REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES SUPREME COURT reported he had been robbed, one of the robbers being Luis his
of the robbers being Luis his stomach about thirty meters away from the house. Three days
G. R. No. L-3634 Promulgated: May 30, 1951
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Plaintiff-Appellee, -versus
BARTOLO SALADINO and ANASTACIA ALEJO, Defendants-
Appellants.
Present: Paras, C.J., Feria, Pablo, Bengzon, Tuason, Montemayor,
Jugo, & Baustista Angelo, JJ.
DECISION
Bartolo Saladino and Anastacio Alejo have appealed from two
decisions of the court of first instance of Ilocos Norte convicting
them of the murder of Luis Bernabe. Accused in one information,
they asked, and were granted, separate trials. But with their
consent, the prosecution presented its evidence against both at
the same time. Bartolo Saladino submitted his defense first. Judge
Manuel F. Barcelona found him guilty and sentenced him to
reclusion perpetua, with the accessories, and to indemnify the
heirs of the deceased in the sum of P6000, without subsidiary
imprisonment, and to pay one half of the costs. Thereafter
Anastacio Alejo presented his witnesses. Rebuttal and sub-
rebuttal testimony followed. Judge Antonio Belmonte, convicted
and sentenced him to reclusion perpetua with the accessories,
and to indemnify the heirs of the deceased in the amount of
P3000 with subsidiary imprisonment and to pay on half of the
costs. In this appeal, the appellants submitted, by their respective
counsel, two briefs, which the Solicitor-General answered in one.
The evidence for the prosecution consisted of documentary
evidence and the testimony of five witnesses: Januaria Corpus, Dr.
Juan Pedro Blanco, Melchor Quevedo, Wilfredo Oaman and Jesus
Menor. These related in substance the following facts and
circumstances: In the night of June 23, 1948 Corporal Bartolo
Saladino and Private Anastacia Alejo of the Philippine
Constabulary were resting in the house of Celso Abucay in Paoay,
Ilocos Norte, together with policemen Melchor Quevedo,
Wilfredo Osman and George Plan of that municipality. They had
gone on patrol duty to the barrio for the purpose of apprehending
those who on a previous night had fired upon the dwelling. About
midnight they were suddenly awakened by cries for help. They
went down and were approached by one Felix Pasion who
Bernabe. The next morning, Saladino and Alejo, accompanied by
the policemen proceeded to the house of Luis Bernabe in Barrio
Samac of San Nicolas same province. Having found the suspect,
they brought him, for questioning, to the residence of Felix Pasion
in Barrio Singao same municipality. It was about ten in the
morning. As Pasion reiterated his imputation, Saladino led
Bernabe up the house for further investigation. He was followed
by Anastacio Alejo and the policemen. Bernabe denied the
charge. To extract a confession, Saladino repeatedly boxed and
kicked him in different parts of the body. Bernabe continued
denying his guilt. Saladino got a piece of wood, two inched thick
and one yard long, and clubbed him several times on the chest,
abdomen and the back. Then he called on Alejo to take his turn.
Alejo reluctantly whipped Bernabe four times with the branch of
a tree, and then retired to the kitchen. Saladino again questioned
his prisoner and as the latter would not admit his culpability, he
repeated the severe beating, and tying Bernabe’s wrists together
with a rubber strap, made him stand on a chair, tied the strap to
a beam in the ceiling and then pushed the chair from under
Bernabe with the result that the latter was left hanging in the air.
While in that position Bernabe was cudgeled by Saladino, with the
wooden club, on the sides, armpits, stomach, hips and back. It was
at this juncture that policeman Plan interceded for the victim
saying, Stop now corporal. Better bring him to your headquarters
and there you will investigate him”. But Saladino ignored plea,
and resumed the maltreatment, loudly predicting that Bernabe
would confess before noon. After Bernabe had remained
suspended for five minutes, Saladino untied him, made him sit on
a chair and urged him to acknowledge his offense. As Bernabe
persisted in his refusal, Saladino kicked the chair and Bernabe fell
on the floor, even as Saladino pouncing on his captive booted him
several times until the latter lay motionless on the floor. “It seems
he is dead,” Policeman Oaman exclaimed. Saladino replied “No,
he is only feigning death” and presently stepped on Bernabe’s
throat and chest. Then Saladino let him alone for fifteen minutes,
during which time Bernabe did not stir nor breathe. An old man
approaching Bernabe and taking his pulse said that the man was
dead. Suddenly realizing his predicament, Saladino ordered two
civilians to carry Bernabe down and told Alejo: “shoot him now
and we will say that he ran away”. Complying with the corporal’s
order Alejo shot Bernabe four times with his carbine, after the
latter had been laid down flat on
afterwards Bernabe was intered. Saladino lost no time preparing
his defense. On that same day, June 24, he swore before the
assistant fiscal an affidavit stating that, while he was conversing
with Pasion inside the house, Luis Bernabe was downstairs under
the vigilance of Anastacio Alejo; that four shots were suddenly
heard; and that Alejo, it turned out, had fired at Bernabe because
the latter had attempted to escape. We also wrote a joint affidavit
of the three policemen corroborating his own version of the affair.
He requested the said officers to sign, and they had not the
courage to decline. However a few days afterwards the fiscal
quizzed Quevedo, and this man gave a different story: one that
subsequently accorded with the account given by the People’s
witnesses during the trial. On the witness stand, Bartolo Saladino
stuck to his version, which was corroborated by Felix Pasion, the
man who having charged Luis Bernabe, was indirectly the cause
of the outrage, and who was understandably interested in
Saladino’s exoneration. However it was rejected by the trial judge,
correctly we believe, because it was contradicted (1) by the three
policemen who had no reason to falsify (2) by the nature and
direction of the wounds described by the doctor who saw them,
wounds which could not have been inflicted while Bernabe was
running away and (3) by the discovery of one of the bullets
embedded in the ground underneath the corpse of Luis Bernabe.
There is no doubt in our minds that this man is guilty of having
cruelly tortured and treacherously caused the death of Luis
Bernabe. On the other hand Anastacio Alejo admitted having
whipped and shot Luis Bernabe upon orders of Saladino, who
allegedly backed his command to shoot by pointing his pistol at
Alejo. His attorneys also insist that Luis Bernabe was already dead
when Alejo fired at the corpse. Of course obedience to the order
of a superior official is not an excuse where the order was not for
a lawful purpose. (People v. Bañaga 54 Phil. 247; People v.
Moreno 43 Of. Gaz. 4644) Like the trial judge, we do not believe
Alejo fired the shots at the point of Saladino’s gun. We believe the
shooting occurred in the manner described by the prosecution
witnesses. Yet the matter of Bernabe’s moment of death is of
grave doubt. Two eye-witnesses who declared for the
prosecution, namely, policemen Quevedo and Oaman repeatedly
stated on the witness stand that after the maltreatment, and
before Bernabe was carried downstairs to be shot, he had already
expired. Policeman Jorge Plan, another eye-witness confirming
Alejo’s testimony declared that when Bernabe lay flat on the floor
and did not stir, an old man felt his pulse and pronounced him
dead.
The medical expert, on the contrary, asserted that death was due
to the loss of blood occasioned by the three shots that pierced the
body of Bernabe. Alejo’s attorney-de-officio made a thorough
analysis of such testimony, pointing out that the medical
examination was superficial, because it took place a few moments
before the burial when the body was already in a “moderately
advance state of decomposition”, and that the conclusion derived
by said expert from the amount of blood in the garments worn by
the corpse which he examined were not those worn at the time
of the shooting; second because the cadaver had been embalmed
and the stains on the clothing might have been produced by the
embalming fluid that oozed out; and third because in post-
mortem wounds blood comes out too from the blood vessels.
(Angeles, Legal Medicine Sec. 105) All of which raise, at least, a
doubt that Bernabe, was already dead when shot. Such doubt
must be resolved in favor of appellant Alejo. From the foregoing
it is plain that Bernabe having died as a consequence of the
violent mauling by Saladino, the latter must be declared guilty of
assassination. Anastacio Alejo does not appear to have conspired
with him, and is not liable either as principal or as accomplice of
the murder. But he is guilty as accessory after the fact for having
performed acts tending to conceal Saladino’s crime by making it
appear that Bernabe had run away. U.S. v. Cuison 20 Phil. 433 is a
relevant example. Facundo Balangac was shot from behind by
Private Valentin Fortuna in the cemetery of Barili, Cebu. “Some
hours afterwards, the defendant Cuison with several constabulary
privates, among them Valentin Fortuna, went by order of
Lieutenant Poggi to the place where the body of the deceased lay,
and commanded the soldiers to spread out in skirmish like and
discharge their firearms into the air; then the defendant, with the
private Fortunam, went to the house of Epimaco Sosa to ask him
for a dagger to place beside the body of a man whom they had
shot, thereby to give the appearance that the deceased had been
carrying a dagger.” This court declared the defendant Cuison
guilty of accessory after the fact saying: “But we do find criminal
liability in the acts performed by Corporal Cuison, even though he
obeyed orders from his Lieutenant, Poggi; such liability consists in
his having intervened subsequently to the commission of the
crime, by furnishing the means to make it appear that the
deceased was armed and that it was necessary to kill him on
account of his resistance to the constabulary man, who, to lend
color to such pretended resistance, discharged their firearms into
the air, under the direction of Cuison, at the place there where
the corpse was lying; and also consists in his having tried to find a
dagger to place beside the deceased. Such acts must be
characterized as concealment, and since they are not only wrong
but also unlawful, the defendant is not exempt from liability, even
though he acted in obedience to a command from his superior,
because such command was illegal and in conflict with law and
justice. Therefore it can not be alleged that obedience was due,
or that it exempts the defendant from criminal liability.”
As accessory after the fact, Alejo is liable to a penalty lower by
two degrees than that prescribed by law for the consummated
felony of murder, namely, prision correctional in its maximum
period to prision mayor in its medium period. (Art. 53 in
connection with Art. 248 of the Revised Penal Code.) Therefore,
inasmuch as the penalty imposed on appellant Saladino accords
with the law, the judgment against him is affirmed, with costs. As
to appellant Alejo the appealed decision is revoked and one will
be entered sentencing him to imprisonment for not less than 3
years of prision correctional nor more than six years and two
months, of prision mayor; and in case of insolvency of Saladino to
indemnify the heirs of the deceased in the sum of P6000 without
subsidiary imprisonment in case of his own inability to pay. No
costs against this appellant. So ordered. (SGD) CESAR BENGZON
WE CONCUR: (SGD) “ “ “ “ “ RICARDO PARAS F. R. FERIA
GUILLERMO F. PABLO PEDRO TUASON MARCELIANO R.
MONTEMAYOR FERNANDO JUGO Reyes J., took no part. Bautista
Angelo J., took no part.