G.R. No. L-3001; June 17, 1950
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. BENITO ATIENZA and JULIAN CLOSA, defendants. JULIAN CLOSA, appellant.

FACTS

Appellant Julian Closa and his co-accused Benito Atienza were charged with murder for killing Pedro Mendoza. Atienza pleaded guilty and was sentenced. After a joint trial where both were arraigned only after the prosecution had rested, Closa was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment. The prosecution evidence established that Closa, bearing a grudge against Mendoza, invited Atienza to kill him. They found Mendoza sleeping in his house, where Closa first struck him with a bolo, followed by Atienza. Mendoza suffered sixteen wounds. The following morning, the accused were seen coming from the direction of Mendoza’s house, and Atienza later confessed to relatives that they had killed someone. Atienza’s extrajudicial confessions, implicating Closa and made in Closa’s presence without protest, were admitted in evidence. Closa’s defense of alibi was rejected by the trial court.

ISSUE

Whether the trial court erred in convicting appellant Julian Closa of murder despite procedural irregularities in his arraignment and the admission of evidence.

RULING

No. The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction with modification. The procedural irregularity of conducting the trial and resting the prosecution’s case before arraignment was cured when Closa’s counsel agreed to the reproduction of the evidence already presented and had full opportunity to cross-examine witnesses. Closa’s guilt was proven beyond reasonable doubt by circumstantial evidence and Atienza’s extrajudicial confessions, which were admissible against Closa as they were made in his presence without denial or protest, constituting an admission by silence under the Rules of Court. The killing was qualified by treachery. The Court increased the indemnity to the heirs of the deceased to P6,000.

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