1. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Plaintiff-Appellee, vs. IRENEO JUGUETA, Accused-Appellant.

R.A. 9346. “An Act Prohibiting the Imposition of Death Penalty in the Philippines”

Norberto testified that in the evening of June 6, 2002, as his entire family lay down on the floor of their one-room nipa
hut to sleep, the "sack" walling of their hut was suddenly stripped off, and only the supporting bamboo (fences)
remained. With the covering of the wall gone, the three (3) men responsible for the deed came into view. Norberto
identified the 3 men as appellant, Gilbert Estores and Roger San Miguel.

The 3 men ordered Norberto to come down from his house, but he refused to do so. Despite Norberto’s plea for mercy,
a gunshot was fired, and Norberto immediately threw his body over his children and wife in an attempt to protect
them from being hit. Thereafter, he heard successive gunshots being fired in the direction where his family huddled
together in their hut.

Norberto saw that his two (2) young daughters were wounded His daughter Mary Grace died on the way to the
hospital, while Claudine expired at the hospital.

The trial court ruled that the evidence clearly established that appellant Ireneo Jugueta, together with two other
assailants, conspired to shoot and kill the family of Norberto. Appellant was then convicted of Double Murder and
Multiple Attempted Murder. This was affirmed by the CA.

In imposing the proper penalty, the Court must make a clarification as to the nomenclature used by the trial court to
identify the crimes for which appellant was penalized. There is some confusion caused by the trial court's use of the
terms "Double Murder" and "Multiple Attempted Murder" in convicting appellant, and yet imposing penalties which
nevertheless show that the trial court meant to penalize appellant for two (2) separate counts of Murder and four (4)
counts of Attempted Murder.

Furthermore, the Court notes that both the trial court and the CA failed to take into account dwelling as an ordinary,
aggravating circumstance.

In view of the attendant ordinary aggravating circumstance, the Court must modify the penalties imposed on
appellant. Murder is punishable by reclusion perpetua to death.

Accordingly, in crimes where the imposable penalty is reclusion perpetua to death, the court can impose either reclusion
perpetua or death, depending on the mitigating or aggravating circumstances present.

But with the enactment of RA 9346 or An Act Prohibiting the Imposition of Death Penalty in the Philippines, the imposition
of death penalty is now prohibited. It provides that in lieu of the death penalty, the penalty of reclusion perpetua shall
be imposed when the law violated makes use of the nomenclature of the penalties of the RPC.