THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, PLAINTIFF AND APPELLEE, VS. ARULA (MORO) (ALIAS AGAPITO ARULA, ALIAS ARULA AGAPITO), DEFENDANT AND APPELLANT.

From the judgment of conviction by the People’s Court of
Zamboanga finding Arula (Moro) alias Arula Agapito, alias Agapito
Arula, guilty of the crime of treason and sentencing him to suffer the penalty
of death, to pay a fine of P20,000, to indemnify the heirs of the deceased Moro
Amin in the sum of P2,000 and to pay the costs, defendant Arula appeals to this
Court.

Arula admitted his Filipino citizenship during the trial.

During the period of Japanese Occupation, in Tetuan, Zamboanga,
there was an organization known as the Tetuan Volunteer Guards dedicated to
helping and serving the Japanese Army. This organization was first commanded by
a certain Roman Miguel and later by one Bruno Soriano when the former was killed
in an encounter with the guerrilla forces. Arula was a member of this
organization and on many occasions he accompanied Bruno Soriano and his
followers. This was proven by the testimonies of three witnesses, namely, Jose
Mendoza, Filomeno Gregorio and Filomeno Enriquez.

On February 24, 1943, at about noon, a certain Moro Amin, with
his face profusely bleeding, was brought by one Boy Abrera in a calesa owned and
driven by Filomeno Enriquez, to the San Bernardino Bridge in Tetuan where Bruno
Soriano and his men were waiting, including defendant Arula. From there the
group took Moro Amin to a nearby jackfruit tree where a pit had been dug. Moro
Amin was then questioned for information regarding a guerrilla officer by the
name of Lt. Celso Fernandez. When Amin disclaimed having any information,
defendant Arula pushed him into the pit and fired at him twice with a rifle.
Then Bruno Soriano also fired his revolver at Amin. Amin died inside the pit and
his body was covered with earth. These facts have been established by the
testimonies of Jose Mendoza, who witnessed the entire incident from the window
of his house about 50 yards away, of Filomeno Gregorio, who had been taken along
by Bruno Soriano’s group and who saw the killing of Amin from a distance of
about 50 meters; of Filomeno Enriquez, some sort of member and courier of the
Japanese and Soriano’s organization, who drove the calesa which took Amin to
where Soriano and his men were waiting and who was about six or seven meters
away during the killing; and above all, by the testimony of defendant Arula
himself during the trial, who admitted the veracity of the bare facts of the
occurrence.

The defendant, who was the only witness for his defense, denies
having been a member of the Tetuan Volunteer Guards and claims that the shots
which killed Moro Amin were not those fired by him but by Bruno Soriano. These
mere denials of defendant, unsupported by other evidence, cannot in the least
chip the clear and overwhelming case of the prosecution. However, the main point
of the defense lies in the allegation of duress and recourse to the exculpatory
benefits of Sections 5 and 6 of Article 12 of the Revised Penal Code. Again, on
this point, the defense rests merely on the word of defendant himself, as
against the clear, logical and truthful testimonies of the witnesses of the
prosecution whose accounts of the tragedy prove the voluntary participation of
the defendant in the entire chain of events.

In view of all the foregoing, the judgment of conviction by the
People’s Court is affirmed, but the sentence of death is modified to life
imprisonment due to the absence of sufficient votes on the imposition of the
capital punishment; and the indemnity to the heirs of the deceased Moro Amin is
raised to P6,000 as recommended by the Office of the Solicitor General, with
costs against appellant. It is so ordered.

Paras, Feria, Pablo, Perfecto, Bengzon, Briones, Tuason,
Montemayor, and Reyes, JJ., concur.