Title
People vs. Gorgonio Ponce alias Gregorio Ponce
Case
G.R. No. L-2482
Decision Date
Jan 31, 1950
Gorgonio Ponce, accused of treason, participated in Japanese-led raids in 1944, executing civilians. Witnesses confirmed his involvement; his defense of being a prisoner and under 18 was rejected, resulting in a 12-year sentence.
treason
criminal law
civil rights
A

Case Summary (G.R. No. L-2482)

Factual Background

The People’s case relied on the testimony of multiple witnesses who identified the accused and described, with varying degrees of detail, raids and executions carried out by a patrol composed of Japanese soldiers and Filipino undercovers, including the accused, together with companions named in the evidence, namely Miguel Maglasang and Ben Valencia. In substance, the witnesses testified that the patrol arrived early in the morning, surrounded homes, investigated persons suspected of connection with the guerrilla, bound victims, and executed them—often after tearing a shirt for use as blindfolding material and using a scythe for slashing. Several witnesses stated that the accused was among those who conducted the investigation, ordered kneeling, and inflicted or participated in the killings. They also testified to burial of the corpses in the vicinity of the victims’ homes and, in some instances, to the unknown whereabouts of prisoners who were taken away by the patrol.

Prosecution Evidence on the Five Counts

In support of the allegations in Count 2, Segundo Libotlibot testified that on November 11, 1944 he was at his house in barrio Tayud, Liloan, Cebu, when the accused, accompanied by Miguel Maglasang and Ben Valencia, came with two Japanese accompanying them. The group searched and ransacked the house. They questioned his son Santos about the whereabouts of a brother who was a soldier. Santos was ordered down, seized, tied, blindfolded, and kneeling was thereafter killed by the accused’s acts involving a scythe, with a subsequent fatal slash by Valencia. Libotlibot buried the corpse in the premises of the house and further testified that he had seen the accused accompany Jap patrols because there was a Japanese garrison in Liloan at the time.

To corroborate, EULOGIA JALANG testified that she knew the accused because his house was near where she resided. She stated that the accused, nicknamed “Onyong,” along with Maglasang and Valencia and some Japanese, came to their house and searched it. She testified that her son Santos was questioned about a brother who was a guerrilla, bound, blindfolded with material from a torn shirt, kneeling was ordered, and Santos was slashed and executed during the patrol. She stated that the group proceeded away after the execution and that the corpse was buried in the premises.

For Counts 3, 4, and 5, CIPRIANO CUYOS testified that very early on November 11, 1944, while it was still dark, he met undercovers serving the Japanese, including the accused, Maglasang, and Valencia. He reported maltreatment, smashing of his bamboo container, and that he was tied and taken with the group to several houses where other persons were apprehended and maltreated. He testified that prisoners were investigated regarding side-arms and alleged guerrilla membership. He recounted that blindfolding involved cloth torn from a shirt and that a Japanese with a scythe slashed a neck, after which Maglasang administered a finishing blow. CUYOS also testified to an attempted escape by another prisoner, shot fired by members of the patrol, his own subsequent imprisonment, and a later escape where his binding was eventually loosened when he encountered a guerrilla. He also testified that the whereabouts of some persons taken away remained unknown at the time of trial.

For Count 3, BONIFACIO PITOGO stated that the accused came to his house on November 11, 1944 with companions and that Japanese soldiers and other persons surrounded the house. He testified that his son Eleuterio Pitogo was investigated and that after going down from the house he was bound by the accused and others and was thereafter never heard of despite efforts to locate him.

For Count 4, BENITO MAKILAN testified that on November 11, 1944 the accused and two Filipino companions, together with Japanese, came to his house at around 6:30 in the morning. He stated that the Japanese and the group ordered him at gunpoint to go down and that his sons Sixto and Candido Makilan were dragged down and investigated about guerrilla membership and side-arms. He testified that the accused bound them with a rope. He recounted the blindfolding of Candido using torn shirt material, that the accused was present nearby while slashing with a scythe occurred, and that Candido was killed with slashes by the Japanese and Maglasang. After the killings, the group allegedly left after taking Sixto, and MAKILAN testified that he later found Sixto with bullet wounds and buried both sons near their house. He further testified that the accused had opportunity to know that his sons were giving aid to the guerrilla.

For Count 5, DIOSDADA HUDAYA testified that on November 11, 1944 their house in barrio Tayud was surrounded by Japanese soldiers and Filipino undercovers at about 8:00 in the morning. She stated that the accused, along with Ben Valencia and Maglasang, came up to the house, bound her father Severo Hudaya and her brother Daminiano Hudaya, investigated them regarding guerrilla connection and weapons, and subjected them to punishment administered by the accused and his companions. She testified that after Sixto Makilan ran away, the patrol fired at him and that the accused struck Rufina Pepito with a scythe, causing her death. She then testified that Severo Hudaya was executed by the accused by slashing his neck twice while he kneeling. She also stated that Daminiano Hudaya was taken away and his whereabouts has been unknown, and that Severo Hudaya and Daminiano Hudaya were buried near their house. She testified that they were guerrilla members who aided the resistance with foodstuffs.

On Count 1, the incidents on November 9, 1944 were supported by testimony of GAUDENCIO PILAPIL, who stated that his son Casimiro Pilapil was brought down by a group composed of one Japanese and three Filipino undercovers and was asked about guerrillas. He testified that during the patrol’s subsequent actions, his son was included among tied prisoners and was bayonetted and stabbed twice with bayonet thrusts by the accused, Gregorio Ponce. He testified that after the burning of the house where prisoners were kept, he returned with another son and buried the corpse. FORTUNATA LAURON, Casimiro’s mother, testified that on November 9, 19— (as written in the record) the accused and a Japanese soldier arrested her son after searching her house, and that she later saw him dead. She testified that she found two wounds in the corpse and that Casimiro had been a member of the volunteer guard.

Additionally, JULIANA HUDAYA testified that on November 11, 1944 the Japanese and Filipino undercovers surrounded their house, ordered family members to go down, bound and investigated her elder brother Daminiano, and subjected him to maltreatment. She testified that the accused commented that her father should be killed due to guerrilla membership. She described the death of Rufina Pepito by scythe slashing and the execution of Severo Hudaya by scythe slashing while kneeling. She also testified to the taking away of Daminiano and that his whereabouts remained unknown, with burial of the executed persons near their house.

Defense Theory and Attempted Impeachment

The accused and his witnesses presented a contrary narrative. The accused claimed that he was himself a prisoner of the Japanese during the raids and killings, with his hands bound behind his back. He asserted that he was a guerrilla runner who had been arrested and tortured by the Japanese and that the marks of violence on his body supported his claim. He contended that there was no conceivable reason for the Japanese to take a prisoner along during raids and killings of civilians, as a prisoner would supposedly be a liability. He further suggested that the injuries he exhibited were more plausibly inflicted by guerrillas. He also testified that soon after the Americans came, he was seized by guerrillas and turned over to the GIC of American forces. Finally, he claimed to have been twenty years of age around January 3, 1948, implying that when the deeds were allegedly committed in November 9 and 11, 1944, he would have been below eighteen, which he argued should lower the penalty to prision mayor and require imposition in the maximum degree of the reduced punishment.

Trial-Court Evaluation and Credibility Determination

The People’s Court convicted the accused on all five counts. The decision placed particular emphasis on the credibility of the witnesses, finding their testimony to be true. The appellate review focused on whether the lower court made any error in its factual findings and assessment of testimony. The Court indicated that after reading the record, it was satisfied that the lower court did not commit error in its findings, thereby sustaining the conviction.

The Parties' Contentions on Appeal

The appellant essentially relied on two lines of defense. First, he maintained that he was not a participant but was instead a prisoner under Japanese control during the raids and killings, making his supposed involvement implausible. Second, he invoked an alleged minority at the time of the commission of the acts, urging a penalty reduction. The prosecution, as represented in the People’s evidence summarized by the People’s Court, maintained through multiple identifying witnesses that the appellant acted as one of the undercovers in the patrol and participated in investigations, bindings, and executions of persons suspected of aiding the guerrilla, including incidents leading to the deaths of Santos, Candido and Sixto Makilan, Eleuterio Pitogo, Rufina Pepito, Severo Hudaya, and Casimiro Pilapil.

Ruling of the Supreme Court

The Court affirmed the judgment appealed f

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