G.R. No. 3347
THE UNITED STATES, plaintiff‑appellee, vs. ALVARO PADLAN, defendant‑appellant

FACTS:
Seven men were convicted of robberies committed on 17 September 1903. In the preliminary investigation of that case, five of the convicted men pleaded guilty and testified that Padlan was with them only up to a warehouse in Basing, after which he was left there to gamble. They made no allegation that Padlan participated in the robberies. After their convictions, the same five men turned against Padlan, claiming he had joined them in the robberies and that Villanueva, the house‑owner, was the chief of the band. Padlan testified that he remained at the warehouse all night and returned home the next morning, contradicting the later accusations. The two victims identified the seven convicted men but said they saw neither Padlan nor Villanueva that night. The Government’s case thus rested on the contradictory statements of the five accomplice witnesses.

ISSUE:
Whether Padlan’s conviction can be sustained when the Government’s principal witnessesaccomplicesgave mutually inconsistent testimonies regarding his participation in the robberies.

RULING:
The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the Court of First Instance and acquitted Padlan. The Court held that conviction cannot rest on testimony that is internally inconsistent and varies between investigations; the radical defect in the Government’s case was the contradictory statements of its witnesses, rendering the evidence unreliable despite the witnesses being accomplices. Costs were awarded to both parties de officio.