G.R. No.

119380 August 19, 1999

PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee,

vs.

FEDERICO LOPEZ @ AMBOY LOPEZ, accused-appellant.

Facts:

(A) At 6:00 in the evening, Mario Seldera, Rogelio Seldera and Rodolfo Padapat were hired to
bundle palay stalks. They worked until 9:00 pm when they started going home alongside Banila
river.
(B) As the trail is about two feet wide, the three walked single file. Approaching the sloping portion
in the trail, the accused-appelant appeard armed with a shotgun with a companion who was
unarmed.
(C) The accused-appelant fired at the three, killing two of the victims leaving the youngest, Mario
alive with a wound in the back.
(D) As soon as the accused-appelant left, Mario stoop up and went to his uncle’s house where his
Mother was fetched and told about what happened.
(E) The three reported the incident to the Barangay Captian who accompanied them to the Polic in
Umingan Pangasinan
(F) The accused-appelant presented an alibi and through cross-examination of said alibi and
testimonies, the court declared the accused-appelant guilty of the Crime of Double Murder with
Frustrated murder beyond reasonable doubt.

The Case is that the accused-appelant contends the decision made by the trial court.

Issue:

Whether or not Appelant is guilty of the crimes accused.

Ruling:

Yes. The alibi of the accused was proved to be inconsistent, and the circumstances concerning the crime,
i.e. moonlight and the distance it would have taken the accused to take to commit said crime, were all
proven/disproven respectively through precedents from other cases and eyewitness/witness accounts.

In relation to the offenses charged, the court did charge more than one offense to the accused. The trial
court found the accused-appelant guilty of Double Murder with Frustrated Murder," but sentences him
for two separate counts of murder and one count of frustrated homicide. The Court held that the
accused-appelant was guilty of two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.

In respect to Mario Seldera, one of the victims, the crime was not frustrated but attempted. Seeing as
the injuries sustained was not life threatning, as certified by Dr. Santos who said his injuries would heal
in seven days and not confied in the hospital.

WHEREFORE, the decision of the Regional Trial Court of Pangasinan (Branch 52) is AFFIRMED with the
following modifications:
1. For the death of Rogelio Seldera, accused-appellant is found guilty of murder and is sentenced to
reclusion perpetua and to pay the heirs of the deceased Rogelio Seldera the amount of P50,000.00 as
indemnity, P50,000.00 as moral damages, P5,000.00 as temperate damages, and P160,355.00 as
unearned income.

2. For the death of Rodolfo Padapat, accused-appellant is found guilty of murder and is sentenced to
reclusion perpetua and to pay the heirs of the deceased Rodolfo Padapat the amounts of P50,000.00 as
civil indemnity, P50,000.00 as moral damages, P5,000.00 as temperate damages, and P91,675.00 as
unearned income.

3. For the injuries of Mario Seldera, accused-appellant is found guilty of attempted murder and is
sentenced to 4 years and 2 months of prision correccional, as minimum, to 10 years of prision mayor, as
maximum, and to pay Mario Seldera P200.00 as temperate damages.1âwphi1.nêt