G.R. No. L-2029; May 6, 1950
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. JUAN MONES, defendant-appellant.

FACTS

On the evening of April 24, 1947, during a commencement exercise at La Paz Elementary School in Umingan, Pangasinan, a shooting occurred. Multiple shots were fired from behind the stage. Captain Federico Doliente, who was seated on the stage, was fatally wounded and died two days later. Two students near the stage, Segundina Tierra and Florentina Gacayan, were also killed by stray bullets. The parish priest, Fr. Hidulfo Gabriel, who was on the stage, immediately looked back upon hearing the shots and saw a man shooting at Captain Doliente with a nickel-plated pistol from about four yards behind the stage. Fr. Gabriel chased, caught, and grappled with the assailant. During the struggle, Leoncio Mones (the assailant’s brother) and Crispulo Pangangaan intervened. Fr. Gabriel identified the assailant as the shooter, and the assailant remained silent. He was released upon the insistence of Leoncio and Pangangaan. The assailant was later identified as Juan Mones, who was arrested on May 6, 1947, and signed an extra-judicial confession. At trial, Juan Mones interposed an alibi, claiming he was in a different part of the auditorium and was merely caught in the panic. He was convicted of murder by the trial court and sentenced to reclusion perpetua.

ISSUE

Whether the trial court erred in convicting Juan Mones of three counts of murder based on the evidence presented.

RULING

No, the trial court did not err. The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction. The positive identification by Fr. Gabriel, who witnessed the shooting and chased the appellant without losing sight of him, was credible and sufficient to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The Court found the appellant’s alibi weak and unsubstantiated, noting it was physically possible for him to have committed the crime. The testimony of his corroborating witness was deemed too coincidental and detailed to be credible. The Court also held that the killing of Captain Doliente was qualified by treachery (alevosia) as the attack was sudden and from behind, ensuring no risk to the assailant. The deaths of the two students were a direct consequence of the same felonious act. Juan Mones was found guilty of three separate murders, each qualified by treachery. The penalty of reclusion perpetua for each offense was imposed, with indemnities to the heirs of each victim.

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