PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES V Comadre

PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, appellee, vs.
ANTONIO COMADRE
[G.R. No. 153559. June 8, 2004]
at around 7:00 in the evening of August 6, 1995, Robert Agbanlog with four others were having a drinking spree on
the terrace of the house of Robert's father when they noticed appellants Antonio Comadre, George Comadre and
Danilo Lozano stopped in front of the house. While his companions looked on, Antonio suddenly threw an object on
the roof of the terrace and fled immediately together with his companions. The object which happened to be a hand
grenade suddenly explode ripping a hole in the roof. Robert and his companions were hit by shrapnel and slumped
unconscious on the floor. They were all rushed to the Hospital however Robert died before reaching the hospital.
The undisputed facts show that when Antonio was in the act of throwing the hand grenade, his companions merely
looked on without uttering a single word of encouragement or performed any act to assist him. The trial court held
that the mere presence of the two provided encouragement and a sense of security to Antonio, thus proving the
existence of conspiracy.
Issue Can there be a conspiracy based on the foregoing facts?
Ruling
A conspiracy must be shown to exist as clearly and convincingly as the commission of the crime itself. Mere presence
of a person at the scene of the crime does not make him a conspirator for conspiracy transcends companionship.
The evidence shows that George Comadre and Danilo Lozano did not have any participation in the commission of
the crime and must therefore be set free. Their mere presence at the scene of the crime as well as their close
relationship with Antonio are insufficient to establish conspiracy considering that they performed no positive act in
furtherance of the crime.
Neither was it proven that their act of running away with Antonio was an act of giving moral assistance to his criminal
act. The ratiocination of the trial court that their presence provided encouragement and sense of security to Antonio,
is devoid of any factual basis. Such finding is not supported by the evidence on record and cannot therefore be a
valid basis of a finding of conspiracy.
People v. Comadre (G.R. No. 153559)
Facts: At around 7:00 o’clock in the evening of August 6, 1995, Robert Agbanlog, Jimmy Wabe, Gerry Bullanday, Rey
Camat and Lorenzo Eugenio were having a drinking spree on the terrace of the house of Robert’s father, Jaime
Agbanlog. Jaime was seated on the banister of the terrace listening to the conversation of the companions of his son.
As the drinking session went on, Robert and the others noticed appellants Antonio Comadre, George Comadre and
Danilo Lozano walking. The three stopped in front of the house. While his companions looked on, Antonio suddenly
lobbed an object which fell on the roof of the terrace. Appellants immediately fled by scaling the fence of a nearby
school.
The object, which turned out to be a hand grenade, exploded ripping a hole in the roof of the house. Robber
Agbanlog and his companions were hit by shrapnel and slumped unconscious on the floor. They were all rushed to
the hospital for medical treatment. However, Robert Agbanlog died before reaching the hospital for wounds sustained
which the grenade explosion inflicted. Robert’s companions sustained shrapnel injuries.
The appellants were arrested the following day but denied any participation in the incident, claimed they were
elsewhere when the incident occurred and that they had no animosity towards the victims whatsoever.
After trial, the court a quo convicted appellants of the complex crime of Murder with Multiple Attempted Murder for
having conspiring, confederating and mutually helping one another, with intent to kill and by means of treachery and
with the use of an explosive.
Issue: Whether or not the use of explosive qualifies the crime to murder?
Whether or not appellants conspired to kill the victims?
Held: Yes, the killing by means of explosives qualifies the crime to murder. The information alleges that both
treachery and the “use of explosive attended the crime.
Since both circumstances can qualify the killing to murder under Article 248 of the Revised Penal Code, the Supreme
Court held that when the killing is perpetrated with treachery and by means of explosives, the latter shall be
considered as a qualifying circumstance. Not only does jurisprudencesupport this view but also, since the use of
explosives is the principal mode of attack, reason dictates that this attendant circumstance should qualify the offense
instead of treachery which will then be relegated merely as a generic aggravating circumstance.
No, there was no conspiracy. The undisputed facts show that when Antonio Comadre was in the act of throwing the
hand grenade, George Comadre and Danilo Lozano merely looked on without uttering a single word of
encouragement or performed any act to assist him.
A conspiracy must be established by positive and conclusive evidence. It must be shown to exist as clearly and
convincingly as the commission of the crime itself. Mere presence of a person at the scene of the crime does not
make him a conspirator for conspiracy transcends companionship.
The evidence shows that George Comadre and Danilo Lozano did not have any participation in the commission of
the crime and must therefore be set free. Their mere presence at the scene of the crime as well as their close
relationship with Antonio are insufficient to establish conspiracy considering that they performed no positive act in
furtherance of the crime. There being no conspiracy, only Antonio Comadre must answer for the crime.
People vs. Manero (G.R. Nos.

PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES V Comadre

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