G.R. No. L-3766 July 31, 1951
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. ELICERIO TAN alias LICERIO TAN, ET AL., defendants. ELICERIO TAN, alias LICERIO TAN, LEON TIÑAMOR, LUIS NAKUA, and MORO SAMA-SATTARI, defendants-appellants.

FACTS

On September 24, 1948, shortly after midnight, the copra warehouse of Bunge Far East Agencies, Inc., in Isabela, City of Basilan, was robbed. Intruders entered through a high window by cutting its wire screen, leaving a bolo outside and a buri hat (later admitted by appellant Luis Nakua) inside. They broke into the manager’s office, destroyed a Yale lock, and stole a steel safe containing P27,306.80 in cash, ammunition, and magazines. The safe was later found hidden in a coconut plantation about a kilometer away, with attempts made to force it open. During the robbery, night watchman Rosendo Perez, 68, was attacked and killed with a wooden club, sustaining fourteen contused and lacerated wounds, primarily to the head, causing cerebral hemorrhage.
Earlier that night, Juan Tan reported his father’s 6×6 truck stolen from their garage. He located the truck parked near the Basilan Lunch restaurant, with its engine running, and found appellant Elicerio Tan inside. Elicerio Tan was initially detained and released but was rearrested after Perez’s body and the robbery were discovered. Based on his statements, co-appellants Moro Sama-Sattari, Luis Nakua, Leon Tiñamor, and seven others were arrested. Elicerio Tan, Sama-Sattari, Tiñamor, and Nakua executed sworn affidavits before a municipal judge detailing their participation.
The eleven accused were charged with robbery in band with homicide. During trial, the case against seven co-accused was dismissed for lack of evidence. The defense presented Gregorio Flores, a prisoner serving time for robbery and theft, who claimed he and five companions committed the crime, not the appellants. The trial court disbelieved Flores’s testimony.

ISSUE

Whether the trial court erred in admitting the affidavits of the appellants (Exhibits R, J, T, H, and S) as voluntary and in finding the appellants guilty of robbery with homicide based on evidence including these affidavits.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction. The affidavits were deemed voluntarily given, as the appellants’ claims of severe torture and maltreatment by police were not credible; only Elicerio Tan showed minor injuries (abrasions on the glans penis and contusions near the left eye), which did not substantiate the alleged brutal treatment. The court found the appellants, in conspiracy with others, guilty of robbery with homicide. The crime was aggravated by nighttime and the use of a motor vehicle (the stolen truck), warranting the maximum penalty of death. However, due to lack of necessary votes for death, the penalty was reclusion perpetua, as imposed by the lower court. The indemnity to the heirs of Rosendo Perez was increased from P2,000 to P6,000. The decision was affirmed with modifications.