GR L 2447; (March, 1950) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-2447; March 4, 1950
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. PEDRO PULIDO ET AL., defendants. PEDRO PULIDO, IRINEO BOÑGOG and TITO T. QUINTO, appellants.
FACTS
On June 12, 1947, appellants Pedro Pulido, Irineo Boñgog, and Crestituto (Tito) Quinto, along with two others at large, conspired to rob prospective buyers of blasting caps. They lured two women and four men, including the victims, to the isolated and uninhabited Doñgon bridge in Sison, Pangasinan. There, they held up the group, killing three victims (Federico Sarmiento, Margarita Surisantos Manacleng, and Leonor Calderon) by gunfire, and robbing them of ₱33,000. The jeep was burned, and the bodies were found at the scene. Boñgog later reported the crime to police without revealing his involvement. After investigation, Pulido, Boñgog, and Quinto were arrested and made extrajudicial confessions. They were charged with robbery in band with multiple homicide.
ISSUE
Whether the guilt of appellants for the crime of robbery with homicide was proven beyond reasonable doubt, and what penalty should be imposed considering the attendant circumstances and Quinto’s minority.
RULING
Yes, the guilt of all appellants was proven beyond reasonable doubt. The crime was robbery with homicide under Article 295 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended by Republic Act No. 12 . The aggravating circumstances of the crime being committed by a band, in an uninhabited place, and by attacking a vehicle were present, warranting the penalty of reclusion perpetua to death. However, as Quinto was under eighteen years old at the time of the crime, under Article 68(2) of the Revised Penal Code, the penalty next lower to death—reclusion perpetua—was imposed on him. The death penalty was affirmed for Pulido and Boñgog. The court modified the trial court’s decision accordingly, affirming it with the modification on Quinto’s penalty.
AI Generated by Armztrong.