Case Summary (A.C. No. 5763)
Proceedings Below
– Appellant initially pleaded not guilty but withdrew it at arraignment.
– Plea of guilty accepted; Fiscal recommended life imprisonment (reclusion perpetua) as mitigating.
– Trial court held the charged offense to be a complex crime (rebellion with murders, robberies, kidnapping), convicted Geronimo of that complex crime, imposed reclusion perpetua, ₱10,000 fine, and indemnities.
Question Presented
Whether the offense is a complex crime of “rebellion with murders, robberies, and kidnapping” or simple rebellion absorbing the attendant violent acts.
Supreme Court Majority’s Doctrine on Rebellion
– Rebellion (Art. 134) requires both political purpose and overt acts; overt acts of violence are described in Art. 135.
– Overt acts in furtherance of rebellion (combat, diversion of funds, serious violence) are absorbed into the single crime of rebellion and cannot be separately punished under Art. 48.
– Murders, robberies, kidnappings committed as means or in furtherance of rebellion do not give rise to a complex crime.
– The legislative history shows deliberate mitigation of punishment for rebels; separate complex penalties would frustrate that policy and exceed punishments for treason.
Application of Absorption Principle
– Counts 2 (treasury raid) and 4 (ambush of Army patrol) fall under “diverting public funds” and “engaging in combat.”
– Counts 1, 3, 5 involve killings of civilians or local peace officers; still deemed “serious violence” in Art. 135 and thus absorbed.
– No complex crime exists; the accused is punishable only for simple rebellion.
Disposition and Sentence
– Conviction modified: simple rebellion (Art. 135) on
Case Syllabus (A.C. No. 5763)
Procedural History
- June 24, 1954: Provincial Fiscal of Camarines Sur files information for rebellion with murders, robberies, and kidnapping against Federico Geronimo alias Cmdr. Oscar and numerous co-accused.
- Information joined similar charges in multiple criminal cases in Camarines Sur and Manila.
- October 12, 1954: At arraignment, appellant initially pleads not guilty but seeks and is allowed to change his plea to guilty.
- Fiscal recommends life imprisonment, citing voluntary plea as mitigating.
- Defense counsel contends only simple rebellion exists, as murders, robberies, and kidnapping are natural consequences of rebellion and thus cannot form a complex crime.
- October 18, 1954: Trial Court convicts appellant of the complex crime of rebellion with murders, robberies, and kidnappings; sentences him to reclusion perpetua, P10,000 fine, indemnification of P6,000 each to heirs of the slain, and costs.
- Appellant appeals, raising the sole issue of whether his offense is a complex crime or simple rebellion.
Facts of the Case
- From May 28, 1946 onward, members and affiliates of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and Hukbalahaps (HMB) engage in an armed uprising against the Philippine Government.
- Rebellion allegedly accompanied by murders, looting, kidnapping, arson, and destruction of property to further political aims.
Specific Overt Acts Alleged (Counts 1–5)
- Count 1 (April 28, 1949, Nueva Ecija): Ambush of Mrs. Aurora A. Quezon’s party; multiple civilian and military deaths, including Mrs. Quezon.
- Count 2 (August 26, 1950, Santa Cruz, Laguna): Armed Huks seize P80,000 from Provincial Treasury, appropriate typewriters and supplies, burn and loot private buildings.
- Count 3 (1951–1952, Pasaeao, Camarines Sur): Armed