GR 41200; (December, 1935) (Digest)
G.R. No. 41200 . December 17, 1935.
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, plaintiff-appellee, vs. MARIANO CU UNJIENG, JOHN DOE, and MANUEL CARLOS, defendants. MARIANO CU UNJIENG, defendant-appellant.
FACTS
Mariano Cu Unjieng was convicted of a complex crime involving falsification of documents. After conviction, he filed multiple motions for a new trial based on newly discovered evidence, specifically the alleged recantation of his co-accused, Manuel Carlos, and revelations by Carlos’s concubine, Amalia Francisco. These motions were filed sequentially without prior express leave of the court. The defense argued that this new evidence would prove Cu Unjieng’s lack of knowledge about the falsified warehouse receipts (quedans) of the Pampanga Sugar Development Company, which he pledged as security for bank loans.
ISSUE
Whether the motions for a new trial should be granted based on the alleged newly discovered evidence.
RULING
No. The Supreme Court denied all motions. The subsequent motions (second, third, and fourth) were filed in open violation of Rule 39 of the Rules of Court, which prohibits the filing of more than one motion for reconsideration or new trial without express prior leave. Even assuming the recantation was admissible, it would not alter the result. The evidence of record, including Cu Unjieng’s own conduct and admissions, conclusively established his guilty knowledge of the falsity of the documents. The Court found that even if Carlos’s testimony were discarded, other evidence—such as Cu Unjieng’s cablegram specifying the quedans to be pledged, his refusal to show the alleged sales contracts, and his failure to withdraw the pledged sugar—fully supported his conviction as a co-author of the crime. The motions were without merit.
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