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People V Octa
People V Octa
Facts:
4 armed men stopped and boarded a Honda Civic car being driven by Johnny Corpuz who
was
with his brother Mike Adrian Batuigas. Johnny was then forced to the backseat and
was blindfolded
and handcuffed. The armed men first contacted Johnny's mother-in-law and informed
her that they
were just on a trip. The victims were later brought to a safe house where one of
the kidnappers
contacted Johnny's wife, Ana Marie Corpuz. Upon confirmation that his husband was
kidnapped,
Ana Marie sought the assistance of the PACER where several communications were had.
The
kidnappers demanded for a ransom of P20M but was reduced to P538K. She was then
instructed
to meet a man with a red cap who would ask her "saan yung padala ni boss". She saw
the man but
first asked for confirmation from one of the kidnappers by talking to the man. The
man with the red
cap turned out to be the accused and was described by Ana Marie as good looking,
lightly built, in
his early 20s around 5'4" in height and with dimples. After the ransom was given,
the victims were
released.
The accused invoked the defense of denial and alibi and that he was a victim of the
kidnapping as
well. On appeal, he argued that he was not a co-conspirator since he cannot be
considered as a
conspirator to the kidnapping in the absence of concrete proof that he actually
participated in the
execution of the essential elements of the crime by overt acts indispensable to its
accomplishment.
His receipt of the ransom money transpired only after the kidnapping had been
consummated and
was not an essential element of the crime.
Issue:
Is the accused liable for the felony charged as a co-conspiratorz.
Held:
Yes. As held in People v. Bautista: