G.R. No. 79497 ; February 27, 1991
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. DAVID CINCO, et al., accused. DAVID CINCO, ROGELIO NUIZ, TEOFILO TUSCANO and FELICITO TUSCANO, accused-appellants.

FACTS

On the evening of April 14, 1985, the house of Marianito Minok in Dagami, Leyte, was robbed by a group of armed men, including appellants David Cinco, Felicito Tuscano, Rogelio Nuiz, and Teofilo Tuscano. The robbers took cash and valuables. During the incident, three male victims—Jerico Buhalog, Edmundo Minok, and Rogelio Caseres—were beaten and sustained physical injuries as documented in medico-legal reports.
The assailants then brought the three male victims and Gloria Cinco to a forested area. The men were further assaulted, while Gloria Cinco was taken separately to a grassy area. There, she was beaten, stripped, and successively raped by six men, including the four appellants. A subsequent medical examination confirmed the rape and related injuries. The initial police report filed by Marianito Minok mentioned only the robbery and kidnapping; the rape was reported later after Gloria confided in her husband.

ISSUE

Whether the guilt of the appellants for the complex crime of robbery in band with multiple rape and physical injuries was proven beyond reasonable doubt.

RULING

Yes, the Supreme Court affirmed the conviction. The appellants’ defenses of alibi were rejected. For alibi to succeed, it must be physically impossible for the accused to have been at the crime scene. The appellants claiming to be in Barangay Macaalang failed to prove this impossibility, as it was merely two kilometers from the crime scene in Barangay Hitomnog, connected by a footpath. Rogelio Nuiz’s uncorroborated claim of being in Tacloban City was likewise insufficient. Alibi cannot prevail over the positive identification by eyewitnesses, who consistently placed the appellants at the scene as part of the criminal band.
The Court also ruled that all members of the band are considered co-conspirators. Even if some appellants did not personally enter the house or commit the rape, their presence and participation as part of the armed group engaging in a conspiracy of action rendered them equally liable as co-principals. The crime committed was robbery in band with rape, punishable under Article 294 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended, by reclusion perpetua to death. In line with the 1987 Constitution prohibiting the death penalty, the Court modified the trial court’s sentence to reclusion perpetua for each appellant and ordered them to pay increased indemnity to the rape victim, Gloria Cinco.