GR 37185; (December, 1933) (Digest)
G.R. No. 37185, December 13, 1933
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, plaintiff-appellee, vs. CHUA BUAN, CHENG HIAP, PROTACIO SUGAPONG, ALFONSO DE LA PAZ, PABLO MUÑERA, and ANASTACIO FAJARDO, defendants.
FACTS
Appellants Alfonso de la Paz, Pablo Muñera, and Anastacio Fajardo, along with others, were charged with the crime of robbery in an uninhabited house. The robbery occurred on the night of February 10, 1932, at a warehouse in Manila belonging to M. Verlinden, where property worth P328.96 was stolen by breaking the locked door. After trial, the lower court convicted them as principals. The appellants appealed, challenging the credibility of the prosecution’s principal witness and the sufficiency of evidence. During the appeal, a motion for a new trial was filed based on affidavits from three imprisoned individuals claiming they were the actual perpetrators.
ISSUE
Whether the lower court erred in convicting the appellants of robbery in an uninhabited house based on the evidence presented.
RULING
No. The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction, finding no reason to overturn the lower court’s findings on the sufficiency of evidence and credibility of witnesses. The motion for a new trial was denied, as granting it based on affidavits from habitual criminals would set a dangerous precedent. The crime falls under Article 302(2) in relation to Article 293 of the Revised Penal Code, with the aggravating circumstance of nighttime. The penalty was modified to the maximum degree of prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods, sentencing each appellant to four years, nine months, and eleven days of prision correccional, plus their respective additional penalties for habitual delinquency. The appellants were also ordered to indemnify the victim jointly and severally.
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