G.R. No. 26539 , March 30, 1927
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, plaintiff-appellee, vs. FLORENTINO SORIANO, defendant-appellant.

FACTS

Florentino Soriano, a Constabulary soldier, was charged with murder for the death of his fellow soldier, Simeon Selga, during a riot in San Fernando, Pampanga, on May 23, 1926. The trial court found him guilty based on the evidence, which included: (1) the *ante mortem* statement of the dying victim, Selga, identifying Soriano as the one who shot him; (2) circumstantial evidence, including the fact that Soriano had left the scene of the initial trouble, armed himself at the barracks, and returned, and that he was missing seventeen cartridges afterward; (3) Soriano’s own admissions; and (4) the testimonies of Corporal Umali and soldier Braulio Pascua. Soriano appealed, challenging the credibility of witnesses and the sufficiency of evidence, and arguing that his admissions were coerced.

ISSUE

Whether the trial court erred in convicting Florentino Soriano of murder based on the evidence presented.

RULING

No. The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction. The guilt of the accused was proven beyond a reasonable doubt. The Court held that:
1. The *ante mortem* statement of the victim was admissible and credible.
2. The circumstantial evidence and Soriano’s own admissions corroborated his guilt.
3. The testimonies of Umali and Pascua were properly admitted under the liberal interpretation given to Act No. 2709 regarding the array of government witnesses.
4. The crime was correctly classified as murder due to the qualifying circumstance of *alevosia* (treachery). No aggravating or mitigating circumstances were present.
The judgment of the trial court sentencing Soriano to *cadena perpetua* (life imprisonment) was affirmed.