G.R. No. 3371
THE UNITED STATES, plaintiff‑appellee, vs. HILARIO BUENCONSEJO, et al., defendants‑appellants

FACTS:
Nine defendants were tried in the Court of First Instance of Albay for a series of robberies and murders of Chinese merchants in Albay and Catanduanes between November and December 1905. The acts were deemed “brigandage” under Act No. 518. The trial court sentenced Pedro de la Torre and Martiniano Buenconsejo to death; Eleno Barbadillo to twenty years; Hilario Buenconsejo, Thomas Flor and Calixto Beo to thirty, twenty and twenty years respectively; and Remigio Baron to ten years.

ISSUE:
Whether the trial court’s convictions and respective penalties, particularly the imposition of the death penalty on Pedro de la Torre and Martiniano Buenconsejo and the conviction of Remigio Baron, are supported by the evidence and the provisions of the Brigandage Act.

RULING:
1. The death sentence of Pedro de la Torre is affirmed; his guilt was conclusively established by his own admission and corroborating testimony, including the rape of a servant.
2. Martiniano Buenconsejo’s death sentence is reversed; the evidence does not conclusively identify him as one of the two men who actually killed the victim, thus a death penalty is unsupported. He is sentenced to life imprisonment (cadena perpetua).
3. Eleno Barbadillo’s death sentence is likewise reversed; he is also sentenced to life imprisonment.
4. The sentences of Hilario Buenconsejo (30 years), Thomas Flor (20 years) and Calixto Beo (20 years) are affirmed.
5. Remigio Baron is acquitted; the solitary witness testimony and incidental cloth evidence are insufficient to sustain his conviction.
6. Each condemned is ordered to pay one‑eighth of the costs of both instances.

The judgment is to be entered after ten days, and the case remanded to the lower court for execution of the affirmed and modified sentences.