G.R. No. L-1446; March 4, 1949
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. FILEMON DELGADO, defendant-appellant.

FACTS

During the Japanese occupation in July 1944, following an ambush by guerrilla forces in Talisay, Cebu, Japanese soldiers and Filipino undercover agents, including appellant Filemon Delgado, conducted mass arrests of male inhabitants. Delgado actively participated in rounding up, detaining, investigating, and torturing prisoners at the Basak schoolhouse to extract information about guerrillas and firearms. He personally tortured Jose de la Cerna and maltreated others. On July 30, 1944, Delgado summarily executed prisoners at Toong mountain, shooting Tereso Sanchez in the head (who miraculously survived) and torturing and killing Patricio Suico by beating and burning him alive. In August 1944, Delgado also arrested, tortured, and interrogated Leonardo Ouano and others in Mandaue, Cebu, in search of a guerrilla sibling. Delgado, a Filipino citizen, provided aid and comfort to the Japanese forces as a spy, undercover agent, investigator, and executioner.

ISSUE

Whether the trial court correctly convicted appellant of treason complexed with murder, or whether the offense constitutes simple treason with aggravating circumstances.

RULING

The Supreme Court modified the trial court’s decision. Following the doctrine in People vs. Prieto, the killing and physical injuries inflicted by appellant are not separable crimes but acts performed in the commission of treason. Thus, appellant is guilty only of simple treason, not treason complexed with murder. The brutality exhibited in the killings (e.g., shooting Sanchez and torturing/burning Suico) constitutes an aggravating circumstance under Article 14(21) of the Revised Penal Code. However, due to the lack of the required votes for the death penalty, the Court reduced the sentence to life imprisonment and a fine of P20,000. The decision is affirmed with this modification.

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