G.R. No. L-2549
THE UNITED STATES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. EMETERIO DACANAY, defendant-appellant.

FACTS:
1. The record of the case was received by the Supreme Court from the Court of First Instance on March 30, 1905, and was subsequently transmitted to the Attorney-General’s office for translation of the testimony into Spanish.
2. The stenographer’s certificate initially stated that the record contained all the evidence taken in the case, which only included the defendant’s witnesses and one rebuttal witness for the prosecution.
3. Upon return from the Attorney-General’s office, the translation improperly included unsigned and uncertified statements from witnesses examined during the preliminary investigation before the justice of the peace, which were not part of the original record.
4. The prosecution had presented six witnesses in the trial court, but their testimonies were not properly preserved as required under Section 32 of General Orders No. 58. The purported abstract of their testimonies was unsigned and uncertified, rendering it inadmissible.

ISSUE:
Whether the failure to properly preserve and certify the testimonies of the prosecution’s witnesses warrants a reversal of the judgment and a new trial.

RULING:
1. The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the lower court and ordered a new trial, citing precedents (U.S. v. Pablo Tan, U.S. v. Hollis, and U.S. v. Quilatan).
2. The Court held that the absence of duly certified testimonies from the prosecution’s witnesses deprived the defendant of a fair review of the case.
3. At the new trial, previously taken evidence need not be retaken, but either party may present additional evidence.
4. The case was remanded to the lower court for execution of the judgment after compliance.

Disposition: Judgment REVERSED; case REMANDED for new trial. Arellano, C.J., Torres, Mapa, Carson, and Tracey, JJ., concurred.