G.R. No. L-9064-67; April 30, 1958
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. SORIANO ALCARAZ Y LICUANAN alias ANO, ET AL., defendants-appellants.

FACTS

Late in the evening of May 19, 1954, Alberto Agaran and the Canary brothers (Jaime, Lorenzo, and Romeo) were inside a calesa parked on Bankusay Street, Tondo, Manila. The calesa became the target of concentrated gunfire from in front and behind, resulting in the death of Alberto Agaran and Jaime Canary and the serious wounding of Lorenzo Canary. Romeo Canary jumped down and ran but was intercepted and stabbed by one of the assailants, Celso Carillo. The horse was also shot. For these acts, multiple accused were charged in four separate cases: two for murder (for the deaths of Agaran and Jaime Canary) and two for frustrated murder (for the wounding of Lorenzo and Romeo Canary). Before trial, one accused (Elino Manzano) was killed, and another (Ambrosio Diaz) was discharged to be a state witness. After a joint trial, the lower court acquitted three accused (Moises Halili, Amando Santos, and Melchor Martinez) based on alibi. The remaining accused—Soriano Alcaraz, Carlos Espino, Manuel Samonte, Jose Halili, Santos Cruz, and Celso Carillo—were convicted. The trial court imposed varying penalties, with Santos Cruz and Celso Carillo receiving relatively lighter sentences because they surrendered, a mitigating circumstance. The convicted defendants appealed.

ISSUE

The primary issue for the Supreme Court’s review was the correctness of the trial court’s judgment of conviction and the penalties imposed on the appellants.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the convictions but modified the penalties. The Court adopted the trial court’s well-reasoned findings of fact, which were based on the evidence and witness testimonies. The Court found that the crimes were committed with the qualifying circumstance of treachery (alevosia) and the generic aggravating circumstance of band (cuadrilla). For the two murder cases (G.R. No. L-9064 and L-9065), the Supreme Court imposed the death penalty on Soriano Alcaraz, Carlos Espino, Manuel Samonte, and Jose Halili, and reclusion perpetua on Santos Cruz and Celso Carillo. For the two frustrated murder cases (G.R. No. L-9066 and L-9067), the Court imposed indeterminate prison terms. The judgment was affirmed in all other respects, including the indemnities to the victims’ heirs.