FOR: Manila Police District

FROM: Atimonan Municipal Police Station

SUBJECT: Progress Report: Shooting Incident
Date: October 10, 2005

1. Reference :
a. Memorandum Spot Report, Gun Shooting Incident dated on June 28, 1957
1. 2. On June 28, 1957, late at night in the Barrio of Malinao, Atimonan,
Quezon, Estelita Erotes' home was serenaded by seven young men. The
young men accepted an invitation to come up. Getulio Pantoja, an
uninvited Philippine Army Sergeant wearing a T-shirt
2. Initial investigation revealed At 2:00 A.M., Pantoja left his camp, put on his
fatigue uniform, and returned to his house. The serenaders left to
serenade another house in the Northern part of the Barrio. Pantoja
followed them, and after walking about thirty meters, he shouted "Ano
yan?" and raised his garand rifle. He fired two shots in rapid succession,
causing Angel Marasigan and Wenceslao Hernandez to fall. Pantoja then
fired more shots at Marasigan and Hernandez's bodies. The other
serenaders scampered away for safety.
3. The accused, testifying in his own defense, admitted that the shots he
fired from the garand rifle killed Marasigan and Hernandez
4. The suspect voluntarily surrendered to his detachment camp commander
to whom he also surrendered the garand rifle, and that he was ordered
confined in the stockade.
 The appellant is accused of two separate murders, one killing Marasigan and the
other killing Hernandez. The case falls under the first class of complex crimes,
where a single act constitutes two or more crimes. The appellant argues that
evident premeditation and treachery did not exist, which is tenable. The appellant
also contends that the generic aggravating circumstances of abuse of public
position and ignominy were not present, as there is no evidence to show that the
appellant misused his public position in the commission of the crimes. The
appellant also argues that he should be given the benefit of the mitigating
circumstance of voluntary surrender, which is tenable. The penalty for murder is
reclusion temporal in its maximum period to death, and the appellant's defense of
insanity is weak. The evidence shows that the appellant was calm and collected
when committing the crimes, and that revenge was in his heart. The report of Dr.
Cesar Catindig of the V. Luna General Hospital does not show that the appellant
was insane, but rather that he was suffering from psychoneurotic depressive and
dissociative reactions. The judgment awarding compensatory damages to Angel
Marasigan and Wenceslao Hernandez heirs should be modified. The minimum
amount of compensatory damages for death caused by a crime or quasi-delict
was set at P3,000 in 1947, which was later increased to P9,000 in 1950. The
purchasing power of the Philippine peso has declined since 1948, making it one-
fourth of its pre-war purchasing power. The court believes that the amount of
compensatory damages should now be P12,000. In proper cases, courts may
award additional sums as further compensatory damages for loss of earnings,
support, moral damages, and exemplary damages .
4.Final report will follow.
5.Request acknowledge receipt.