G.R. No. L-2325; April 21, 1950
EL PUEBLO DE FILIPINAS, plaintiff-appellee, vs. MARCOS DUCO, JULIAN DUCO, PEDRO ODUCAYEN, EPITACIO TABUYOD, ALFREDO CALA, and NICOLAS LUNA, defendants. MARCOS DUCO, appellant.

FACTS

Marcos Duco and several others were charged with double murder for the deaths of Numeriano Evangelista and his son Filipino. The prosecution moved to dismiss the charges against all accused except Marcos Duco, which the court granted. After trial, the Court of First Instance of Ilocos Norte convicted Marcos Duco of two counts of murder and sentenced him to two penalties of reclusion perpetua. He appealed. The evidence for the prosecution, including testimony from a co-accused turned witness, established that on December 30, 1944, Duco and his companions took the victims from Bungro to Nagrebcan. At a guerrilla quarters, their leader Pedro Oducayen, after confirming with Duco that these were the persons he had mentioned, assaulted Numeriano with a piece of wood. Duco then bayoneted Numeriano in the chest. Oducayen then assaulted Filipino, after which Duco struck him with a rifle butt and bayoneted him in the neck. The victims were buried afterward. Duco’s defense was that he was merely a prisoner of the guerrilla unit forced to follow orders under threat of death, and that an anonymous Igorot executioner actually killed the victims. He also invoked amnesty, claiming the victims were Japanese spies because Numeriano was a “Ho president” and Filipino a “Ko leader.”

ISSUE

1. Whether the trial court erred in convicting appellant Marcos Duco of two separate counts of murder.
2. Whether the appellant is entitled to amnesty for the killings.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction with modification as to the service of the penalties.
1. The defense of acting under the orders of a superior is unacceptable. The evidence shows Duco was the one who denounced the victims to the guerrilla leader, Oducayen, and he actively participated in the killings. His claim of being a prisoner is belied by his own affidavit showing he was a member of the guerrilla unit. The claim that an anonymous Igorot killed the victims is not credible.
2. The appellant is not entitled to amnesty. The mere fact that Numeriano was a “Ho president” (a barrio lieutenant) and Filipino a “Ko leader” is insufficient to prove they were Japanese spies. There was no evidence they aided the Japanese; in fact, they had evacuated on orders of the guerrillas. The killings did not aid the resistance.
3. The trial court correctly convicted Duco of two separate murders under Article 48 of the Revised Penal Code. The killing of each victim was a distinct act, committed with alevosia (treachery), as the victims were detained, unarmed, and lying on the ground when bayoneted. One act was not necessary to commit the other. However, in serving the two penalties of reclusion perpetua, the total period of imprisonment shall not exceed forty (40) years, pursuant to Article 70 of the Revised Penal Code.

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