G.R. No. L-3084; July 6, 1951
The People of the Philippines, plaintiff-appellee, vs. Virgilio Sanchez alias Totoy, and Elino Beltran alias Sulape, defendants-appellants.

FACTS

Virgilio Sanchez, Elino Beltran, and others were charged with robbery with homicide. The trial proceeded against Sanchez and Beltran. The evidence established that on July 13, 1947, the appellants, along with Ricardo Marcelo, Potenciano Catacutan (Ciano), and Rosalina Garcia, hired a Red Hood taxi driven by Aniceto Santos in Manila and proceeded to the municipal building of San Rafael, Bulacan. After a conversation there involving Serafin Valero, the men, excluding Rosalina Garcia, took the taxi with the driver towards the Angat Dam. Rosalina Garcia, who remained at the municipal building, later heard three shots from that direction. The group returned with the taxi driven by Ciano, and the driver Aniceto Santos was missing and never seen again. Elino Beltran, while confined in a hospital, made a detailed confession (Exhibit F) admitting his participation and describing how the group, after obtaining a carbine, tied up the driver, shot him three times (by Catacutan), robbed him of his personal effects, and threw his body into the river. Beltran claimed the confession was made under intimidation, but witnesses testified it was voluntary. The taxi was later found illegally sold, with its motor number changed and body repainted.

ISSUE

1. Whether the corpus delicti of robbery with homicide was proven independently of appellant Beltran’s confession.
2. Whether the confession of appellant Beltran can be used as evidence against appellant Sanchez.

RULING

1. Yes. The corpus delicti (that a crime was committed) was proven by evidence independent of Beltran’s confession. This evidence included: the testimony of Rosalina Garcia that the driver was taken to the Angat Dam and three shots were heard; the group’s return without the driver and their refusal to answer questions about his whereabouts; the taxi’s return driven by another person (Ciano); and the subsequent illegal disposal of the taxi (found with altered identification and repainted). These facts sufficiently established that a crime had been committed.
2. No, Beltran’s confession cannot be used against Sanchez. However, Sanchez’s guilt was established by evidence independent of that confession. This evidence showed conspiracy and Sanchez’s active participation: he was part of the group that invited Rosalina Garcia and took the taxi from Pasay to San Rafael; he participated in the conference at the municipal building before the crime; he went with the group that took the driver to the Angat Dam from where shots were heard; he returned with the group without the driver; and he was involved in the illegal disposal of the taxi. The court affirmed the conviction of both appellants for robbery with homicide, sentencing each to reclusion perpetua. The court modified the judgment by ordering the appellants to pay the P6,000 indemnity to the heirs of the deceased jointly and severally, and for the recovered taxi to be returned to the Red Hood Taxi Company.