PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. EUSTAQUIO LORENO y MALAGA and JIMMY MARANTAL y LONDETE, accused-appellants. G.R. No. L-54414 J!y ", 1"#4 Fa$%&' Barangay Fa$%&' Barangay Captain Elias Monge, his family & Francisco Fabie, their farm helper were home preparing for the barrio dance when oreno & a man in a dar! sweater came by their house, saying there was a letter from the chief "hepe#. Elias let them in & when they read the letter, it said that they were $%. $%. 'hey were made to lie on the ground while other men went in the house. 'he alleged $% members members robbed the family of several belongings. Moreover, the man in the dar! sweater raped the ( daughters of Elias, Cristina & Monica. Elias, Cristina, Monica & Fabie positively identified oreno as ) of the robbers. Fabie also identified Marantal. I&&(' *+$ I&&(' *+$ oreno and Marantal are eempted from criminal liability under the defenses of rticle )("# and "# H(!d' $o. H(!d' $o. ppellants Eusta/uio oreno and 0immy Marantal claimed that they acted under the compulsion of an irresistible force and1or under the impulse of uncontrollable fear of e/ual or greater in2ury. 'hey 'hey admitted that they were in the house of Elias that night but they were only forced by a man wearing blac! sweater and his five companions who claimed to be members of the $%, $%, with the threat that if they did not obey, appellants and their families would be !illed. 'his was found untenable. person person who acts under the the compulsion of an irresistible force, force, li!e one who who acts under the impulse of uncontrollable fear of e/ual or greater in2ury, is eempt from criminal liability liability because he does not act with freedom. 'he force must be irresistible to reduce him to a mere instrument who acts not only without will but against his will. 'he duress, force, fear or intimidation must be present, imminent and impending and of such a nature as to induce a well-grounded apprehension of death or serious bodily harm if the act is not done. threat of future in2ury is not enough. 'he compulsion must be of such character as to leave no opportunity to the accused for escape or self-defense in e/ual combat. oreno and Marantal had admitted their participation in the commission of the crimes of robbery and rape against Elias and is family. Facts Facts inconsistent with the appellants3 defense were established4 "a# having been armed with a firearm, "b# oreno positioning himself near the post of the balcony without prior instructions, "c# oreno furnishing the rattan to tie the victims, and "d# oreno pointing his gun to the other victims when Monica was being raped. Furthermore, oreno brought Beata, Elias3s wife to the different rooms to open the trun!s and closets, without the threat and assistance of the man in dar! sweater. nd lastly, lastly, oreno tried to molest Cristina after being raped by the man in dar! s weater. *hen Marantal !ic!ed Fabie when the latter saw his face, it was due to the fact the Fabie had recogni5ed him & the blows which he gave to Fabie who was still tied was a warning not to report his presence & participation in the crime. Furthermore, there was no showing that 0immy Marantal raised a voice of protest nor did an act to prevent the commission of the crimes. ll ll these demonstrated the voluntary participation & the conspiracy of the appellants. $ot only was their defense untenable, but the facts show that that there was conspiracy. conspiracy.
