People vs. Conturia GR No.
108940, June 22, 1995
(Conspiracy, Revised Penal Code)
FACTS:
At just about midnight on September 10, 1985, the spouses Romeo and Leonor Mendenes and their three
children were in deep slumber in their modest home in the municipality of Irosin, Sorsogon. They were
quite oblivious of the fact that one of eight men, armed with bolos, had succeeded in boring a hole
through the lawanit window of their bedroom making it possible for him to unlock the same, and for him
and his companions to make a surreptitious entry into the house.
The first of the intruders to come into the house roused the spouses from sleep and brandishing his
weapon, ordered the startled pair to lie face down on the floor. This man, later identified as Carlos Baron,
bound Romeo Mendenes hand and foot. Another bolo-wielding man also entered the house through the
same window, opened the main door, and let his companions in.
Thereupon the bandits, for that they were, ransacked the Mendenes house and went through the family's
personal belongings. Baron remained beside Romeo whom, he kicked whenever the latter tried to lift his
head to see what the armed trespassers were doing.
After a while, Renato Canturia, one of the robbers, moved to the side of Mrs. Leonor Mendenes and
began touching intimate parts of the hapless woman's body. Evidently, this disgusting activity soon led to
full arousal of Canturia's animal passion. He dragged Leonor out of the house to a place some thirty
meters away. There, by threat of his jungle knife, two and a half (2 1/2) meters long, he forced Leonor to
take off her clothes. Ignoring her tearful pleas, Canturia pawed her body and mashed her private parts
after which he had sexual intercourse with her, twice. All throughout the unfortunate woman's ordeal,
Canturia's knife remained pointed at her throat. A third attempt to rape Mrs. Mendenes was aborted when
Canturia heard his companions whistling for him. He ordered Leonor to put her dress back on, pulled her
back inside the house, and tied her hands.
Before leaving the house, the armed men warned husband and wife not to tell anyone what had
happened lest the worse fate of death befall them all. The Mendenes children mercifully slept undisturbed
all throughout their parents' harrowing experience.
ISSUE:
Whether or not all 8 members of the band, who committed a robbery with rape through
conspiracy, are all guilty of the crime of rape committed by one of its members?
RULING:
NO, only the who committed the rape is guilty of the crime of robbery with rape, the other seven is
only guilty of robbery aggravated by dwelling and nocturnity.
The Court cannot, however, see its way to upholding the conviction of all the accused for robbery
with rape. Of seeming relevance, to be sure, are two (2) familiar principles, i.e. (a) that in a conspiracy the
act of one is the act of all — a conspiracy being amply demonstrated by the proofs among the eight (8)
accused in this case — and (b) that when "more than three armed malefactors take part in the
commission of robbery, it shall be deemed to have been committed by a band," in which case, any
member of the band "who is present at the commission of a robbery by . . . (said) band, shall be punished
as principal of any of the assaults committed by the band, unless it be shown that he attempted to prevent
the same."
This notwithstanding, it is the Court's view that only Canturia should be held responsible for the
crime because he alone perpetrated the detestable crime of rape. The others could not be held liable
therefor. For while the evidence does convincingly show a conspiracy among the accused, it also as
convincingly suggests that the agreement was to commit robbery only; and there is no evidence that the
other members of the band of robbers were aware of Canturia's lustful intent and his consummation
thereof so that they could have attempted to prevent the same.
