G.R. No. 1543. March 19, 1904

The defendants here were charged with the crime of insurrection. It
is charged that the defendants, together with others, between the
months of May, 1902, and June, 1903, had been inciting, setting on
foot, and engaging in an insurrection against the authority of the
United States in the Philippine Islands.

The evidence of various witnesses was taken in the trial of the said
cause. Several of these witnesses testified that the defendants, and
each of them, in the months of February and March, 1903, were
organizing and did organize a society commonly known as the “Katipunan
Society.” Several witnesses also testified that the object of the
Katipunan Society was to organize Filipino soldiers, and that the end
and purpose of the said organization was against the United States
Government in the Philippine
Islands.

The evidence further shows that the defendants, and each of them,
solicited various persons to become members of the said organization.
The evidence further shows that the said Katipunan Society held various
meetings in the house of one Manuel Ruiz, and in the house of Manuel
Sandico.

It was shown also during the trial in the court below that these defendants were officers in the said society.  The evidence further shows that the defendants, as chief officers of
the said Katipunan Society, appointed various persons to the positions
of captains and captains of cavalry, and majors; that these captains
and majors were given charge of sections or districts of country over
which they were to exercise jurisdiction; that the said society
possessed a seal with the inscription “Republica Universal Democrata
Filipina, Union, Patria, Fuerza.” The evidence further shows that the
said defendants, and each of them, at various times in the months of
February and March, 1903, solicited funds from the people of the pueblo
of Mexico, in the Province of Pampanga, P. I.

The defendants attempted to prove that they were organizing a new,
independent Filipino church, known as the Aglipayan Church, and that
the money which they were collecting was for the purpose of furthering
the interests of this new, independent church. This latter fact, in the
judgment of the court, was not established.

The fact that the defendants were not attempting to organize a
religious society, and that the money which they were collecting was to
be used for that purpose is disproved by their own acts and conduct.
The defendants admitted that when they received word that the public
authorities were investigating their conduct with reference to the
society which they had organized and the purposes for which they were
collecting the money, they immediately left their homes and went into
the mountains and remained in hiding from about the 31st day of March,
1902, until the 24th day of May of the same year. There certainly could
be no object in the defendants leaving their homes, going into the
mountains, and remaining in hiding for the larger portion of two months
to avoid the public authorities if their purposes in organizing the
said society and the
collection of the said money had been legitimate.

The defendants were charged as having violated section 3 of Act No.
292 of the United States Philippine Commission. This section provides;

“Every person who incites, sets on foot, assists, or
engages in a rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the
United States * * * shall, upon conviction, be imprisoned for not more
than ten years and be fined not more than $10,000.”

From the evidence adduced in this case we are of the opinion that
the said defendants are guilty, not of inciting, setting on foot, or
assisting or engaging in rebellion, but rather of the crime of
conspiring to overthrow, put down, and destroy by force the Government
of the United States in the Philippine Islands, and therefore we find
that the said defendants, and each of them, did, together with others,
in the months of February and March, 1903, in the Province of Pampanga,
Philippine Islands, conspire to
overthrow, put down, and to destroy by force the Government of the
United States in the Philippine Islands.

The Court of First Instance, which tried the said defendants,
imposed upon Benito Vegara the penalty of six years of imprisonment and
$5,000 fine, and upon Cristino Ongton the penalty of four years’
imprisonment and $2,000 fine, and that each should pay one-half the
costs. Inasmuch as those who are guilty of a conspiracy to put down or
destroy bv force the Government of the United States in the Philippine
Islands may be punished in accordance with the penalty imposed in this
case by the court below, it is the judgment of this court that the
judgment of the court below be affirmed as to the penalty imposed, and
that Benito Vegara be imprisoned for the period of six years and to pay
a fine of $5,000, and that Cristino Ongton be imprisoned for the period
of four years and to pay a fine of $2,000, and that each shall be
adjudged to pay one-half the costs of
both instances.

Arellano, C. J., Torres, Cooper, Willard, Mapa, and McDonough, JJ., concur.