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Monday, June 10, 2019, 2:18:54AM

In Defense of the Right to Life: International Law and Death Penalty in the Philippines

A study by the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines and Dr. Christopher Ward, SC, Australian Bar, Adjunct Professor, Australian National University

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People of the Philippines vs. Edgardo Dimaano
G.R. No. 168168, Supreme Court of the Philippines, September 14, 2005
People of the Philippines vs. Genaro Cayabyab y Fernandez.
G.R. No. 167147, Supreme Court of the Philippines, August 03, 2005
People of the Philippines vs. Angelito Martinez, et al.
G.R. No. 137519, Supreme Court of the Philippines, March 16, 2004
People of the Philippines vs. Elizabeth Castillo, et al.
G.R. No. 132895, Supreme Court of the Philippines, March 10, 2004
People of the Philippines vs. Paulino Sevilleno y Villanueva 
G.R. No. 152954, Supreme Court of the Philippines, March 10, 2004
People of the Philippines vs. Rogelio Sambrano y Tindero
G.R. No. 143708, Supreme Court of the Philippines, February 24, 2003
People of the Philippines vs. Jesus Perez y Sebunga
G.R. No. 142556, Supreme Court of the Philippines, February 05, 2003
People of the Philippines vs. Carlos Lilo
G.R. Nos. 140736-39, Supreme Court of the Philippines, February 04, 2003
 People of the Philippines vs. Doroteo Abaño
G.R. No. 142728, Supreme Court of the Philippines, January 23, 2002
 People of the Philippines vs. Salustiano Callos
G.R. No. 133478, Supreme Court of the Philippines, January 22, 2002
People of the Philippines vs. Ronald a.k.a "Roland" Garcia y Flores, et. al.
G.R. No. 133489 & G.R. No. 143970, Supreme Court of the Philippines, January 15, 2002
The People of the Philippines vs. Roderick Licayan, et al.
G.R. Nos. 140900 and 140911, Supreme Court of the Philippines, August 15, 2001
People of the Philippines, vs. Castro Geraban
G.R. No. 137048, Supreme Court of the Philippines, May 24, 2001
People of the Philippines, vs. Roberto Palabrica y Barcuma
G.R. No. 129285, Supreme Court of the Philippines, May 07, 2001
People of the Philippines, vs. Blesie Velasco
G.R. No. 135231-33, Supreme Court of the Philippines, February 28, 2001
People of the Philippines vs. Rodolfo Arizapa
G.R. No. 131814, Supreme Court of the Philippines, March 15, 2000
People of the Philippines vs. Henry Lagarto, et al.
G.R. Nos. 118828 & 119371, Supreme Court of the Philippines, February 29, 2000
 People of the Philippines vs. Liberato Mendiona, a.k.a. "Renato."
G.R. No. 129056, Supreme Court of the Philippines, February 21, 2000
People of the Philippines vs. Felimon Alipayo y Tejada, et al.
G.R. No. 122979, Supreme Court of the Philippines, February 02, 2000
People of the Philippines vs. Romeo Gallo y Igloso.
G.R. No. 124736, Supreme Court of the Philippines, September 29, 1999
 People of the Philippines vs. Pepito C. Tejero, et al.
G.R. No. 128892, Supreme Court of the Philippines, June 21, 1999
 People of the Philippines vs. Alfredo Alba
G.R. No. 131858, Supreme Court of the Philippines, April 14, 1999
People of the Phils. vs. Carlos Bation y Alamag
G.R. No. 123160, Supreme Court of the Philippines, March 25, 1999
People of the Philippines vs. Larry A. Mahinay
G.R. No. 122485, Supreme Court of the Philippines, February 01, 1999
People of the Philippines vs. Benedicto B. Ramos
G.R. No. 118570, Supreme Court of the Philippines, October 12, 1998
People of the Philippines vs. Eduardo M. Agbayani
G.R. No. 122770, Supreme Court of the Philippines, January 16, 1998
People of the Philippines vs. Pablito H. Andan
G.R. No. 116437, Supreme Court of the Philippines, March 03, 1997
People of the Philippines vs. Leo P. Echegaray
G.R. No. 117472, Supreme Court of the Philippines, June 25, 1996
The People of the Philippines vs. Lorenzo B. Veneracion, et al.
G.R. Nos. 119987-88, The Supreme Court of the Philippines, October 11, 1995
People of the Phil. vs. Wilfredo Rojas
GR Nos L-46960-62, Supreme Court of the Philippines, January 08, 1987
People of the Philippines vs. Felicito Tawat, et al.
GR No L-62871, Supreme Court of the Philippines, May 25, 1984
People of the Philippines vs. Faustino Martinez
GR No 64499, Supreme Court of the Philippines, March 06, 1984
People of the Philippines vs. Ponciano Lumague, Jr.
GR No L-53586, Supreme Court of the Philippines, January 30, 1982
People of the Philippines vs. Juanito Mabilangan
GR No L-48217, Supreme Court of the Philippines, January 30, 1982
People of the Philippines vs. Pablito Gida
G.R. No. L-41419, Supreme Court of the Philippines, January 19, 1981
People of the Philippines vs. Rodolfo Andaya
GR No L-48735, Supreme Court of the Philippines, January 19, 1981
The People of the Phils. vs. Gomez Saligan
GR No L-39712, Supreme Court of the Philippines, November 21, 1980
People of the Philippines vs. Eduardo Catindihan
G.R. No. L-32508 & L-42104, Supreme Court of the Philippines, April 28, 1980
People of the Philippines vs. Rudillo Lebumfacil
GR No L-32910, Supreme Court of the Philippines, March 28, 1980
People of the Philippines vs. Alfredo Celestino
GR No L-44363, Supreme Court of the Philippines, March 12, 1980
People of the Philippines vs. Paciano Nierra
GR No L-32624, Supreme Court of the Philippines, February 12, 1980
People of the Philippines vs. Luisito San Pedro
G.R. No. L-44274, Supreme Court of the Philippines, January 22, 1980
People of the Philippines vs. Benjamin Rodelas Retania
G.R. No. L-34841, Supreme Court of the Philippines, January 22, 1980
People of the Philippines vs. Darwin Veloso Y Militante
GR No L-33132, Supreme Court of the Philippines, August 06, 1979
People of the Philippines vs. Adelando Ramos
G.R. No. L-34355, Supreme Court of the Philippines, July 30, 1979
People of the Philippines vs. Porfirio Dumdum, Jr.
G.R. No. L-35279, Supreme Court of the Philippines, July 30, 1979
People of the Philippines vs. Jose Repato, et al.
G.R. No. L-23431, Supreme Court of the Philippines, July 20, 1979
People of the Philippines vs. Gilberto O. Llamoso, et al.
G.R. No. L-24866, Supreme Court of the Philippines, July 13, 1979
People of the Philippines vs. Dalmacio Sabenorio
G.R. No. L-26704, Supreme Court of the Philippines, June 29, 1979
People of the Philippines vs. Vedasto Moreno
G.R. No. L-37801, Supreme Court of the Philippines, October 23, 1978
People of the Philippines vs. Nemesio Talingdan
G.R. No. L-32126, Supreme Court of the Philippines, July 06, 1978
People of the Philippines vs. Avelino Roncal
G.R. No. L-26857, Supreme Court of the Philippines, October 21, 1977
People of the Philippines vs. Leopoldo Lunar, et al.
G.R. No. L-15579, Supreme Court of the Philippines, May 29, 1973
People of the Philippines vs. Julio Valera
G.R. No. L-34356, Supreme Court of the Philippines, May 31, 1971
People of the Philippines vs. Primitivo Pinca, et al.
G.R. No. L-16595 , February 28, 1962
The United States vs. Lope Zalsos
, September 12, 1919
The United States vs. Sarikala
, January 24, 1918
The United States vs. Li-Dao
, November 12, 1903

Jurisprudence

People of the Philippines vs. Nicolas Mojica Y Gira

March 31, 1964,

PER CURIAM:

Review of the judgment of the Court of First Instance of Rizal finding appellant Nicolas Mojica guilty of murder and sentencing him to death penalty, and the accessories.

Appellant Mojica and Primitivo Ala were charged in the said Court with having murdered prisoner Ruperto Artus y Garcia in Muntinlupa, Rizal, on the 24th day of March, 1959.

Primitivo Ala Pleaded guilty to the information and was consequently sentenced to death. This Court affirmed the sentence upon review in G. R. No. L-15633.

Mojica, on the other hand, did not plead guilty. So trial proceeding, after which he was found guilty as charged and sentenced to death.1äwphï1.ñët

As stated, this is a review of the judge's decision.

It appears that at about 4:00 o'clock in the afternoon of March 24, 1959, Gabriel Buclating, one of the leaders of the "OXO gang",1 was stabbed to death by certain members of the "Sigue-sigue gang"2 inside the New Bilibid Prisons at Muntinlupa, Rizal. To avenge the death of such leader, a member of the "sigue-sigue gang", a prisoner named Ruperto Artus, was stabbed to death two hours thereafter (at about 6:00 p.m.) in Cell No. 1 of Dormitory No. 3-C of the said prisons. Immediately after the stabbing of said Artus, Nicolas Mojica and Primitivo Ala, both prisoners and members of the "OXO gang" offered to surrender to the prison guard, Jose Magkalas. Before they were brought out of the cell, they were ordered by said Magkalas to throw out of the window of the cell, the weapons used in the killing, an ice-pick and a flat and pointed instrument. Both accused, upon coming out of the cell, had blood on their clothes and hands. At the time Mojica inside the cell, expressed willingness to surrender to the prison guard, he was holding in his hands, the flat and pointed instrument, Exh. "A". Both prisoners admitted having stabbed and killed the prisoner Artus. Benito Geronimo, the officer-in-charge of the security guards, took their confession in writing, and the same was subscribed and sworn to before the Assistant Director of Prisons. Another prison guard, Benjamin Aman, witnessed the investigation and the taking down of the confession.

In Mojica's confession, it is related that:

This afternoon at about 6:00 p.m., 24 March 1959, after having heard that one of our leaders in the OXO gang, GABRIEL BUCLATIN was stabbed to death by members of the Sige-Sige gang, I and prisoner PRIMITIVO ALA, decided to kill a tagalog prisoner inside our dormitory called RUPERTO ARTUS in revenge to the death of our leader.

Q. — How did you effect the killing of Ruperto Artus?

A. — While Artus was standing inside Cell No. 1 of Dormitory 3-C, I immediately stabbed him on the waist followed by my co-prisoner PRIMITIVO ALA with the use of an improvised weapon made out of steel drum.

Q. — How many times did you stab prisoner ARTUS?

A. — Four times, sir.

Q. — In what part of the person of ARTUS was hit?

A. — On the stomach and on his sides.

Q. — When did you decide to kill Artus?

A. — We decided to kill Artus immediately after the killing of Buclatin at about 4:15 p.m., 24 March 1959.

x x x           x x x           x x x

Q. — Why did you want to kill Artus, had you any altercation or misunderstanding with him?

A. — We had no ill-feeling against each other, I only want to revenge the killing of Mayor Abing meaning GABRIEL BUCLATIN.

x x x           x x x           x x x

Q. — Are you a member of the OXO gang?

A. — Yes, sir, I have a tattoo with number 11 as membership of the gang.

Q. — When did you join the OXO gang?

A. — In 1957, sir.

Q. — Do you have something more to say, add, or retract from this statement?

A. — No more, sir.

Q. — Are you willing to sign this statement?

A. — Yes, sir. (Exh. B).

x x x           x x x           x x x

During the trial, Mojica admitted being a member of the "OXO gang". He, however, denied the commission of the crime, claiming that he had signed the extrajudicial confession because he had been beaten by men in khaki pants whose identities he did not know. He further claimed that his surrender was, likewise, only forced upon him by leaders of the "OXO gang", namely Fortunato Birotiao, Cresencio de la Cruz, Francisco Brillantes and Rodolfo Ibañez; that these threatened him with death should he refuse to admit the killing. He explained that his hands had blood in them because his co-accused, Primitivo Ala smeared them with his (Ala's) bloody hands.

Upon review of the records, we find substantial evidence corroborating the extrajudicial confession of Mojica. The murder weapon he described in the extrajudicial confession was the very same weapon he was seen holding in his hands inside the prison cell by prison guard, Jose Magkalas, and the same weapon which appellant Mojica threw out of the cell window upon orders of the prison guard. In this extrajudicial confession, he admitted having stabbed the deceased on the sides and the stomach. The deceased was found to have suffered stab wounds on said parts. Moreover, those parts of appellant, Mojica's narration (in the extrajudicial confession) concerning the participation of his co-accused, Ala (aside from the fact that said co-accused confessed to the crime before the lower court and was thereby convicted), are also corroborated by the testimony of the prison guard, Jose Magkalas.

As to the voluntariness of the execution of the extrajudicial confession, there is no question that it had been voluntarily made. The statement was subscribed and sworn to before the Acting Assistant Director of Prisons before whom appellant could have complained had there really been any irregularity, or any violence used upon him. Furthermore, appellant could not identify the people who allegedly forced him to execute the admission. As to his surrender to the prison guard thru intimidation by the leaders of the "OXO GANG", his explanation is unconvincing. He could have sought protection from the prison authorities once he was out of the cell; he could have revealed to the same, the frame-up against him, and pleaded for separation from the vicious gang. The explanation relative to the blood in his hands contradicted the testimony of his co-accused Ala. While Mojica said that it was Ala who had placed blood on his hands, the latter (Ala) said that it was Fortunato Birotiao who placed blood on the hands of Mojica. The presence, though, of blood on Mojica's clothes was not at all explained.

The testimony of Primitivo Ala pointing to Fortunato Birotiao Jose Garcia, Rodolfo Ibañez and Francisco Brillantes as the perpetrators of the crime is completely inconsistent with his plea of guilty when he was arraigned for said crime in the lower court. When his judgment of conviction was brought before this Court en consulta in case G.R. No. L-15633,3 we found upon study of the case that he had adequate knowledge of the nature of the charge against him, of the meaning of his plea of guilt and of the consequence thereof. And we affirmed the judgment of conviction against him.

The element of conspiracy attended the commission of the instant crime. Both the extrajudicial confessions of appellant and of convict Primitivo Ala as well as the latter's judicial confession contain statements to the effect that they had agreed to kill the deceased Artus to avenge the death of a leader of the "OXO gang". The circumstance of evident premeditation attended the commission of the crime. There is ample evidence of how and why the crime was planned, sufficient time4 having been shown to intervene between its inception and execution. There is also treachery. Two men stabbing another forty times in vital parts or the body cannot but insure the death of the latter. Also, the attack on the victim was sudden. As Mojica has described in his extrajudicial confession, the victim was just standing inside the cell when appellant suddenly, stabbed him on the waist followed by his co-accused Primitivo Ala.

Considering that Primitivo Ala appellants co-accused, has been sentenced to die, (despite his judicial confession which is a mitigation), considering that the conspiracy has been shown, and considering that the crime was committed while the accused was serving sentence, the extreme penalty of death necessarily is in order.

The judgment en consulta is affirmed in all parts and respects.

Bengzon, C.J., Padilla, Bautista Angelo, Labrador, Concepcion, Reyes, J.B.L., Barrera, Paredes, Dizon, Regala and Makalintal, JJ., concur.

Footnotes

1The "OXO gang" is composed of prisoners from the Visayan provinces.

2The "Sigue-sigue gang" is composed of prisoners from Luzon.

3Decided August 31, 1960.

4From the death of a leader of the "OXO gang" at about 4:15 to about 6:00 p.m. of March 24, 1959, there is sufficient time to plan and reflect on the commission on the crime.



Jurisprudence index:

Jurisprudence

People of the Philippines vs. Edgardo Dimaano
September 14, 2005, G.R. No. 168168, Supreme Court of the Philippines
People of the Philippines vs. Genaro Cayabyab y Fernandez.
August 03, 2005, G.R. No. 167147, Supreme Court of the Philippines
People of the Philippines vs. Angelito Martinez, et al.
March 16, 2004, G.R. No. 137519, Supreme Court of the Philippines
People of the Philippines vs. Elizabeth Castillo, et al.
March 10, 2004, G.R. No. 132895, Supreme Court of the Philippines
People of the Philippines vs. Paulino Sevilleno y Villanueva 
March 10, 2004, G.R. No. 152954, Supreme Court of the Philippines
People of the Philippines vs. Rogelio Sambrano y Tindero
February 24, 2003, G.R. No. 143708, Supreme Court of the Philippines
People of the Philippines vs. Jesus Perez y Sebunga
February 05, 2003, G.R. No. 142556, Supreme Court of the Philippines
People of the Philippines vs. Carlos Lilo
February 04, 2003, G.R. Nos. 140736-39, Supreme Court of the Philippines
 People of the Philippines vs. Doroteo Abaño
January 23, 2002, G.R. No. 142728, Supreme Court of the Philippines
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