Case Digest: RICARDO BACABAC v. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES 532 SCRA 557 (2007)

RICARDO BACABAC v. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES 532 SCRA 557 (2007)

Bacabac’s failure to assist the victims after the shooting reinforces this Court’s appreciation of community of design between him and his co-accused to harm the victims. Following a heated argument in a dance hall which resulted in a brawl, Jose Talanquines, Jr. (Jose), and Edzel Talanquines (Edzel), herein referred to as Talanquines brothers, proceeded to confront their enemies armed with guns. They were accompanied by Jonathan Bacabac, Pat. Ricardo Bacabac, and Jesus Delfin (Jesus). In the dance hall, they encountered Hernani Quidato and Eduardo Selibio. After a physical confrontation, The Talanquines brothers shot Quidato and Selibio. Quidato and Selibio later died from their wounds. The Talanquines brothers, together with Jonathan Bacabac, Pat. Ricardo Bacabac, and Jesus Delfin was charged and found guilty of the crime of Murder. Ricardo Bacabac (Bacabac) appealed his conviction, contending that he cannot be deemed to be in conspiracy with the other accused because he was not the one who pulled the trigger. He also alleged that even if he was convicted of Murder, in gratis argumenti, the correctness of the pronouncement of guilt should have been attended by the mitigating circumstance of immediate vindication of a grave offense, in the same manner as the other accused.

ISSUE:

Whether or not there is conspiracy among Jonathan Bacabac, Pat. Ricardo Bacabac, and Jesus Delfin in the murder of the victims.

HELD:

Bacabac‘s failure to assist the victims after the shooting reinforces this Court’s appreciation of community of design between him and his co-accused to harm the victims. What is decisive in treachery is that “the attack was executed in such a manner as to make it impossible for the victim to retaliate.” In the case at bar, petitioner, a policeman, and his co-accused were armed with two M-16 armalites and a revolver. The victim and his companions were not armed. The attack was sudden and unexpected, and the victim was already kneeling in surrender when he was shot the second time. Clearly, the victim and his companion Eduardo had no chance to defend themselves or retaliate. Conspiracy presupposes the existence of evident premeditation does not necessarily imply that the converse ─ that evident premeditation presupposes the existence of a conspiracy ─ is true. In any event, a link between conspiracy and evident premeditation is presumed only where the conspiracy is directly established and not where conspiracy is only implied, as in the present case.