G.R. No. 1542 : April 9, 1904
THE UNITED STATES, complainant-appellee, vs. CORNELIO DEVELA and SILVESTRE ABSOLIO, defendants-appellants.

FACTS:
The defendants, Cornelio Devela and Silvestre Absolio, were convicted by the Court of First Instance of the crime of robbery with homicide and sentenced to death. The conviction stemmed from an incident where the defendants, armed with a bolo and a dagger, attacked and killed Luis Oleta to rob him of 500 pesos he was carrying. The trial court applied the aggravating circumstances of alevosia (treachery) and despoblado (committed in an uninhabited place), raising the penalty to the maximum degree of death. The evidence of guilt was clear, primarily based on the extrajudicial statements of the defendants and the testimony of defendant Absolio during the trial. Absolio testified that they decided to rob the victim upon seeing him, that the victim resisted by throwing a stone, and that they attacked him with a bolo until they obtained the money.

ISSUE:
Whether the aggravating circumstances of alevosia (treachery) and despoblado (uninhabited place) were sufficiently proven to justify the imposition of the death penalty.

RULING:
No. The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the Court of First Instance. The Court held that the aggravating circumstances were not sufficiently established.

1. On Alevosia: The Court ruled that treachery was not present. The attack was sudden but not executed by means, methods, or forms that directly and specially insured its commission without risk to the assailants from the defense the victim might make. The defendants did not know if the victim was armed, and the victim in fact offered resistance. The manner of attack did not involve lying in wait, attacking from behind unseen, or similar methods that would neutralize any possible defense.

2. On Despoblado: The Court found the evidence insufficient to prove the crime was committed in an uninhabited place. The record lacked proof that there were no inhabitants nearby, and it was shown that the victim’s brother arrived shortly after the incident and authorities promptly pursued the defendants.

3. On Abuse of Superior Strength: The Court, addressing a potential aggravating circumstance not applied by the trial court, held that the mere fact of two persons attacking one was not, by itself, sufficient to constitute the aggravating circumstance of abuse of superior strength under Article 10, No. 9 of the Penal Code. There was no marked inequality of strength, such as an attack on a child, an old person, or one weakened by drugs.

In the absence of any aggravating circumstance, the crime of robbery with homicide should be punished in its medium degree. The Supreme Court modified the sentence and sentenced defendants Cornelio Devela and Silvestre Absolio to the penalty of life imprisonment, with an order to indemnify the heirs of the deceased in the amount of 1,000 Philippine pesos, and to pay the costs.