GR 35141; (October, 1931) (Digest)
G.R. No. 35141; October 29, 1931
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, plaintiffs-appellee, vs. PANTALEON GONZALES, ET AL., defendants. MARIANO ARGUELLES, PATRICIO MERCADO, and TELESFORO FUEGO, appellants.
FACTS
The appellants, Mariano Arguelles, Patricio Mercado, and Telesforo Fuego, along with Pantaleon Gonzalez, were charged with the crime of robbery for unlawfully entering the house of Maria Arroyo in Paniqui, Tarlac, on the night of September 20, 1930, and stealing money, jewelry, and valuable papers valued at P15,777.50. After a separate trial for the three appellants, the Court of First Instance of Tarlac found them guilty, sentencing each to six years and one day of presidio mayor and ordering them to indemnify the offended party. The appellants contested the admissibility of their sworn confessions (Exhibits A, B, and C), claiming they were extracted through force, violence, duress, intimidation, and fraud.
ISSUE
Whether the trial court erred in admitting the confessions of the appellants and in finding them guilty based on such evidence.
RULING
No. The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction but modified the civil liability. The Court found that the confessions were voluntarily made before the justice of the peace, without the presence of the investigating Constabulary officers, and there was no evidence to support the claim that they were obtained through illegal means. The crime committed is robbery under Article 508 of the Penal Code, punishable by presidio correccional in its medium degree to presidio mayor in its minimum degree. The penalty was applied in the maximum degree due to the aggravating circumstance of nocturnity. However, the civil indemnity was reduced from P15,882.50 to P10,382.50, deducting the value of the insurance policy (as a copy could be obtained) and accounting for the possibility of recovering the credits from the stolen receipts. The judgment was affirmed with this modification.
AI Generated by Armztrong.