G.R. No. 1727 : April 18, 1905

FACTS:
On the night of March 16, 1903, between 10:00 PM and 12:00 AM, a group of seven armed individuals raided the houses of Luciano Rivera and Saturnino Gonzalez in the barrio of Rio Chico, Peñaranda, Nueva Ecija. The robbers, armed with bolos and three guns, used violence against the occupants and stole clothing valued at 2.50 pesos from Rivera, and two carabaos valued at 200 pesos and a pair of earrings valued at 2 pesos from Gonzalez. The prosecution proved at trial that the four defendants participated in the commission of the robbery.

ISSUE:
Whether the defendants should be convicted of the crime of bandolerismo as charged in the complaint, or of the lesser included offense of robbery en cuadrilla.

RULING:
The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction but modified the legal characterization of the crime. The facts established constitute the crime of robbery en cuadrilla (robbery by a band), defined and penalized under Article 504 of the Penal Code, and not the crime of bandolerismo (banditry) under Act No. 518 , as amended by Act No. 1121. The Court found no proof that the defendants formed or were part of a band of brigands as statutorily defined for the crime of bandolerismo.

Applying the doctrine that a lesser offense included within the crime charged may support a conviction, the Court held that robbery en cuadrilla is necessarily included in the crime of bandolerismo. Therefore, the defendants were properly convicted of the former, notwithstanding the complaint having charged the latter. The judgment of the lower court was affirmed with the modification that the crime is specifically identified as robbery en cuadrilla.