Case Digest (G. R. No. L-4230)
Facts:
People of the Philippines v. Fausto Taborada, G.R. No. L-4230, May 31, 1952, Supreme Court En Banc, Labrador, J., writing for the Court. Paras, Pablo, Bengzon, Tuason, and Montemayor, JJ., concur; Mr. Justice Jugo took no part.The prosecution charged Fausto Taborada with treason in four counts (Counts Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5) arising from multiple arrests, beatings and detentions of persons suspected of being guerrillas during the Japanese occupation in 1944. The contested incidents occurred on various dates in 1944 in Cebu City and its environs; the evidence for each count came from lay witnesses who said they saw or observed the aftermath of arrests and maltreatment and who identified Taborada as one of the undercovers or captors.
Count No. 2 related to the arrest and beating of Francisco Lopez on August 24, 1944; two witnesses (Lopez and Francisca Navaja) testified that Taborada summoned Lopez to the Kempei Tai, had him tied and suspended, and personally beat him with a branch while undercovers questioned him.
Count No. 3 involved the arrest of Timoteo Cabras and the detention of his family on January 27, 1944; witnesses Timoteo and Marcela Cabras testified that Taborada, accompanied by undercovers and Japanese soldiers, took Timoteo to the Kempei Tai, tied him, and later sent him to the mountains to perform forced labor.
Count No. 4 concerned the arrest of Domingo Nacorda on November 2 (or 4), 1944; witnesses Teofista Nacorda, Juana Jomaoan and Trinidad Alesna described how Domingo was seized, tied, and detained, and how Taborada and other undercovers participated in the arrest and custody.
Count No. 5 described the July 29, 1944 roundup at Mambaling and subsequent events at Mount Toong in which Braulio Padilla and some 22 Filipinos were detained, beaten, and, according to the prosecution, many of whom were later shot; witnesses Teofista Sacristan, Tereso Sanchez, and Antonio de la Cerna placed Taborada among the undercovers who arrested or guarded inmates, and testified to beatings of Padilla and others, although testimony attributed the actual shootings to Japanese soldiers.
Taborada admitted Filipino citizenship and presented a defense that he had been a guerrilla operative under Lieutenant Pedro Villareal from January to September 1944 and that his arrests and punishments were done in that capacity or under orders of Villareal to discipline collaborators. He also claimed periods of detention by the Japanese that, he said, made him incapable of participating in certain incidents. Th...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Was appellant Fausto Taborada’s conviction under Counts Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5 supported by evidence beyond reasonable doubt and by the two-witness rule?
- Was there sufficient evidence to hold appellant criminally responsible for the killing of Braulio Padilla and the other pris...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
- (Pro-only)
Ratio:
- (Pro-only)
Doctrine:
- (Pro-only)