G.R. No.
L-32126, July 6, 1978
The People of the Philippines, plaintiff-appellee,
vs.
Nemesio Talingdan, Magellan Tobias, Augusto Berras, Pedro Bides and Teresa Domogma, accused-
appelants
Per curiam,
Appeal from the conviction for the crime of murder and the sentence of life imprisonment, with
indemnity to the offended party, of all the accused the namely, Nemesio Talingdan, Magellan Tobias,
Augusta Berras, Pedro Bides and Teresa Domogma, the last being the supposed wife of the deceased
FACTS:
On the night of June 24, 1967, he and appellant Teresa Domogma and their children, arrived together
in their house at Sobosob, Salapadan, Abra, some 100 meters distant from the municipal building of
the place. For sometime, however, their relationship had been strained and beset with troubles, for
Teresa had deserted their family home a couple of times.
On two (2) different occasions, appellant Nemesis Talingdan had visited Teresa in their house while
Bernardo was out at work. Somehow, Bernardo had gotten wind that illicit relationship was going on
between Talingdan and Teresa.
Two (2) days before he was gunned down, Bernardo and Teresa had a violent quarrel; Bernardo
slapped Teresa several times; the latter sought the help of the police, and shortly thereafter, accused
Talingdan came to the vicinity of Bernardo's house and called him to come down; but Bernardo
ignored him, for accused Talingdan was a policeman at the time and was armed, so the latter left the
place, but not without warning Bernardo that someday he would kill him.
Between 10:00 and 11:00 o'clock the following Friday morning, Bernardo's daughter, Corazon, who
was then in a creek to wash clothes saw her mother, Teresa, meeting with Talingdan and their co-
appellants Magellan Tobias, Augusto Berras and Pedro Bides in a small hut owned by Bernardo, as
she approached them, she heard one of them say "Could he elude a bullet"; and when accused Teresa
Domogma noticed the presence of her daughter, she shoved her away saying "You tell your father that
we will kill him".
Shortly after the sun had set on the following day, a Saturday, June 24, 1967, while Corazon was
cooking food for supper in the kitchen of their house, saw her mother conversing in subdued tones as
they were barely 3-4 meters from the place where the child was. She was able to recognize all of them
through the light coming from the lamp in the kitchen through the open "batalan" and she knows them
well for they are all residents of Sobosob.
As supper was then ready, the child caged her parents to eat. Since the two were busy, Corazon ate
supper alone, and as soon as she was through she again called her parents to eat. This time, she
informed her father about the presence of persons downstairs, but Bernardo paid no heed to what she
said. He proceeded to the kitchen and sat himself on the floor near the door. Corazon stayed nearby
watching him.
At that moment, he was suddenly fired upon from below the stairs of the "batalan". The four accused
then climbed the stairs of the "batalan" carrying their long guns and seeing that Bernardo was still
alive, Talingdan and Tobias fired at him again. Bides and Berras did not fire their guns at that precise
time, but when Corazon tried to call for help Bides warned her, saying "You call for help and I will
kill you", so she kept silent. The assailants then fled from the scene, going towards the east.
Teresa came out of her "silid" later; she pulled Corazon aside and questioned her, and when Corazon
informed her that she recognized the killers of her father to be her co-appellants herein, she warned her
not to reveal the matter to anyone, threatening to kill her if she ever did so.
ISSUE:
Whether or not Teresa Domogma was rightly convicted as an accessory to the crime.
RULING:
Yes. Teresa Domogma was rightly convicted as an accessory to the crime.
It is contended that there is no evidence proving that she actually joined in the conspiracy to kill her
husband because there is no showing of “actual cooperation" on her part with her co-appellants in their
culpable acts that led to his death. True it is that the proof of her direct participation in the conspiracy
is not beyond reasonable doubt, for which reason, sue cannot have the same liability as her co-
appellants. But this is not saying that she is entirely free from criminal liability. There is in the record
morally convincing proof that she is at the very least an accessory to the offense committed by her co-
accused. She was inside the room when her husband was shot. As she came out after the shooting, she
inquired from Corazon if she was able to recognize the assailants of her father. When Corazon
Identified appellants Talingdan, Tobias, Berras and Bides as the culprits, Teresa did not only enjoin
her daughter not to reveal what she knew to anyone, she went to the extent of warning her, "Don't tell
it to anyone. I will kill you if you tell this to somebody." Later, when the peace officers who repaired
to their house to investigate what happened, instead of helping them with the information given to her
by Corazon, she claimed she had no suspects in mind. In other words, whereas, before the actual
shooting of her husband, she was more or less passive in her attitude regarding her co-appellants'
conspiracy, known to her, to do away with him, after Bernardo was killed, she became active in her
cooperation with them. These subsequent acts of her constitute "concealing or assisting in the
escape of the principal in the crime" which makes her liable as an accessory after the fact under
paragraph 3 of Article 19 of the Revised Penal Code.
WHEREFORE, with the above finding of guilt beyond reasonable doubt of the appellants Nemesio
Talingdan, Magellan Tobias, Augusto Berras and Pedro Bides of the crime of murder with two
aggravating circumstances, without any mitigating circumstance to offset them, they are each hereby
sentenced to DEATH to be executed in accordance with law. Guilty beyond reasonable doubt as
accessory to the same murder, appellant Teresa Domogma is hereby sentenced to suffer the
indeterminate penalty of five (5) years of prision correccional as minimum to eight (8) years
of prision mayor as maximum, with the accessory penalties of the law. In all other respects, the
judgment of the trial court is affirmed, with costs against appellants .
