G.R. No. 17436; March 9, 1922
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, plaintiff-appellee, vs. SERGIO MANZANILLA, ET AL., defendants. SERGIO MANZANILLA, appellant.

FACTS

Sergio Manzanilla and six others were prosecuted for robbery by a band. Two co-accused were excluded and became prosecution witnesses. The remaining five, including Manzanilla as the leader, were convicted. Four co-accused withdrew their appeals. Manzanilla maintained his appeal, but his attorney de oficio conceded the judgment should be affirmed. Manzanilla later filed an unsworn motion for new trial, alleging he was not called to testify, lack of due process, use of co-accused as witnesses, bribery of his attorney, and that the court decided without the defense presenting evidence. The Supreme Court found the motion’s signature doubtful and its allegations insufficient.

ISSUE

Whether the trial court erred in convicting Sergio Manzanilla and whether his motion for a new trial should be granted.

RULING

The conviction is affirmed but modified. The motion for a new trial is denied. The established facts show Manzanilla led an armed band of more than three that robbed travelers, detained them by tying them to trees, and intimidated them with weapons, with Manzanilla firing at and wounding one victim. These acts constitute robbery by a band with illegal detention. The crime falls under Article 503, No. 4, of the Penal Code, as the restraint of liberty constituted unnecessary violence and intimidation. As the leader of the band, under Article 504, paragraph 2, the penalty is raised by one degree to cadena temporal in its medium degree to cadena perpetua. With no modifying circumstances, the penalty is imposed in its medium degree, cadena temporal in its maximum degree. The appealed judgment is modified, sentencing Manzanilla to seventeen years, four months, and one day of cadena temporal, with accessory penalties, and orders for restitution.