REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
OFFICE OF THE CITY PROSECUTOR
BAGUIO CITY
ANNA ROSE SANTOS,
Complainant,
17B-03998
-versus-

NPS Docket No.

FOR: MURDER

JUAN BATUMBAKAL and

OSKAR SULAYMAN,
Respondents.
x-------------------------------------------x

RESOLUTION
The respondents JUAN BATUMBAKAL and OSKAR SULAYMAN
were charged of the crime of MURDER in a complaint filed by ANNA
ROSE SANTOS.
In support of her complaint, the herein complainant attached the
following documents;
1. Photograph of their damaged Motorcycle;
2. Police Report of SPO1 WILSON QUE and PO3 FRANZ PULIDO; and
3. Autoposy Report.

STATEMENT OF FACTS
Based on the investigation conducted by the Police Investigators,
SP01 WILSON M. QUE and P03 FRANZ PULIDO, the facts of the
case are stated hereunder:
1.
On or about 10:00 in the morning of September 7,
2016 Barangay Chairman of Barangay 144 Zone 18 of
Baguio City reported and sought immediate police
assistance regarding an altercation near Philippine National
Bank. PO2 MICHAEL MONTON, being a few blocks away,
was dispatched and was able to see three men shouting at
each other. Two Security Guards, (RYAN ABUEG AND
ARMAN ISON) were calming them down. The three persons
shouting at each other were unnamed. When P02 MICHAEL
MONTON approached them, they suddenly clamed down
but one of the men shouted, Hindi pa ito tapos! Babalikan
Kita! P02 MONTON later found out that the altercation and
attempted fistfight was due to a motorcycle almost hitting
one of the parties. P02 MONTON thought that the parties
have calmed down. P02 Monton then recorded the
motorcycle plate of the two parties vehicles which was
UZZ 90 and LSG 16
2.
On or about 12 noon the following day, three shots of
gunfire were heard in Baguio Public Market. SP02 ELSON
1

MATIENZO, being a few blocks away, was able to respond

to the situation and saw a dead body being embraced by a
weeping woman who was later known as ANNA ROSE
SANTOS. SPO2 MATIENZO also saw an escaping riding in
tandem with one male driving while the other was holding
a 9mm pistol. SP02 MATIENZO was able to record the Plate
number UZZ 90, the same motorcycle involved in the
altercation the day before. The plate number was later
corroborated by SANTOS. The dead body was later found
out to be FRANKLIN FRANK BAMBICO who was the same
person that P02 MONTON calmed down the day before.
3.
On or about 3 oclock in the afternoon of the same
day, two persons riding on a motorcycle bearing the same
plate number (UZZ 90) was apprehended in a police
checkpoint headed by SENIOR SUPERINTENDENT TIMOTHY
POTENTE in the boarder of Baguio City and La Trinidad
Benguet. They were later identified as former police
inspectors JUAN BATUMBAKAL and OSKAR SULAYMAN.
4.
Baguio
City
police
conducted
a
follow-up
investigation and later found out that FRANK BAMBICO was
previously convicted of a crime invoving R.A. 9165 or the
Dangerous Drugs Act in 2012 to WHICH JUAN BATUMBAKAL
and OSKAR SULAYMAN were the arresting officers. In
addition, Batumbakal and Sulayman already resigned as
police officers in 2014.
5.
In the statement of JUAN BATUMBAKAL, he said that it
was physically impossible for him to be in PNB on
September 7, 2016 because he was taking his two children
in school and the said bank was out of way from the
school. BATUMBAKAL added that they only borrowed the
said motorcycle (UZZ 90) at around 2:30 in the afternoon
to have a joyride around strawberry fields. He ended his
statement by saying that he was very shocked when
SENIOR SUPERINTENDENT TIMOTHY POTENTE apprehended
them.
that:

In the complaint-affidavit of ANNA ROSE SANTOS, she stated

1.
On 7 September 2016, around 10 oclock in the
morning, FRANK and I was about to park our motorcycle in
front of Philippine National Bank - Session Road to withdraw
our budget for the coming week when a motorbike with a
plate number UZZ 990 almost hit me. A photo of our
damaged motorcycle is attached in this complaint as
ANNEX A;
2.
FRANK, thereafter, hurled invectives against the
driver, and the altercation resulted into a fist fight. The two
(2) had to be stopped by the security guards of the said
bank, but before the driver left the place, he shouted, Hindi
pa ito tapos! Babalikan kita!;

3.
On 9 September 2016, around 12 noon, after FRANK
and I bought food at the local market, two (2) persons riding
in tandem suddenly shot FRANK three (3) times in the head,
which caused his death. I only saw the plate number of the
motorbike, and it happened to be UZZ 990, the same
vehicle we encountered a few days before the incident;
4.
On the same day, around 3 oclock in the afternoon,
the two (2) persons riding in tandem were apprehended in a
police check point in La Trinidad, Benguet. They were later
identified as former police inspectors, JUAN BATUMBAKAL
and OSKAR SULAYMAN, the same persons who previously
handled the case of violation of R.A. 9165 or The Dangerous
Drugs Act against FRANK, to which he was found guilty last
8 February 2012;
In his counter-affidavit, the accused JUAN BATUMBAKAL stated
that:
1.
On 7 September 2016, I was at home the whole
morning, waiting for my two (2) children to finish preparing
for school (10am-2pm), as I was about to take them on an
owner-type vehicle to St. Louis Boys High Elementary
Building;
2.
It was a daily routine for me to take them to school in
the morning, eat lunch with my wife at home, and man our
sari-sari store at the nearby market thereafter;
3.
I could not have been one of the respondents since the
bank, where the supposed altercation happened, was out of
our way to school, and thus impossible for me to drive my
children using that route;
4.
Based on the records, I and Oskar Sulayman were the
ones who previously handled the case of violation of R.A.
9165 or The Dangerous Drugs Act against Frank, who was
later found guilty, four (4) years ago;
5.
However, after resigning from work last February 23,
2014, my connections with the other police inspectors
already stopped and I did not have the chance to monitor
the status of the case as well as the person or persons
involved anymore;
In the autopsy report conducted by DR. MICHELLE VALE CRUZ,
it was concluded that This 35-year-old man, FRANKLIN BAMBICO, died
of a gunshot wound of the head Autopsy examination revealed a
penetrating gunshot wound of the head, which damaged the skull and
resulted in internal bleeding. Three bullets were recovered inside the
head. The autopsy would reveal that the victim was shot in a closerange, which explains the gunshot powder in his shirt.
OSKAR SULAYMAN waived his rights under Art. 125 of the Revised
Penal Code and after undergoing an inquest, a resolution was prepared

and an information was filed earlier. As to JUAN BATUMBAKAL, a

preliminary investigation was conducted.

ANALYSES/FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Article 248 paragraphs 1 and 5 of the Revised Penal Code
specifically state as follows:
Art. 248. Murder. Any person who, not falling
within the provisions of Article 246 shall kill
another, shall be guilty of murder and shall be
punished by reclusion temporal in its maximum
period to death, if committed with any of the
following attendant circumstances:
1. With treachery, taking advantage of superior
strength, with the aid of armed men, or
employing means to weaken the defense or of
means or persons to insure or afford impunity.
xxx
5. With evident premeditation.
However, it is worthy of noting that in People v. Punsalan1, the
Supreme Court ruled that:
Where there is no evidence as to how and when
the plan to kill was decided and what time had
elapsed before it was carried out, evident
premeditation cannot be considered as an
aggravating circumstance.
In this case, indeed, there was no proof to show (1) the time
when the offender determined to commit the crime; (2) an act
manifestly indicating that the offender had clung to his determination;
and (3) a sufficient lapse of time between the determination to commit
the crime and the execution thereof to allow the offender time to
reflect on the consequences of his act.
Also, in the case People v. De los Reyes2, the Court described
evident premeditation as follows:
The essence of evident premeditation is that
the execution of the criminal act was preceded
by cool thought and reflection upon the
resolution to carry out the criminal intent during
a space of time sufficient to arrive at a calm
judgment. It must be based on external acts
1
2

G.R. No. 145475, November 22, 2001.

G.R. No. 140680, May 28, 2004.

which must be notorious, manifest and evident

not merely suspectingindicating deliberate
planning.
The following facts and circumstances based on the personal
knowledge of the arresting officer show that there was no probable
cause to believe that respondents JUAN BATUMBAKAL and OSKAR
SULAYMAN did not commit a crime, viz.:
1. The face of the persons who killed FRANK were covered and
that it cannot be concluded that the masked faces were OSKAR
and JUAN with reasonable certainty
2. They were apprehended at a police checkpoint 3 hours after
the crime had been committed
3. Physical impossibility that the accused were present at the
scene of the crime; and
4. Reasonable doubt as to believe that there was no probable
cause that the accused were the ones who committed the crime
WHEREFORE, IN VIEW OF THE FOREGOING, it is most
respectfully recommended that the complaint for the crime of Murder
qualified by evident remeditation be DISMISSED against the
respondents OSKAR SULAYMAN and JUAN BATUMBAKAL.
Baguio City, Benguet.
FERNANDO F. OLIVES
Assistant City Prosecutor
APPROVED BY:
CECILE PARIAN PILLENA
Chief City Prosecutor