Case Digest (G.R. No. L-1278)
Facts:
In Loreto Barrioquinto and Norberto Jimenez vs. Enrique A. Fernandez, Antonio Belmonte, and Felicisimo Ocampo, G.R. No. L-1278, decided January 21, 1949, petitioners Jimenez and Barrioquinto were separately charged with murder before the Court of First Instance of Zamboanga after World War II. Jimenez was tried first and, in his absence, sentenced to life imprisonment. Before perfecting his appeal, he learned of Proclamation No. 8 (September 7, 1946), granting amnesty to persons who committed Revised Penal Code offenses in furtherance of resistance against the Japanese occupation from December 8, 1941 until liberation. Both petitioners submitted their cases to the 14th Guerrilla Amnesty Commission, presided by respondents Fernandez, Belmonte, and Ocampo. On January 9, 1947, after a preliminary hearing, the Commission returned their records to the trial court without ruling on amnesty, reasoning that neither petitioner admitted commission of the crime or its political motive. TheCase Digest (G.R. No. L-1278)
Facts:
- Parties and criminal proceedings
- Petitioners Norberto Jimenez and Loreto Barrioquinto were charged with murder under the Revised Penal Code. Jimenez was tried and sentenced to life imprisonment by the Court of First Instance (CFI) of Zamboanga; Barrioquinto remained at large and faced a separate pending case.
- Before perfecting an appeal, both petitioners learned of Proclamation No. 8 (Sept. 7, 1946), granting amnesty for acts in furtherance of resistance to the Japanese from December 8, 1941 until local liberation, and applied to the 14th Guerrilla Amnesty Commission (the Commission).
- Commission action and procedural history
- The Commission commenced a preliminary hearing. Barrioquinto denied responsibility for the killing, blaming another guerrillero, and neither petitioner admitted guilt.
- On January 9, 1947, the Commission ordered the cases returned to the CFI of Zamboanga without deciding on amnesty, holding that an admission of commission was required to invoke the Proclamation’s benefits.
- Petitioners filed a special action for mandamus to compel the Commission to act and decide their amnesty applications.
Issues:
- Must an applicant for presidential amnesty under Proclamation No. 8 admit having committed the offense as a precondition to be heard and decided by the Guerrilla Amnesty Commission?
- Is the Commission obliged to investigate and determine entitlement to amnesty on the merits despite the plea of not guilty?
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)