Applicable Aggravating Circumstance:

Article 14, Paragraph 6 - The crime be committed in

the nighttime or in an uninhabited place, or by a
band, whenever such circumstances may facilitate
the commission of the offense.
Keyword: Death o the !abandero
P"#P!" $% &A"!'(# !')&A*D#
+%&% *#% 1,--.1
/acts: On December 11, 1996 On their way home, Edwin Labandero, his year old daughter !ileen, and
a relative, "ernando de los #antos, traversed a hilly portion of the trail leading to $arangay %uro& 'aisan
of the same town when they met (aelito Librando, Larry #urdillas and Eddie %urisima. Librando was in
the middle of in)uiring from Edwin the whereabouts of "ernando, when suddenly, without any warning,
Librando hit Edwin with a piece of wood. Eddie %urisima followed Librando by delivering another blow to
Edwin. Edwin ran but he was chased by Librando. The three men too& turns in hitting Edwin with pieces
of wood until he fell and died. *itness to all this was Edwin+s year old daughter !ileen, who had no
trouble identifying the offenders because of the torch that Edwin was carrying.
"ernando de los #antos, relative of Edwin Labandero, too& !ileen with him and ran to report the
incident to the $arangay ,aptain. -owever, instead of the $arangay ,aptain, he reported it to former
.agawad of the #anggunian, (osalina /iminea. ! witness to "ernando and !ileen+s report of the &illing to
/iminea was $arangay .agawad !lfredo Loar, who thereafter, accompanied "ernando de los #antos to the
$enedicto %olice #tation where he reportd to %olice Officer 0 #ereno Dencing that Edwin Labandero was
&illed by three men.
The following day, %O0 Dencing went to the scene of the crime and discovered Edwin Labandero+s
body lying prostate on the ground with a wooden pole of about 12 inches long on his nec&. The reported
cause of death of Edwin Labandero was ,erebral -emorrhage secondary to e3tensive brain laceration
secondary to open fracture at the occipito4parietal area, Left. Dr. 5eil %a6 5atu4el, the physician who
conducted the postmortem e3amination, testified that most of the in7uries inflicted on the deceased were
on the head and his death was due to the massive bleeding in the brain resulting in brain laceration. Dr.
5atu4el did not discount the possibility that the in7uries were inflicted by more than one person.
On "ebruary 02, 1998 an information for murder was filed against (aelito Librando, Eddie %urisima
and Larry #urdillas by 1st !sst. %rovincial %rosecutor Daniel '. 9illaflor before the (egional Trial ,ourt of
$acolod ,ity. 5o bail was recommended for the three accused. :pon arraignment, (aelito Librando,
Eddie %urisima and Larry #urdillas pleaded not guilty.
'ssues0&ulings:
A. ;s Librando and company guilty of murder<
1eld: =es, (aelito Librando, Larry #urdillas and Eddie %urisima guilty beyond reasonable doubt of
the crime of murder, sentencing them to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua and holding them
solidarily liable to pay the heirs of the deceased victim, Edwin Labandero, the sum of %>?,???.?? as death
indemnity, %11,???.?? as reimbursement of funeral e3penses and %091,???.?? as loss of the deceased+s
earning capacity is hereby !"";('ED with the'OD;";,!T;O5 that the compensation for the loss of
earning capacity of the said deceased is hereby increased to%6>9,990.>?.
)% ;s the determination of motive necessary in the ruling of murder against Librando and company<
1eld: 5o, due to the positive identification of !ileen Labandero, daughter of Edwin, of the suspects who
&illed her father.
&ationale: ;t is hornboo& &nowledge that crimes have been attributed to persons who appear to have no
reasons for committing them as long as they have been clearly identified as the offenders. 'otive gains
importance only when the identity of the culprit is suspect.
C. ;s !ileen Librando a competent witness at a tender age of <
1eld: =es, any child regardless of age can be competent witness if he can perceive and can ma&e &nown
his perceptions to others and that he is capable of relating truthfully facts for which he is e3amined. The
child+s competence as a witness are@ AaB capacity of observationC AbB capacity of recollectionC AcB capacity of
communication. The child+s lone testimony is sufficient to sustain a conviction.
;n this case, !ileen had no trouble identifying the three accused since her father, Edwin, was carrying a
lighted torch at the time he was assaulted. !lthough the torch fell to the ground when the deceased was
hit by the three accused, the torch continued to burn providing ade)uate illumination for the child to
identify her father+s assailants. !ileen, during the trial, was not only a picture of innocence and honesty
but was possessed with a strong power of observation and recall. *hen as&ed to identify the three A1B
accused, she pointed to each of the accused, identifying them by their nic&names, with nary a hesitation.
,learly, !ileen+s lone testimony is sufficient to sustain a conviction.
D% *ere there any mitigating circumstances present in favor of the accused<
1eld: =es, as illustrated in the following@
4On December 10, 1996, (aelito Librando voluntarily surrendered himself to the police who came loo&ing
for him at his father+s house while Eddie and Larry were invited for )uestioning at the police head)uarters.
4;nvo&ed incomplete self defense, but was not considered by the ,ourt as there was no unlawful
aggression on the part of Edwin Labandero. "urthermore, the severity of the in7uries inflicted on the
deceased as well as the fact that (aelito who admitted that he was of bigger built than the deceased,
could hardly present any evidence of in7uries allegedly inflicted on him by the deceased belie his claim of
self defense.
". *hat circumstances were considered aggravating in this case< *ere they considered individually
resulting in an increase of penalty of the offenders<
1eld: The aggravating circumstances of nighttime and uninhabited place were present in the case. ;t
has been held that if the aggravating circumstances of nighttime, uninhabited place or band concur in the
commission of the crime, all will constitute one aggravating circumstance only as a general rule although
they can be considered separately if their elements are distinctly perceived and can subsist independently,
revealing a greater degree of perversity.