GR 45219; (March, 1937) (Digest)
G.R. No. 45219 ; March 30, 1937
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. FAUSTINO BUAN, ET AL., defendants. CONRADO BRUNO, appellant.
FACTS
Faustino Buan, Faustino Palac, and Conrado Bruno were charged with robbery with homicide. Buan, with Palac’s assistance, entered a Chinese store at midnight, robbed it, and during a struggle inside, fatally wounded Yap Kim Seng. Buan and Palac confessed to the crime and implicated Bruno, stating he acted as a lookout. The trial court convicted all three and sentenced them to reclusion perpetua. Buan and Palac withdrew their appeals, leaving only Bruno’s appeal.
ISSUE
Whether the extrajudicial confessions of co-accused Buan and Palac, which implicated appellant Conrado Bruno, are sufficient to prove Bruno’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
RULING
No. The confessions of Buan and Palac are inadmissible against Bruno. Under the rule on res inter alios acta, the extrajudicial confession of a co-accused is not admissible against another unless corroborated by other evidence of corpus delicti. Here, there was no such corroboration. Bruno’s own statement did not admit to conspiracy or direct participation; it merely showed he was present and later learned of the crime. His testimony denied any agreement or role in the robbery. Therefore, the prosecution failed to prove Bruno’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The judgment against him is reversed, and the information against him is dismissed.
AI Generated by Armztrong.