GR 1506; (February, 1904) (Digest)
G.R. No. 1506 : February 26, 1904
THE UNITED STATES, complainant-appellee, vs. FACUNDO PINEDA, ET AL., defendants-appellants.
FACTS:
On February 6, 1903, eight defendantsFacundo Pineda, Benigno Baeza, Agustin de la Cruz, Pedro Tenorio, Eulalio Reyes, Nemesio Hernandez, Francisco Benedicto, and Felix Laquindamunwere members of a government-organized volunteer corps in Bulacan, armed with rifles and ammunition belonging to the Insular Government. While garrisoned in Obando, they, along with 17 others under Sergeant Damaso Caambol, deserted their post with their arms and proceeded to Corral na Bato, where they joined the insurrectionary band of the so-called General San Miguel. The following day, they participated in a fight against the Philippine Constabulary. Subsequently, some of the deserters formed another band in the mangrove swamps of Paombong, planning to attack the towns of Hagonoy and Malolos. This group was dispersed by Constabulary forces on April 30, 1903. The defendants were charged with the crime of insurrection under Act No. 292 .
ISSUE:
Whether the defendants are guilty of the crime of insurrection (rebellion) as defined and penalized under Section 3 of Act No. 292 .
RULING:
Yes, the defendants are guilty as principals of the crime of insurrection. The Court found that the evidence, including the testimony of witnesses and officers, conclusively established that the defendants willfully deserted their government garrison with their arms and joined an active insurrectionary force with the intent to rebel against the authority of the United States and the Government of the Philippine Islands. Their participation in combat against government troops and their subsequent formation of another band with seditious plans demonstrated their active engagement in rebellion. Their defense of merely obeying orders and being forcibly disarmed was deemed inadmissible and unsupported by the evidence. The judgment of the lower court sentencing each defendant to ten years of imprisonment and a fine of 10,000 pesos was affirmed.