G.R. No. L-1527; February 27, 1951
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. EMILIANA GO, ET AL., defendants. EMILIANA GO (alias EMILIANA G. PORCIUNCULA, alias MAAY), ANASTACIO BORJA Y GUILLERA (alias TATING), JUAN SUSAYA Y CORBIL, and RICARDO QUILAQUIL Y BORDAJE, appellants.

FACTS

On April 11, 1946, Pedro Porciuncula was shot to death in his Manila office. His wife, appellant Emiliana Go, initially informed police that two unknown persons were the killers. The crime was solved with the arrest of Anastacio Borja, Juan Susaya, Ricardo Quilaquil, and Erlinda Carson, whose signed statements admitted a conspiracy to kill the deceased and implicated Emiliana Go. The police recovered a “murder contract” dated April 3, 1946, signed and thumbmarked by Emiliana Go and Anastacio Borja, with Juan Susaya’s name also on it, wherein Emiliana Go agreed to pay P10,000 for the killing of her husband and to assume all responsibility. Erlinda Carson confessed to typing the document. The evidence established that Emiliana Go, unable to endure her husband’s infidelity and physical abuse, sought the help of her cousin Anastacio Borja to find someone to kill him. Borja enlisted Juan Susaya and Filemon Salcedo (alias Felix Lopez). An agreement was reached, and the contract was executed. To carry out the killing, Salcedo recruited Ricardo Quilaquil and others. An initial attempt on April 11, 1946, was thwarted when Quilaquil was arrested. Later that same evening, Salcedo and Marciano Peras, with Emiliana Go guiding them, entered the house and shot Pedro Porciuncula dead. After the murder, Emiliana Go paid a portion of the promised sum. At trial, Emiliana Go admitted signing the contract but claimed she was misled into believing it was for legal separation services. The other appellants denied participation, alleging their confessions were extracted by force.

ISSUE

Whether the appellants are guilty of the crimes charged (parricide for Emiliana Go and murder for her co-defendants) based on the evidence of conspiracy and their respective participation.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s judgment, finding all appellants guilty as charged. The Court held that the evidence, including the “murder contract,” the extrajudicial confessions, and the testimony of state witness Erlinda Carson, conclusively established a conspiracy to kill Pedro Porciuncula. Emiliana Go’s defense of being misled about the contract’s contents was rejected; her actions before and after the murder, including her failure to report known conspirators to the police, belied her innocence. For the other appellants, once conspiracy was proved, each conspirator is liable for the acts of the others in furtherance of the common plan. Their acceptance of shares in the payment after the murder and failure to withdraw from or report the conspiracy confirmed their participation. The sentence imposed by the trial court was in accordance with law.