G.R. No. L-19894; May 27, 1966
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff and appellee, vs. CESAR REYES Y ENGRESO, ET AL., defendants, CESAR REYES Y ENGRESO, defendant and appellant.

FACTS

On the evening of December 20, 1958, armed men robbed the home of Mrs. Julia R. Pangan in Quezon City. The robbers, one armed with a gun, confined the family and maid, ransacked the house, and stole cash and valuables. During the incident, Dr. Manuel Pangan was shot dead on the driveway. The police found two empty cartridges at the scene. The case remained unsolved until March 1959, when Cesar Reyes was apprehended in Manila for illegal possession of firearms. Ballistics tests showed the cartridges from the crime scene came from the gun taken from Reyes. In August 1959, while detained, Reyes signed an extrajudicial confession (Exh. J) admitting his participation in the robbery, stating he borrowed the gun from PC Sgt. Cenon Andalis and that his companions were Pedro Cabrera and another. He affirmed this confession before the Quezon City Fiscal. An Information was filed against Reyes, Cabrera, John Doe, and Andalis for robbery with homicide. After trial, the Court of First Instance convicted Cesar Reyes based primarily on his confession and acquitted Cenon Andalis due to reasonable doubt. Reyes appealed, claiming his confession was coerced through maltreatment and presenting an alibi that he was selling puto bumbong at his wife’s store at the time of the crime.

ISSUE

The main issue is whether the extrajudicial confession of Cesar Reyes is admissible and sufficient, when corroborated by evidence of the corpus delicti, to sustain his conviction for robbery with homicide, despite his claims of coercion and alibi.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction. The extrajudicial confession was voluntarily given and not coerced. Reyes signed it in the presence of police officers and newspapermen and later affirmed it before the Fiscal. His claim of maltreatment was unsubstantiated, as he presented no medical certificate for injuries around the confession date, and his signature appeared stable. The confession was corroborated by evidence of the corpus delicti: the testimonies of Mrs. Pangan and the medico-legal officer established the robbery and homicide, and the ballistics match between the crime scene cartridges and Reyes’s gun provided strong corroboration. His alibi defense failed in light of the valid confession. Under Article 294(1) of the Revised Penal Code, the penalty of reclusion perpetua was correctly imposed, as there were no mitigating or aggravating circumstances. The judgment was affirmed.