PEOPLE v TIONGSON

Nov 28, 1946 | MAKALINTAL

Plaintiff: People of PH | Defendant: Julian
Tiongson, et al
TOPIC: Aggravating Circumstance
Means of Commission INSULT TO
PUBLIC AUTHORITY
FACTS
Defendants were charged for the murders
of brothers Rizalino Lopez and Mariano
Lopez, Jr
- Crimes were qualified by aggravating
circumstances of treachery, abuse of
superior strength, and that it had been
committed by a band
The Killing
The 2 victims, had a quarrel with Jesus Sayo,
nephew-in-law of their sister.
Because of rumors that the brothers were
planning to create trouble with the help of
Tondo gangsters, the sisters husband Atty
Marcelino Sayo sought protection from the
Philippine Army, of which he was a former
officer. The soldiers acted as security guards
at the Sayo residence.
Among them are 4 soldiers, herein
appellants:
Paulino Guieb
Wilson Alicante
Antonio Yacat
Pablo Antonio
On the night of the killing, the 4 were on
duty at the house. Around 730pm, the
brothers arrived, wanting to borrow money
for Rizalinos sick kid. Only Ramon proceeded
to the house, while Rizalino waited at the
corner street.
Ramon was allowed by the guard to enter. He
had a brief talk with his sister, who lent him
P3.
When he went back to where his brother was
waiting, he saw Rizalino being questioned
by Julian Tiongson, a civilian, who was also
a guard assigned by Atty. Sayo.
- Revolver in hand, Tiongson included
Ramon in the questioning.

Another brother, Mariano, Jr., had

followed, along with their cousin
Pacifico Arceo.

Another armed man named German was with

Tiongson, but he called out to the other
soldiers at the house. They herded the 4 to
the middle of the street in the direction of
the house.
Suddenly a shot was heard,
immediately followed by a continuous
volley.
- Rizalino and Mariano Jr died
- Ramon was able to hide behind the
fence of his sister's house
- Pacifica Arceo sought shelter in a
nearby alley
Ramon and Pacificos version
Tiongson pointed his .38 caliber revolver at
them then ordered them to march to the
middle of the street.
At the same time, Tiongson ordered German
to call Guieb. Tiongson then shouted "Alex",
presumably some kind of code word. One of
the soldiers approached Tiongson, had a
whispered conversation with him, left and
then came back.
At the moment the other soldiers had
already come out to the street. Tiongson
said, "sige, tirahin mo na," and fired the
first shot, followed by a continous
volley from German and four soldiers.
During the trial, Pacifico testified the number
of soldiers present, but could not identify
them individually.
Ramons testimony regarding the role of
soldiers is likewise inaccurate. Right after the
incident, he claimed only 2 soldiers
participated, but during trial, he incriminated
all 4.
Guieb and Alicantes version
Guieb and Alicante contend that they acted
in the erroneous belief that they were
being attacked and that they killed the
victims accidentally, without fault or
intention, while they were engaged in the
performance of a lawful act with due
care.

That night, while he and his companions

were standing guard at the Sayo residence,
he heard a commotion, followed by 2 shots,
so he ordered Alicante to take cover.
Guieb sought refuge beside a car parked in
front of the house. As the gunfire became
intense, he ordered Alicante to shoot
back. Both of them fired at their
supposed attackers, whom they could
discern only as figures in the dark.
Guieb and Alicante admit their participation,
but allege circumstances that should exempt
them from criminal liability
- There was no proof of conspiracy among
them
- The circumstances preceding the
shooting should have been considered by
the trial court
- They should not have been convicted of
the murders, qualified by treachery and
abuse of superior strength, and
aggravated by its having been committed
by a band
Yacat and Antonios version
Yacat and Antonio deny taking part in the
shooting, saying they were at the house
when it happened and that they never fired
their guns
o This was consistent with Ballistics
examination which showed they never
fired their guns
Investigation
The incident was reported to the Homicide
section of the Secret Service Division of
QCPD, headed by Detective Napoleon
Albano. A group of detectives rushed to the
scene, where they found the bullet-riddled
bodies of Rizalino and Mariano Jr sprawled in
the middle of Halcon street.
Mariano suffered 17 GSWs, 5 fatal. 5
slugs were recovered from his body
Rizalino suffered 18 GSWs, 3 fatal. 4
Slugs were recovered from his body
The soldiers firearms, cartridge cases, and
bullets found at the scene of the crime, as
well as the bullets extracted from the bodies
of the victims, were all submitted to the
Criminal Investigation Laboratory.
It was found that no bullets came from
Yacats weapon

No bullets from Antonios weapon

were submitted for examination

TC Ruling
TC relied on the testimony of Detective
Albano, who claimed all soldiers admitted to
participating in the shooting. SC, however,
found inconsistencies
1. Not one of the soldiers made a written
statement confirming the alleged
admission
2. Albano made no mention of the
alleged admission in his written report
submitted to the fiscal's office
3. The transcript shows that Albano did
not ask the soldiers individually if each
had participated in the shooting, but
simply addressed the question to them
as a group.

ISSUES/HELD/RATIO
1. W/N the soldiers presence at the Sayo
residence was in pursuance of a conspiracy
NO
They were there upon orders of a
superior officer and in the performance
of the assignment given to them.
However, the shooting itself was preceded by
circumstances which show that they acted
in unity.
When Tiongson shouted "Alex," Guieb and
Alicante came out and deployed in front
of the Sayo residence
When Tiongson said "sige, tirahin mo na"
and fired the 1st shot the soldiers
followed suit with a hail of bullets
Given that, Guieb and Alicantes version
is far from convincing. The situation could
not possibly have given Guieb and Alicante
cause to believe that they were being
attacked.
The clear evidence for the prosecution is
that Arceo and the 3 Lopez brothers were
not mere figures in the dark just
before the shooting.
Tiongson was herding them in the middle
of the street in plain view of Guieb and
Alicante.

They were unarmed, made no hostile

move at all and had their hands raised in
a gesture of helpless surrender.
No shots were fired other than with the
firearms mentioned heretofore.

2. W/N there are any aggravating or mitigating

circumstances present YES
The killings were attended by the qualifying
circumstance of treachery.
- The attack was sudden, free from any
danger that the victims might defend
themselves
- Abuse of superior strength was
absorbed in the circumstance of
treachery
Aggravating circumstance: offenses were
committed by a band

Committed by more than 3 armed

malefactors acting together
4 of the 6 guns recovered after the
shooting appear to have been fired by
Tiongson, Guieb and Alicante, and
German.

Mitigating circumstance: voluntary

surrender in favor Guieb and Alicante
- Gave themselves up to the Quezon
City police right after the incident
3. W/N Yacat and Antonio should be
acquitted YES
Given that no bullets were found to
have been fired from their weapons,
Yacat and Antonio are entitled to
exoneration on the basis, at least, of
reasonable doubt as to their guilt