GR 562; (August, 1902) (Digest)
G.R. No. 562 : August 30, 1902
THE UNITED STATES, complainant-appellee, vs. CARLOS VELASCO, ET AL., defendants-appellants.
FACTS:
In July 1900, Carlos Velasco arrested Juan Custodio and a boy named Pedro, residents of Cainta, Rizal, upon hearing they were bandits. Velasco reported the arrest to revolutionary general Francisco de los Santos and, by the latter’s order, turned the prisoners over to Gavino Ramos with instructions to kill them. Ramos carried out the order by killing both victims with an iron crowbar in Velasco’s presence. The bodies were then buried. The crime was witnessed by Cirilo Vergara, who later pointed out the graves to the authorities. Belts, hats, a rifle, and two carabaos belonging to Velasco were found near the burial site.
ISSUE:
Whether the trial court correctly convicted Carlos Velasco and Gavino Ramos of the crime of murder and imposed the corresponding penalties.
RULING:
The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction for two counts of murder but modified the penalties. The killings constituted murder qualified by alevosia (treachery), as the victims were bound, unarmed, and unable to defend themselves. Velasco, as the inducer who ordered the killings, and Ramos, as the direct perpetrator, are both liable under Articles 12 and 13 of the Penal Code.
The Court found the aggravating circumstance of premeditation present for Velasco, as he deliberately planned the killings after arresting the victims. For Ramos, no premeditation was found, as he merely followed Velasco’s orders. Considering the abnormal conditions of war and revolution prevailing at the time, the mitigating circumstance under Article 11 of the Penal Code was applied to both accused. For Velasco, this mitigating circumstance offset the aggravating circumstance of premeditation.
Applying the relevant provisions of the Penal Code and procedural laws, the Court sentenced Carlos Velasco to cadena perpetua (life imprisonment) for each murder, to be served concurrently, with the accessory penalties. Gavino Ramos was sentenced to twenty years of cadena temporal for each murder, with the corresponding accessories. Both were ordered to pay indemnity jointly and severally to the heirs of each victim. The judgment of the lower court was reversed accordingly.