Case Summary (G.R. No. 166105)
Key Dates
- Decision Date: March 29, 1905
Applicable Law
- Philippine Penal Code (enacted under the Philippine Commission)
• Article 8, paragraph 9 (irresistible force exemption) - Act No. 619, Section 4 (voluntariness of confessions)
Facts of the Case
The lower court convicted the defendants as accessories after the fact to murder on the ground that they assisted in burying the victims’ bodies to conceal the crime. Neither Caballeros nor Baculi was charged as principal or accomplice in the killings themselves, but both were adjudged guilty for participation in the burial.
Issue Presented
Whether the evidence supports convicting the defendants as accessories after the fact, given claims of coercion and absence from the crime scene, and whether their confessions were made freely and voluntarily.
Analysis as to Roberto Baculi
Roberto Baculi admitted aiding in the burial but testified (and was corroborated by eyewitness Teodoro Sabate) that he acted under duress. Sabate, a prosecution witness, placed Baculi harvesting bananas elsewhere when the murders occurred. According to Sabate, he was accosted by the true perpetrators—identified as Damaso and Isidoro—who forced him at gunpoint to inter the bodies. Under Article 8, paragraph 9 of the Penal Code, acts performed under “irresistible force” do not incur criminal liability. The court concluded Baculi’s conduct fell squarely within this exemption.
Analysis as to Apolonio Caballeros
There was no direct evidence placing Caballeros at the burial site or participating in the concealment. Both Baculi and Sabate affirmed that Caballeros was neither present nor involved. The lone supposed confession by Caballeros, recorded by Constabulary official Enrique Calderon, lacked voluntariness. Calderon acknowledged only Baculi’s confession was given freely; Caballeros’s purported admission stemmed from promises of leniency. Under Section 4 of Act No. 619, confessions must be voluntary, without threat, force, or promise of pardon, to be admissible.
Non-Reporting of the Crime
The trial court cited the defendants’ failure to notify authorities as further evidence of guilt. However, the Penal
...continue readingCase Syllabus (G.R. No. 166105)
Facts of the Case
- The Court of First Instance of Cebu convicted Apolonio Caballeros and others as accessories after the fact to the assassination of four American schoolteachers: Louis A. Thomas, Clyde O. France, John E. Wells, and Ernest Eger.
- Defendants were sentenced to seven years of presidio mayor for allegedly participating in the burial of the victims’ corpses to conceal the crime.
- Roberto Baculi confessed to assisting in the burial but claimed he acted under compulsion by the actual murderers.
- Teodoro Sabate, an eyewitness for the prosecution, testified that Baculi was in his banana plantation when he heard the gunshots, fled, and was forced at gunpoint by leaders Damaso and Isidoro to bury the bodies.
- Apolonio Caballeros was never present at the burial site; both Baculi and Sabate expressly stated that Caballeros did not assist in any way.
Applicable Legal Provisions
- Penal Code, Article 8, paragraph 9: Exempts from liability any person who performs an act by reason of irresistible force.
- Act No. 619 (Philippine Commission), Section 4: Confessions must be freely and voluntarily made, without force, intimidation, or promise of pardon, to be admissible as evidence.