G.R. No. 26202
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS vs. FILEMON CABIGAS and CIRILO LOFRANCO

December 17, 1926 | Johnson, J.

FACTS

Filemon Cabigas and Cirilo Lofranco were charged with *robo frustrado con doble homicidio* (frustrated robbery with double homicide). The case against Lofranco was dismissed due to his death pending appeal. The evidence established that on the night of February 22, 1926, in Talamban, Cebu, the two defendants entered the house of Florentino Bores with intent to rob him. During the incident, they attacked and killed Bores and a neighbor, Lucio Leyson, who had come to investigate noises from Bores’ house. Witnesses placed the defendants at the crime scene, and circumstantial evidence (including bloodstained weapons and the defendants’ presence in the house) pointed to their guilt. The trial court convicted Cabigas and imposed the death penalty, citing qualifying and aggravating circumstances.

ISSUE

Whether the guilt of appellant Filemon Cabigas was proven beyond reasonable doubt.

RULING

Yes, the Supreme Court affirmed Cabigas’ conviction but modified the penalty. The Court found the circumstantial evidenceincluding the defendants’ presence at the crime scene, their possession of weapons, and the sequence of eventssufficient to establish Cabigas’ guilt beyond reasonable doubt for the complex crime of frustrated robbery with double homicide. However, the Court disagreed with the trial court’s imposition of the death penalty. While qualifying (*alevosia*) and aggravating circumstances were present, the Court applied Act No. 3104 (which prohibited the execution of death sentences pending review) and modified the penalty to *cadena perpetua* (life imprisonment). Cabigas was also ordered to indemnify the heirs of the victims and pay costs. The motion for a new trial was denied.