GR L 565; (June, 1949) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-565; June 27, 1949
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. ROQUE BADILI, defendant-appellant.
FACTS
The accused-appellant, Roque Badili, a policeman in Cebu City who also served as a secret agent for the Japanese military police (Kempeitai) during the Japanese occupation, was charged with treason on eight counts. The trial court convicted him on counts 1, 2, 7, and 8, sentencing him to life imprisonment and a fine. On appeal, the Solicitor General conceded that counts 1 and 7 lacked the required two-witness corroboration. Count 2 involved the arrest of Macario Castanares, but only one witness testified to the subsequent maltreatment and confinement. Count 8 alleged that on July 16, 1944, Badili, with other Filipino secret agents, captured, tied, tortured, and killed guerrilla officer Lt. Pacifico Resales (or Rosales). Three witnesses testified for the prosecution: Francisca Garcia and Basilio Argoso witnessed the arrest and tying of Resales, and his being taken to a sailboat; Pastor Abellana, a member of Resales’ guerrilla unit, also witnessed the capture and testified that Resales was later reported killed at sea. The defense presented an alibi and a witness claiming to have seen Resales alive later, but these were uncorroborated and deemed insufficient.
ISSUE
Whether the prosecution proved the appellant’s guilt for treason under count 8 with the requisite two-witness testimony to the same overt act.
RULING
Yes, but only as to the act of capturing and apprehending Lt. Pacifico Resales. The Court found that the testimonies of Francisca Garcia, Basilio Argoso, and Pastor Abellana sufficiently corroborated each other as to the overt act of arresting and taking Resales, thereby giving aid and comfort to the enemy. However, the evidence did not conclusively prove the subsequent killing of Resales, as only one witness (Abellana) testified to the report of his death. The act of apprehension alone, which prevented Resales from continuing his guerrilla activities, constituted treason. The Court modified the penalty from life imprisonment to reclusion temporal of seventeen years and four months, affirming the conviction as modified.
AI Generated by Armztrong.