GR L 2665; (March, 1950) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-2665; March 6, 1950
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. FLORENTINO PATERNO, ARADES LAGBAWAN, CERBESA MALIMBASAO, SARMIENTO PANGANAY, ENRIQUE LEMENTE and MANGAPA TALBIN, defendants-appellants.
FACTS
The appellants, members of an underground organization called volunteer guards, were attacked by a Japanese patrol guided by Primo Jurolan and Demenciano Chavez on February 8, 1943. Four days later, they went to Jurolan’s barrio. They tied up Jurolan and his wife, Delfina Gatillo, led them into their house, and stabbed them to death. After the killings, appellant Mangapa Talbin set fire to the house, which contained the victims’ three-day-old infant, causing the child’s death. The appellants were convicted for the murders of Delfina Gatillo and the child, and for the murder of Primo Jurolan, they were granted amnesty as he was found to be a Japanese spy. On appeal, they claimed they acted under the orders and threats of their commander, Anselmo Onofre.
ISSUE
Whether the appellants’ defense of acting under the orders and threats of Anselmo Onofre exempts them from criminal liability for the killings of Delfina Gatillo and the child.
RULING
No. The defense of acting under orders and threats was not substantiated. The appellants’ confessions and the testimony of witnesses did not credibly establish that Onofre compelled them to commit the crimes. Even assuming Onofre gave the orders, such orders do not justify or excuse the appellants’ criminal acts. The Court modified the trial court’s decision: (1) For the murder of Delfina Gatillo, all appellants are equally guilty and each is sentenced to reclusion perpetua. (2) For the death of the child, they are guilty of arson under Article 321 of the Revised Penal Code, not murder, as the arson was the principal intent and the death was a consequence; the penalty of reclusion perpetua imposed by the trial court was affirmed. (3) The indemnity for each victim was increased to P6,000. The decision was affirmed with these modifications.
AI Generated by Armztrong.