacayan. He was with "Please get everything from me but please do not kill me." 12
Cruz, Parias and Sarsoza. They drank one bottle of White Castle.
They also had five sticks of marijuana and each one smoked a While Cruz was on top Mercedes, Flores was holding her hands,
stick. They passed around the fifth stick. 5 Parias her left leg and Sarzosa her right leg. After about a minute,
Parias took his turn in having sexual intercourse with Mercedes.
About an hour later, the group parted ways. Flores went home to Flores still held her hands while Cruz took Parias' place in holding
take his supper. All four of them, however, returned to the house of her left leg. About a minute later, Sarzosa took his turn in ravishing
Jose Cacayan at around 7:30 p.m. 6 Cruz told them to proceed to Mercedes while Parias grabbed and held her leg. Flores was the
the east to wait for Mercedes "to get her money, kill her and rape last to have intercourse with Mercedes while Sarsoza held her
her." The three of them agreed to Cruz's proposal and Sarsoza hands and the two others her legs. 13
even said, "I am going to rape and kill her." 7
Thereafter, Sarsoza stabbed her breast with his own bayonet as
The group proceeded to the Samiley irrigation site which was Mercedes begged, "Have mercy on me. Do not kill me." But Cruz
around fifty meters from the house of Cacayan. It took them five slashed her neck nonetheless and she was forever silenced. 14
minutes to reach the place. Along the way, Flores heard the three
remarked that "something (was) already wrong" with their minds. 8 Flores and Sarzosa dumped her in a canal about a meter away
from the road where they raped and killed her so that nobody
They waited for Mercedes for around thirty minutes in a forested could see her right away while Cruz and Parias watched. Sarsoza
area about five electric posts away from the national road. 9 As took a branch of a nearby ipil-ipil tree with his bolo, gave the 14-
proposed by the three, when Mercedes was some five meters from inch long branch to Flores and ordered him to insert it into the
them, Flores caught her by placing his left arm around her neck. vagina of Mercedes with a warning that should he fail to do so, he
Cruz pulled her dress by her neckline and Parias stuck her head would kill Flores. 15
twice with a stone. Sarsoza held her by her legs. Then they forced
her to lie down on the barrio road. Mercedes cried, "Take After accomplishing the dastardly act, Flores accidentally touched
everything you want (from) me but please do not kill me." 10 Mercedes' college ring with "Baguio General Hospital" engraved on
it. He got the ring which also bore Mercedes' name. From the
canal, Flores saw the shoulder bag of Mercedes, got it, took the Lacerated wound and hematoma, right posterior parietal
money amounting to one hundred pesos and threw away the bag in region of the head1 cm. in length
the nearby forested area. Cruz also took the wrist watch from
Mercedes' arm. Thereafter, they went their separate waysFlores Post auricular right side1 in. incised wound
proceeded to the east while the three went towards the west. 16
Left side of the neckzigzag, hacking wound, longest 4 in.
At home, Flores went to bed and awoke around 6:00 o'clock the shortest 3/4 in.
following morning. He took Mercedes' ring and erased her engraved
name on it. He went to the field to plant rice and stayed there until Anterior part of the neck, near the vocal chordstab
noontime when he went home for lunch. wound, 1 in. in width, depth 1 1/4 in.

In the afternoon, he changed clothes to go to town to watch a Stab wound on the chest right side2 inches above right
movie. On the way, he met motorcycle-riding policemen who nipple, 1 1/2 in width with 6 in depth
invited him for investigation. Having learned that the investigation
was about the crimes committed against Mercedes, Flores fled. The Lateral right part at the back posteriorly near the axila, 7
policemen fired a warning shot but still Flores ran thereby 1/4 in. deep, with 11 1/2 in. stab wound
attracting the barrio people who also pursued him. When they saw
him crawling on the ricefield, the people stoned Flores hitting him Right handincised wound between right thumb and index
on the left leg. As they mauled him, Flores revealed the identity of finger, 1 in. posterior, anterior 1/4 in.
his companions. 17 A police officer retrieved a blood-stained
bayonet from Flores' waist and Mercedes' graduation ring from his Hacking wound on index finger, right hand
pocket. 18
Hacking wound between index and middle finger
At the Manaoag police station, Flores executed a sworn statement.
Asked if he needed the assistance of counsel, Flores replied that Hacking wound on the center of middle finger
with or without counsel, he wanted to give a statement voluntarily
and freely. He declared in the statement that they were drinking 2 hacking wounds on the left right finger (center)
because it was his birthday, named Parias, Cruz and Sarsoza as
his companions, and related how they perpetrated the crime which hacking wound on palmnear the root of left small finger, 1
they had been planning for four days. 19 1/2 in. in length,

Meanwhile, pictures were taken of the body of Mercedes at the The examining physician also found, after an internal examination,
crime scene. 20 She was autopsied by the rural health unit that the "introitus" admitted 1 1/2 fingers easily, that there was
physician in Manaoag at 9:30 a.m. of September 22, 1984. about 3 cc. of clear fluid coming out of the vaginal opening and
The postmortem report reveals that Mercedes, who was 29 years that there were abrasions on the mucuosa of the vaginal canal. She
old when she died, sustained the following injuries: also indicated in the postmortem report that a piece of ipil-ipil
wood, 1 1/4 inches in diameter was found inserted in the victim's
vaginal canal. She attributed the cause of death to "massive
hemorrhage due to multiple stab wounds and hacking According to Emilio Dulay, in reporting for work, his daughter used
wounds. 21 The death certificate also shows that Mercedes died to walk a kilometer from their home to the irrigation site where she
between 8:00 and 9:00 p.m. of September 21, 1984. 22 would take a tricycle to Urdaneta. From there, Mercedes would
take a bus for Dagupan City. She usually goes home between 6:00
Upon the request of Carmen Molintas Dulay, the victim's and 8:00 o'clock in the evening. 34 He used to send someone to
mother, 23 the National Bureau of Investigation, through Dr. Arturo fetch her at the irrigation site but on that fateful night Mercedes
G. Llavore, performed another autopsy on the victim on September was alone. 35
30, 1984. Dr. Llavore indicated in Autopsy Report No. NO-84-33-P
that Mercedes died because of "hemorrhage, severe, secondary to Defendants Cruz, Sarsoza and Parias denied having anything to
multiple stabbed and hacked wounds." He also arrived at the do with the crimes. They interposed alibi as a defense and related
conclusion that the genital findings on the victim were "compatible in court that between 6:00 and 7:30 o'clock in the evening of
with sexual intercourse with man and consistent with alleged date September 21, 1984, the three of them, together with Flores, Jose
of commission. 24 He also presented in court photographs of the Cacayan and five other persons were drinking Tanduay Rhum near
victim taken during the autopsy. 25 the irrigation canal opposite the house of Cacayan it being the
birthday of Flores. 36 At around 7:15 p.m. their companions,
Carolyn Custodio, a supervising chemist at the NBI, testified that Wilfredo Lacambra, Alfonso Cruz and Salvador Sarsoza left for
the tests for blood on the bayonet yielded negative results but she home. Fifteen minutes later, the rest of the group broke upFlores
found human blood belonging to group B on the panty 26 She found went east heading for his residence at barangay Lelemaan while
no spermatozoa and seminal stains on the ipil-ipil branch 27 but a Jose Cacayan, Bernabe Cacayan, Henry Sarsoza, Cruz, Sarsoza and
comparative examination of the head and pubic hair specimens Parias went west. 37
taken from the crime scene revealed that there were not similar as
they varied in color, length, presence of medulla tips, diameter, Sarsoza went home to have supper. Immediately thereafter, he
medullary index and hair characteristics. 28 Custodio concluded that went to the house of his uncle Maximo Sarsoza to watch the
the hair samples belonged to several persons.29 television program "Bagong Kampeon." He joined therein Cruz and
Parias. When the program was over, Sarsoza, Cruz and Parias
Emilio Dulay, the victim's father, testified that Mercedes was a transferred to the house of Ernesto Uy for another television
registered nurse who worked at the Villaflor Clinic in Dagupan City. program, "Beast Master." They watched the program through a
Her monthly earnings therein consisted of P1,000 as salary and wide window of the Uy residence together with Brigida Sabado and
P500 as assistant's fee. 30 She shared one-half of her earnings with her son, Dante. Before the program was over, Sarsoza and Dante
the family. For her 13-day wake, the family spent P400 for food. Sabado left for home to sleep while Cruz, Parias and Brigida
They also spent P10,000 for the coffin and funeral services 31 and a stayed to finish the show at around 10:30 p.m. Thereafter, they all
total of P300 for the traditional commemoration of the 9th and went home. 38
40th day from her death. 32 While Mercedes was lying in state, the
family received a telegram dated September 24, 1984 addressed to In its 62-page decision of July 30, 1985, the lower court 39 held
her directing her to report for a final interview for a job at the King that Flores' detailed recital of facts at the trial together with his
Fahd Armed Forces Hospital at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. 33 extrajudicial confession pointed to no other conclusion than that
the four accused "carried their plot to rape, kill and rob the victim
in concert and pursuant to their previous agreement. 40 It
appreciated the aggravating circumstances of evident the amount of P11,250.00 representing the expenses for
premeditation, treachery, nighttime, uninhabited place, abuse of coffin, funeral, church, burial, 11-day vigil, 9th day prayer,
superior strength and ignominy. It noted "other wrongs committed" 40th day death celebration including operating room and
which were not necessary for the commission of the crimes like the Doctor's assistance fees'; the fair and reasonable value of
insertion of the ipil-ipil branch on the victim's vagina, the fact that the lady seiko wrist watch (P800.00); and cash money of
the accused acted under the influence of dangerous drugs and the P100.00 taken from the bag of the victim. The amount of
asportation of Mercedes' belongings after she had been raped and P1,000.00 is excluded from the actual damage claimed
killed. since the gold graduation ring was recovered.

Taking into consideration however, the provision of Article 63 of the The Court further directs all the accused, jointly and
Revised Penal Code that "in all cases in which the law prescribes a severally, to pay the heirs of the victim Mercedes Dulay in
single indivisible penalty, it shall be applied by the courts the amount of P612,000.00 pursuant to the legal formula:
regardless of any mitigating circumstances that may have attended 2/3 (80-29) equals 51 years, the normal life expectancy of
the commission of the deed;" the provision of Article 335 of the victim at the age of 29. Hence, 2/3 of 51 is 34 years x
same Code which imposes the death penalty when by reason or on P18,000.00 yearly salary of victim gives a total loss of
the occasion of the rape, a homicide is committed, and the fact earning capacity in the amount of P612,000.00, without
that conspiracy had been established beyond reasonable doubt, the subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency (People vs.
lower court imposed four death penalties on each of the four Daniel, L-66551, 25 April 1985, Gutierrez, J.)
accused. The dispositive portion of the decision states:
Let the records of this case be forwarded to the Honorable
WHEREFORE, judgment is hereby rendered finding all the Supreme Court for automatic review. All the accused who
accused Leonardo Flores alias "Leony", Alex King are presently under detention in the Provincial Jail of
Cruz alias "Boy", Servillano Parias alias "Anong" and Lingayen, Pangasinan, are immediately ordered to be
Ernesto Sarsoza alias "Ramon" guilty beyond reasonable transferred to the National Penitentiary and shall, in the
doubt, of the special complex crime of MULTIPLE RAPE WITH meantime, remain in confinement thereat pending review
HOMICIDE, on four (4) counts and as consequence thereof, by the Supreme Court. They should remain in the National
each of them is hereby sentenced to suffer four (4) death Penitentiary until further order from this Court.
penalties in view of the existence of conspiracy among the
accused and the nature and number of crimes committed Regarding the recommendation of the Provincial Fiscal in his
without appreciating the presence of aggravating manifestation dated July 10, 1985 to the effect that accused
circumstances, by electrocution, in the manner prescribed Leonardo Flores be extended commutation of the death
by law, with the accessories of the law, and each to pay penalty imposed upon him to life imprisonment (reclusion
one-fourth (1/4) of the costs. They should, jointly and perpetua) premised on the ground that said accused did not
severally, pay the heirs of the victim, Mercedes Dulay, the only enter a voluntary plea of guilty but also voluntarily
amount of P30,000 by way of indemnification and the testified against his co-accused in favor of the state to the
amount of Pl20,000.00 by way of moral damage pursuant to extent of incriminating himself and finding the same
the provisions of Article 2219 of the New Civil Code without founded on legal and meritorious grounds, this Court has
subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency and to pay deemed it wise to indorse said recommendation for the
 consideration by the Honorable members of the Supreme far as possible on others rather than on himself. 48 On the
Court, subject of course, upon the outcome of the automatic other hand, confessions, both extrajudicial and judicial,
review. cannot be taken lightly as they are usually not self-serving
declarations but admissions against interest. 49
SO ORDERED.
Thus, extreme caution should be exercised by the courts in
The case was thus elevated to this Court for automatic review. dealing with the confession of an accused which implicates
During its pendency, the 1987 Constitution took effect. In view of his co-defendants. A distinction, however, should be made
the abolition of the death penalty and the consequent elimination between extrajudicial and judicial confessions. The former
of automatic review by the Court of decisions imposing the death deprives the other accused of the opportunity to cross-
penalty, we required the appellants to file a personally signed examine the confessant while in the latter, his confession is
written statement, with the assistance of counsel or in the thrown wide open for cross-examination and rebuttal.
presence of prison authorities, on whether they wished to continue In People vs. Encipido, 50 the Court held:
with the appeal. 41
The general rule that the confession of an accused
Leonardo Flores informed the Court that he was willing to may be given in evidence against him but that it is
accept reclusion perpetua as his penalty. 42 In compliance with the not competent evidence against his co-accused,
Court's order, his counsel de oficio 43 conferred with Flores and admits of exceptions. Thus, this Court has held that
confirmed his voluntary withdrawal of appeal. 44 Accordingly, the where several accused are tried together for the same
Court resolved to dismiss the appeal of Flores 45 and entry of complaint, the testimony lawfully given by one during
judgment was made on June 15, 1989. 46 the trial implicating the others is competent evidence
against the latter (People vs. Gumaling, 61 Phil. 165
On the other hand, appellants Cruz, Parias and Sarsoza, in the [1935]; U.S. vs. Macamay, 36 Phil. 893 [1917];
presence of prison authorities, expressed their desire to pursue People vs. Borromeo, 60 Phil. 691 [1934]).'The
their appeal. 47 In their brief, said appellants contend that the lower extrajudicial admission or confession of a co-
court erred in: (a) basing its decision of conviction solely on the conspirator out of court is different from the
confession of Flores; (b) attributing conspiracy in the commission testimony given by a co-accused during trial. The first
of the crime; (c) disbelieving their testimonies which were is admissible against the declarant alone, but the
corroborated by other witnesses, and (d) convicting them "inspite second is perfectly admissible against his co-accused'
of clear and convincing evidence" that Flores was "the only one (People vs. Mabassa, 65 Phil. 538 [1938]) who had
guilty of the crime." the right and opportunity to cross-examine the
declarant.
Appellants' principal objection to the judgment of conviction
is that it is based primarily on the confession of their co- In this case, the extrajudicial confession of Flores is
defendant, Flores, who was the prosecution's sole inadmissible because he was not assisted by
eyewitness to the crimes. Their apprehension is counsel. 51Moreover, his extrajudicial confession may not
understandable because, as is usual with human nature, a even be accorded probative value in view of his admission
culprit who confesses to a crime is likely to put the blame as
of the crime in open court. 52 That being the case, only his In this connection, the Court notes that the manner by which the
judicial confession should be weighed and considered. crimes were committed rules out the probability that they were
perpetrated by one person. Flores, who, like his co-accused, was in
We hold that inspite of minor inaccuracies like the number his early twenties when the incident happened, could not have
of persons who participated in the drinking party prior to committed by himself the atrocities on the person of the hapless
the commission of the crime, Flores' testimonial confession, victim without the assistance of other persons. The same
although uncorroborated, suffices to support the conviction conclusion may be arrived at even in the absence of the physical
of the herein appellants because it is positive and evidence consisting of the different kinds of human hair found on
credible. 53 The matter of his credibility, which is basically the body of Mercedes. Indeed, only the pervert and, in this case,
addressed to the sound discretion of the lower court, has the drugged mind, could conceive of the heinousness done on the
been settled by its observation that Flores was "frank, victim.
candid and straightforward" on the witness stand. The court
noted, on the other hand, that the appellants herein were The defense of alibi cannot save the appellants from
"nervous, quivering and hesitant. 54 conviction. They have not established by clear and
convincing evidence that they were at some other place and
Conspiracy, which was established through the judicial for such a period of time as to negate their presence at the
confession of Flores, has been proven beyond reasonable time when and the place where the crimes were
doubt. It should be remembered that the rule that the committed. 59 It was not physically impossible for them to have
statement of a conspirator relating to the conspiracy is not gone to the Samiley irrigation area at the time of the commission
admissible in evidence unless the conspiracy is first shown of the crime because it was a mere 500 meters away from the
by other independent evidence, applies only to an admission in house of Ernesto Uy where they were allegedly watching a
an extrajudicial confession or declaration. It does not apply to a television show. 60 The house of Maximo Sarsoza where they
testimony given directly in court where the defendants have the watched an earlier television show was only 25 meters from
opportunity to cross-examine the declarant.55 Provided it is sincere Ernesto Uy's house. 61 It therefore does not defy one's imagination
in itself, given unhesitatingly and in a straightforward manner, and to believe that the appellants were at the scene of the crimes when
full of details which by their nature could not have been the result they occurred. As to the matter of time, the lower court aptly
of deliberate afterthought, the testimony of a co-conspirator, even observed that as furnished by the appellants, time was based on
if uncorroborated, is sufficient.56 calculations and hence, unreliable.

Furthermore, the manner by which the appellants acted in The appellants attempted to solidify their defense by presenting
concert pursuant to the same objective indicates a corroborative witnesses on their whereabouts. Unfortunately,
conspiracy among them. 57 They performed specific acts in however, said witnesses were all related to the appellants: Maximo
the commission of the crime with such closeness and Sarsoza is the second cousin of appellant Sarsoza's
coordination that would indicate a common purpose and father; 62 Brigida Sabado is an aunt of all three appellants; 63 Dante
design. 58 Thus, while Flores grabbed Mercedes by her neck, two Sabado, Brigida's son, is a cousin of the appellants, 64 and Leoncio
others held her limbs while another tore her garments with a King Cruz is the brother of appellant Cruz. 65 Although the
bayonet. The same manner of cooperation was demonstrated when appellants claimed that there were several other persons who saw
they took turns in raping her. them watch the television shows, no one of these alleged viewers
was presented in court to shore up the apparently biased For the rape with homicide, the lower court correctly imposed the
testimonies of the appellants' relatives. The defense of alibi may single indivisible penalty of death, which, under Article 63 of the
not prosper if it is established mainly by the accused themselves Revised Penal Code, may be imposed regardless of any mitigating
and their relatives and not by credible persons. 66 or aggravating circumstances which may have attended the
commission of the crime. However, by reason of the constitutional
The lower court correctly considered the crime committed in prohibition on the imposition of the death penalty, instead of four
this case as the special complex crime of rape with death penalties, the appellants shall suffer four penalties
homicide.1wphi1 The information, which is captioned "rape of reclusion perpetua. The four penalties for each of the appellants
with homicide and robbery" and which alleges the elements is ordained by the fact that conspiracy has been established
of said crimes, charges the accused of having violated beyond reasonable doubt. 68
specifically the last paragraph of Article 335 of the Revised
Penal Code as amended by Republic Act Nos. 2632 and For the theft of Mercedes' belongings, the total value of the wrist
4111. It should be noted that the defense did not object to watch (P800) and the money (P100) determines the penalty
the information inspite of its imperfection. imposable on the appellants the ring having been recovered. Under
Article 309(3) of the Revised Penal Code, the penalty should
The evidence presented and proved at the trial point to the be prision correccional in its minimum and medium periods. Taking
fact that although robbery was also charged against the into account that no mitigating or aggravating circumstances have
accused, the manner by which the crimes were committed been proven, the penalty should be the medium period of said
shows that the appellants were primordially impelled by an penalty. Applying the Indeterminate Sentence Law 69 appellants
intent to commit a crime against chastity rather than should be meted the indeterminate penalty of four (4) months and
against property. Thus, while Flores testified that Cruz one (1) day of arresto mayor maximum to two (2) years and ten
broached the plan "to get (Mercedes') money, kill her and (10) months of prision correccional medium.
rape her," evidence on the actual execution of the crime
reveal that all thoughts of depriving Mercedes of her The prosecution evidence on the expected income of Mercedes had
valuables were relegated to the background when the her life not been snuffed out needlessly by the appellants as well as
appellants' prurient desires surfaced and were satisfied. the expenses appertaining to her wake and funeral not having been
rebutted by the defense, the Court upholds the lower court's order
Hence, the accused did not take any interest on Mercedes' that appellants should pay them.
belongings notwithstanding her pleas for the appellants to take
them in exchange for her life. They persisted in satisfying their lust WHEREFORE, the decision of the lower court is hereby
and even helped each other in their bestial acts. If not for affirmed subject to the modifications that four penalties
the accidental touching of Mercedes' ring , the accused's intent to of reclusion perpetua instead of four death penalties shall
rob would have been totally forgotten as the culprits had dumped be imposed on appellants Alex King Cruz, Servillano Parias
her body to hide their crime from immediate discovery. Indeed, the and Ernesto Sarsoza for the crime of rape with homicide,
taking of Mercedes' ring, watch and money turned out to be and, in addition thereto, they shall suffer the indeterminate
afterthought. The force employed on her having no bearing on such penalty of four (4) months and one (1) day of arresto
illegal taking, the crime committed is the separate one of theft. 67 mayor maximum as minimum to two (2) years and ten (10)
months of prision correccional medium as maximum. Instead
of the P30,000 imposed on appellants as indemnity to the heirs of SO ORDERED.
Mercedes Dulay, they shall pay jointly and severally the amount of
P50,000. These penalties shall be served in accordance with the
provisions of the Revised Penal Code.