Amount given to Irineo Bagoncia P15.00
One 10-peso bill and one 5-peso bill.
Amount given to me 15.00
One 10-peso bill and one 5-peso bill.
"I do not know how much was given to the old man Ignacio Gagua, as he was handed a roll of bills.
"All the statements hereinabove given are true. They are given freely without threat and inducement. And in witness whereof, I hereunto press my right thumb below, as I do not know how to write."cralaw virtua1aw library
"I, Ignacio Gagua, of age, married, farmer, and resident of the barrio of Nanpalcan, Umiñgan, Pangasinan, P. I., after being duly sworn in accordance with law, without force and intimidation having been exerted upon me, declare as follows:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph
"That on the 27th of August of this year, 1931, at about 10 o’clock p.m., Irineo Maguncia and Faustino Elmido of San Quintin called at my house and invited me to go to the house of Esteban Mones and later to that of Manuel Mico in the barrio of Nanpalcan, Umiñgan. Upon reaching his house, Esteban Mones gave Irineo Bagoncia a bolo, and then we all proceeded to the house of the old man, Manuel Mico, armed with bolos. Upon arriving at the house of the said Manuel Mico, Esteban Mones went up the house, and he was followed by Faustino Elmido, Irineo Maguncia and myself in the order named. As we entered the house, Esteban Mones took hold of the left arm of the old woman Adriana with his right hand and then struck her with his bolo twice. I did not notice on which parts of the body of Adriana the blows landed as I was then in the act of striking the little boy with my bolo on the left side below his armpit. Faustino Elmido also struck the little girl with his bolo, but I could not notice how many blows he gave her. Irineo Maguncia also struck the old man, Manuel Mico, with his (Maguncia) bolo twice. I did not notice on which parts of the body of the old man the blow landed. Soon after these persons dies in the house, Esteban Mones cut the lid of their trunk and forced it open. After taking the money contained in the trunk, he ordered us to go down. He came down later, as he first set the roof of the house, just above the door, on fire. As he came down, he again set the shed (patag-guab) south of the ladder of the house on fire. As the house was in flames, we all went home with instructions from Esteban Mones to meet together the following day in the town of Umiñgan where he would give us our share of the booty.
"That on the morning of the 28th of the same month and year, I went to the town and found Esteban Mones on a corner of a road South where we all met together. Then and there Esteban Mones handed me the amount of P16: one 10-peso bill, one 5-peso bill and one 1-peso bill. After receiving my share I went home and the others also returned home.
"All the statements hereinabove given are true. They are given without anybody inducing me or exerting undue influence upon me. And in witness whereof, I hereunto press my right thumb between my name and my surname, as I do not know how to write, this 19th day of September, 1931, in the municipality of Umiñgan, Pangasinan, P. I."cralaw virtua1aw library
"I, Esteban Mones, 35 years of age, single, born in Bacnotan, La Union, and actually residing in the municipality of Umiñgan, Pangasinan, for the last seven years, whose occupation is farmer, after being duly sworn in accordance with law, declare as follows:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph
"That one day in the month of July of this year, 1931, my uncle, Manuel Mico, of the barrio of Nampalcan, Umiñgan, sold a hog for P30. Five days after the sale. I went to him to ask for a loan of P5 on account of my extreme poverty. I was not favored with the loan asked of him and so I thought of committing wrong.
"That on account of the ill-feeling I harbored against my uncle, Manuel Mico, for his refusal to give me a loan, I went to my friends, Irineo Maguncia and Faustino Elmido, in the municipality of San Quintin on the morning of August 27 of this same year, 1931, and told them of the money that my uncle then had. We then agreed then and there to get the money of my uncle, Manuel Mico, at any cost. We further agreed to get the money on the night of the same day or the day when I went to the houses of the said Irineo Maguncia and Faustino Elmido.
"After our conference, I returned home in Umiñgan with the understanding that they (Irineo Maguncia and Faustino Elmido) would call on me at my house.
"That at about 7 o’clock in the evening, Irineo Maguncia and Faustino Elmido together with the old man Ignacio Gagua dropped home.
"That a few moments after their arrival at home, we started off together, including the old man Ignacio. We brought bolos with us. As Irineo Maguncia came home without a bolo, I furnished him one.
"On arriving at the above-named house of my uncle, Manuel Mico, I went upstairs, followed by Irineo Maguncia, Faustino Elmido and Ignacio Gagua in the order named. I know positively that we were in conversation as we went up, for I turned my face to them. Once in the house, I approached my aunt, Adriana Aganon, who was then sleeping, took hold of her left arm with my right hand and struck her with my bolo on the right nipple. She was awakened by the blow and because she shouted, saying ’Ay!’ I covered up her mouth with my hand until she died.
"Irineo Maguncia boloed my uncle, Manuel Mico, until the latter died. Faustino Elmido also boloed the little girl by the name of Juanita Ovina. The old man, Ignacio Gagua also boloed the little boy by the name of Domingo Ovina.
"That soon after the death of my uncle, Manuel Mico, and my aunt, Adriana Aganon, and the two children, I approached the trunk, cut it with my bolo and, after breaking the lid, forced it open. I then took the money that it contained in the amount of P100 in denominations of one 20-peso and eight 10-peso bills. Thereupon, I told my companions that we could then leave the place as I had already with me the money which was our objective. My companions then came down, while I remained upstairs as I first set the roof of the house, just above the ladder, on fire. Then as I came down I again set the shed (patag-guab) on fire. The house being then in flames, we left for our respective homes, giving them instructions to meet together the following morning at the town of Umiñgan where I would give each his share.
"That on the morning of the 28th of August of this same year, we met together in the poblacion of Umiñgan. Then and there I handed them their shares in the following amounts:
1. Irineo Magoncia P15.00
2. Faustino Elmido 15.00
3. Ignacio Gagua 16.00
4. I, the affiant 54.00
out of which nothing was left, as I spent it in taking care of my mother and my nephews and nieces.
"The statements hereinabove given are the whole truth. They were given freely without the use of force, intimidation and inducement. And in witness whereof, I hereunto place my right thumb mark between my name and surname this 19th day of September, 1931, in this municipality of Tayug, for I do not know how to write."cralaw virtua1aw library
The statement of Irineo Maguncia was not signed by him, but it is proved that when the statement was drawn up and read over to him that night at Tayug, he clearly stated "That is true, sir." In substance the statement thus approved by Maguncia follows in the main the lines of the declarations made by the three whose confessions have been quoted, Elmido admitting that he slew the old man Manuel Mico with his bolo, while the other accused performed the parts admitted by them in their several statements. In this statement Irineo asserted that Mones opened the chest and took therefrom P100 in money, and that Mones was the one who set the house on fire.
At the hearing in this case all of the accused stated that they were maltreated by Sergeant Villasista during the examination of the accused in Tayug, and all united in asserting that Lieutenant Polotan was not present when said acts of maltreatment were committed. The obvious mendacity of the latter statement deprives their testimony on this point entirely of credit, for it is evident that Lieutenant Polotan was present during the examination of the witnesses during the whole night prior to the time their confessions were given, and we have no doubt that the statements suggesting abuse were built up upon the incident that Lieutenant Polotan had to intervene energetically with his arms to prevent Mones from assaulting Gagua.
The facts above stated supply the basis for the conviction of the four accused in this case; and the point is here made in their favor that the proof of what is called the corpus delicti is not sufficient. In this connection we are reminded of the rule generally prevailing in American jurisdictions that before evidence of a confession in a homicide case is admitted there should be some proof that the person supposed to have been slain is in fact dead. In dealing with this subject in his treatise on the law of evidence Professor Wigmore calls attention to the fact that judicial decisions in the United States are not harmonious, but he says that in its orthodox sense the expression corpus delicti signifies the fact of specific loss or injury sustained; and he illustrates what he considers to be the correct meaning of the term by saying that "in homicide the fact of death, whether or not feloniously caused, is the corpus delicti; in arson, the fact of burning, whether or not wilful." (Wigmore on Evidence, sec. 2072.) This view has been accepted in this court. (People v. Bantagan, 54 Phil., 834.) It is true that cases can be cited from various courts to the effect that proof of the corpus delicti should go beyond mere proof of specific injury or loss and comprehend not only somebody’s criminal liability as the source of the loss but even the identity of the accused as the author of the crime. But, as observed by Professor Wigmore, if interpreted in this sense, the expression corpus delicti would be synonymous with the whole charge, and the rule would require corroborative evidence as to all elements of the crime independently of the confession. In conformity with the view of this learned author, we consider the more restricted meaning to be the one properly applicable to the expression in this jurisdiction. It is therefore unnecessary to require independent proof of the criminal connection of the four accused with the four deaths and with the crime of arson, apart from their several confessions.
Upon the point whether any reasonable doubt can be raised as to the innocence of the accused in the light of those confessions and related circumstances, only one conclusion can, in the opinion of the majority of the court, be deduced, namely, that they are guilty. As against Faustino Elmido we have his admissions made to Santiago Origenes in the morning after the crime was committed, and the later confession reduced to writing in Tayug and subsequently ratified before the justice of the peace of Umiñgan. As against Ignacio Gagua we have the circumstance that, when first arrested and questioned by Lieutenant Polotan before the justice of the peace of Umiñgan in the afternoon of September 18, he admitted that he was present and saw the murders committed, and on the same night at Tayug he repeated this confession, with additional circumstance indicating his own guilt. The next morning he ratified this confession before the justice of the peace of Umiñgan, in connection with which he pointed out, as already stated, with sufficient details the place and manner in which he was paid P16 of the booty. As against Irineo Maguncia we have his admissions to Origenes, and the subsequent confession which was reduced to writing at Tayug; and although this confession was not confirmed the next morning by the signature or mark of this accused, the proof leaves no room for doubt that the confession, as reduced to writing, is true. Lastly, the guilt of Esteban Mones is shown by his confession in writing and by the fact that he subsequently ratified it with his mark. In addition to this, we have the circumstance of his physical assault on Gagua, based precisely on the fact, not that Gagua was speaking falsely as to the intervention of Mones in the crime, but because Gagua at first had refused to admit his own guilt.
We conclude that the confession of all four of the accused were voluntarily made and the circumstance that they may have been subjected to questioning by Lieutenant Polotan with respect to their participation in the crime does not render these confessions incompetent. In weighing the truthfulness of these confessions, we should remember that the inference of guilt drawn against the four is corroborated by the testimony of Santiago Origenes, a witness who had no motive to reveal the guilt of the four accused other than a laudable desire to bring the guilty to justice. Indeed, he was indirectly connected with two of the accused by ties of kinship, — a circumstance which tended rather to seal his lips than to cause him to reveal the truth.
With respect to the qualification of this offense, or offenses, we note that the four accused were prosecuted upon an information charging robbery en cuadrilla, with quadruple homicide and arson. Fundamentally this is a prosecution for the complex crime of robbery with homicide, and of this offense the accused were convicted. Technically this is a higher offense than simple robbery or simple homicide, and even than murder. Moreover, the crime of robbery with homicide remains fundamentally the same regardless of the number of persons killed in connection with the robbery. There is only one offense. (People v. Manuel, 44 Phil., 333.) But, in such a case, where the accusation of robbery fails, but multiple homicide or murder is proved, the accused must be sentenced for the several separate offenses of homicide or murder (U. S. v. Lahoy-lahoy and Madanlog, 38 Phil., 330); and in this case, if the proof should be held insufficient as to the robbery, the result would be, under the Revised Penal Code, that each of the accused would be sentenced for the four murders committed by them. In view of this fact we are constrained to sustain the conviction for robbery with homicide, upon the concurrent confessions of each of the four accused to the effect that robbery was the purpose of the crime and that P100 in money were taken from the trunk of Manuel Mico. As to the moral basis of this fact we entertain no doubt whatever, although there is no independent evidence, apart from the confessions that robbery was committed. In thus sustaining the trial court in its finding of robbery we do not wish to be understood as declaring that this appreciation could prevail if the prosecution consisted of a charge of robbery only, or if the conclusion reached were in fact unfavorable to the accused.
In connection with the crime is to be estimated the aggravating circumstance that the offense was committed in the dwelling house of the injured parties, nocturnity being absorbed in the alevosia which is constitutive of murder. The same may perhaps be said of the aggravating circumstance of abuse of superior strength, as regards the offenses committed upon the person of the two children. As against the aggravating circumstance we allow the mitigating circumstance of lack of instruction. But this point is immaterial in this case as the ultimate penalty could not be imposed in view of the lack of unanimity on the part of the court.
To the penalty of reclusion perpetua, imposed on each of the accused by the trial court, must be added three months and eleven days for the crime of arson, under No. 1 of article 322 of the Revised Penal Code, there being no allegations in the information with respect to the arson which would justify the imposition of a more severe penalty. Also, the dispositive part of the appealed decision must be amended so as to require that the indemnity imposed on the accused shall be paid to the heirs of the four victims instead of to "each" of the heirs of said victims.
It being understood, therefore, that the judgment is modified to the extent above stated, said judgment is affirmed. So ordered, with costs against the appellants.
Avanceña, C.J., Ostrand, Villa-Real, Hull, Vickers and Imperial, JJ., concur.