#01 People vs Batin o  Finding her husband leaning against the mango tree she went to

(G.R. No. 177223| November 28, 2007) him. She tried to talk Eugenio into going home with her because
By: RODRIGUEZ Castor was again into one of his wild ways (Nagwawala na
naman, daldal ng daldal). 

Topic: Conspiracy o As he was talking with Eugenio, she glanced to her left and saw
Petitioner: People ( for death of Eugenio Refugio) Neil Batin standing at the gate to their (Batins) compound, looking
Respondent: father and son, Castor and Neil Batin towards her and her husband.
Ponente: Bersamin, J.
o When she shifted her glance from the Batins, Josephine heard
Castor ordering his son: Sige, banatan mo na. 
FACTS:
o Neil responded by drawing the gun from his waistline, raising and
 This case is a review of the Decision of CA dated 6 February 2007 affirming aiming it at her and her husband, and firing twice from his eye-
the Decision of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Quezon City, convicting level.
father and son, Castor and Neil Batin, of the crime of murder. 
 The conviction was for the killing of one Eugenio Refugio, who was shot o  Both Josephine and Eugenio fell to the ground, the former,
while he was leaning against a mango tree near his house. backwards, and the latter landing on top of her. As they tried to
Detailed Facts: get up, Eugenio uttered to her: Nanay, may tama ako. She then
The above-named accused, conspiring together, confederating with and pulled her husband by the shoulder of his shirt so that she could
mutually helping each other, did, then and there, willfully, unlawfully and take him to their house as he was already slumped to the
feloniously, with intent to kill, with treachery, right. She later rushed her husband to the Quezon City
>> attack, assault and employ personal violence upon the person of one General Hospital, where he underwent surgery, but later expired.
EUGENIO REFUGIO y ZOSA
>> by then and there shooting him with a handgun, hitting him on the THE DEFENSE’S ALIBI:
right side of his stomach, Neil
>>thereby inflicting upon him serious and mortal wounds which were  while he was cleaning the family-owned taxicab, that he found a short gun
the direct and immediate cause of his untimely death, beside the right rear wheel; t
 he picked the gun and concealed it in the compartment of the taxicab
 Eugenios wife, Josephine Refugio  He brought his brothers to school and brought his home and played with
them
o She recalled that before the shooting, she was at home, she caught  that he continued talking and playing with his brothers;
sight of Castor Batin washing his feet at a nearby faucet.   and that at that point he decided to take the gun from the compartment of
the taxicab then parked around from where he and his brothers were and
o Castor was angrily muttering, and she distinctly heard him say, tucked it in his waistline.
among the other things he said: Mga matatandang kunsintidor,  Neil, he suddenly felt the impulse of drawing the gun from his waistline
dapat manahimik na.  (Bigla kong naisipang bunutin ang baril). 
 He thus drew the gun and turned around, but, as he did so, he accidentally
o Then, being through with washing himself, Castor moved towards pulled the trigger, causing the gun to fire twice (Tumalikod po ako, tapos
the street. Seeing this, she went down and also went to the street nakalabit ko, pumutok ng dalawang beses).
because of a feeling of uneasiness (Para  po akong kinakabahan,  He denied that he did not enter the compound to put bullets in the gun;
kasi, ganoon naman ang ginagawa nila lagi, eh, pag that his father did not order him to shoot Eugenio; and that his father was
nalalasing). not drunk and challenging others to a fight
RTC RULING: The trial court rendered its Decision finding both accused guilty of appellants before, during, and after the commission of the crime which are
murder, qualified by treachery, indicative of a joint purpose, concerted action, and concurrence of sentiments.
CA RULING: Court of Appeals rendered the assailed Decision affirming
Issue:
I. WON THERE WAS CONSPIRACY IN THE KILLING OF
EUGENIO REFUGIO
Held:
Castor claims that there is no conclusive proof that he participated in
the shooting, and that (h)is alleged utterance of the words Sige, banatan
mo na cannot be considered as the moving cause of the shooting. According
to Castor, if he had wanted his son to shoot Eusebio Refugio, he would not
have shouted Huwag and struggled for possession of the gun.
WE ARE NOT PERSUADED.
First of all, the theory presented by the prosecution in both the
Information and in their arguments before the courts is not Castors being a
principal by inducement, but rather his being a co-conspirator. 
If conspiracy is proven, the act of one is the act of all. As stated
above, the widow, Josephine Refugio, and the neighbors -- Eusebio Farrales and
Vilma Juadinez Rodriguez -- testified to the fact that Castor handed the gun
to Neil and urged the latter to fire at the Refugio spouses. The trial court,
whose assessment of the credibility of witnesses deserves great respect, since it
had the important opportunity to observe first-hand the expression and
demeanor of the witnesses at the trial, found these witnesses credible, thus:
 
From its careful and thorough evaluation of the record,
the Court finds that Castor and Neil conspired in shooting
Eugenio. This finding is inexorable because the testimonies of
the Prosecution witnesses that Castor returned the gun back
to Neil; that he instigated Neil to shoot by shouting: Sige,
banatan mo na; and that Neil then fired his gun twice were
credible and sufficed to prove Castors indispensable
cooperation in the killing of Eugenio. Accordingly, Castor
was as much liable criminally for the death of Eugenio as
Neil, the direct participant in the killing, was.
  
 
As concluded by the trial court, the circumstances surrounding Castors
utterance of Huwag! shows beyond doubt that Castor shouted the same,
not to stop Neil from firing the gun, but to force him to leave the use of the
gun to Castor. These circumstances only confirm the conspiracy between the
Batins in committing the crime: after the Batins grappled for the gun and
Castor shouted Huwag, Castor finally decided to give the gun to Neil a
crystal-clear expression of the agreement of the Batins concerning the
commission of a felony. Conspiracy may also be deduced from the acts of the