Case Digest (A.M. No. 2040-MJ)
Facts:
People of the Philippines v. Maximo Pacheco, G.R. No. L-4570, July 31, 1953, the Supreme Court En Banc, Bengzon, J., writing for the Court.The respondent below and appellant here was Maximo Pacheco (alias Emong, alias Guemo); the plaintiff-appellee was the People of the Philippines. Pacheco was prosecuted by an amended information charging treason in two counts: the first count accused him of participating in the arrest, maltreatment and shooting of Ceferino Rivera on January 2, 1945 in the Municipality of Polo, Bulacan; the second count charged him with arresting and torturing Judge Eugenio Angeles in February 1945 in the City of Manila.
Trial was had in the Court of First Instance of Bulacan before Judge Manuel P. Barcelona. At the outset the defense questioned the Bulacan court’s jurisdiction over the second count because it alleged acts that occurred in Manila; the trial judge overruled the jurisdictional objection. On January 10, 1951 the trial court found Pacheco guilty as charged, sentenced him to imprisonment for life, imposed a fine of P10,000 and ordered indemnity of P6,000 to the heirs of Ceferino Rivera. Pacheco appealed.
On appeal to this Court the principal contentions raised in appellant’s printed brief boiled down to (1) lack of jurisdiction by the Bulacan court to try acts occurring in Manila and (2) insufficiency/credibility of the witnesses who testified for the prosecution. The Court reviewed the record, the trial testimony of eyewitnesses to the Polo killing (Isidro Rivera, Dominga Camatos, Antonio de Guzman, Federico San Juan and Regino Galicia) and testimony relating to the Manila arrest and torture (Judge Eugenio Angeles, his son Gr...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Did the Court of First Instance of Bulacan have jurisdiction to try the second count which alleged acts occurring in the City of Manila?
- Did the evidence, considering witness credibility and the two-witness requirement, establish beyond reasonable doubt that Maximo Pacheco committed treason as ch...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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