THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, PLAINTIFF AND APPELLEE, VS. JULIO GARCIA, DEFENDANT AND APPELLANT.

Appellant is charged with treason on four counts: 1. That on November 16,
1944, he participated in the apprehension of Antonio Alumno and Jurado Alumno,
suspected of being members of the guerrilla, and thereupon turned them over to
the enemy who tortured and subsequently executed them; 2. That on February 4,
1945, as a member of the Makapili, he participated in the arrest and
investigation of Augusto Ramirez, suspected of being a guerrilla member, and in
his torture and subsequent execution; 3. That on February 4, 1945, as a member
of the Makapili, he participated in the arrest of Canuto Velandres and
two unknown Filipino civilians, and in the torture and subsequent execution of
the latter two; and 4. That in December, 1944, he enlisted as a member of the
Makapili, an instrumentality military in nature, created with the end in
view of collaborating unreservedly with the enemy and to fight side by side with
the same, and as such member voluntarily joined and evacuated with the enemy in
their retreat to the mountains in Luzon, where he stayed until his capture by
the American and guerrilla forces.

Inocencio Alumno, 46, policeman of Santa Rosa, testified that at about 2
o’clock a.m., on November 16, 1944, he was awakened by someone hitting his door
with the butt of a gun. It was Higino Sigue, accompanied by several persons,
among them Julio Garcia, who was carrying a rifle. At the other side of the
house there were Japanese soldiers, accompanied by Arsenio Batitis. As he could
not go out, he climbed up the ceiling to hide. His son Antonio followed him. The
soldiers went to the ceiling and lighted the place and as they pointed their
rifles at him, he raised his hands in surrender. He was brought to the cement
floor where his hands were tied. While walking, he was led by a person who had a
light in his hand. He was able to untie his hands and run away. He went to the
mountains. Two days afterwards, he learned that his sons Antonio and Jurado were
arrested. Among the exhumed bodies of the persons taken by the Japanese and
Makapili soldiers, he was able to identify those of his two sons. He
knows appellant long enough. While he was being tied, Julio Garcia “was standing
in front of me,” * * * “less than a meter” away. He came down from the mountains
on February 6. The exhumation was done on November 7, 1945. It was witnessed by
around 300 persons.

Sancha Sayao, 20, widow, student, testified that on November 16, 1944,
appellant was one of those who went to their house and tied up her husband,
Antonio Alumno, her father-in-law, Inocencio, and her brother-in-law, Jurado. It
was about 2 o’clock at night. Appellant was accompanied by Angel Beato and other
Makapilis and also by Japanese soldiers. Julio Garcia was dressed in
Japanese soldier’s uniform and carried a rifle with fixed bayonet. They took her
husband and brother-in-law. Among those who arrested them was appellant Julio
Garcia. The Alumno brothers were brought down and led towards the fence. Since
then she never again saw her husband nor her brother-in-law. Days afterwards she
received news that her father-in-law was in the mountains and living peacefully.
The house where her husband was arrested is located in a barrio in Santa
Rosa.

Primitivo Malapitan, 35, agricultural inspector, testified that in the early
morning of November 16, 1944, he was in his house located about one meter from
the house of Inocencio Alumno. He was awakened by the knocking of persons who
were calling for Inocencio Alumno. He saw Julio Garcia, Jose Almadovar, Higino
Sigue, dressed in Japanese soldier’s uniform, carrying rifles with fixed
bayonet. When Inocencio Alumno was brought out he had his hands tied to his
back. Suddenly he dashed away and six men pursued him. Later on, the pursuers
returned to Inocencio’s house and came out with Jurado Alumno, 16 years old,
with hands tied. They also tied Antonio Alumno with the elbows touching his
body. Antonio was forced into the truck followed by Julio Garcia and others.
Once Jurado and Antonio Alumno were inside the truck, they were covered with
thick canvass. Victor Gardoce, the driver, was the first to board the truck. He
was followed by others who were dressed in Japanese soldier’s uniform and armed,
including Julio Garcia.

Buenaventura Dichoso, 24, fisherman, testified that on the morning of
February 4, 1945, Augusto Ramirez came to his house to ask about a strayed
carabao. At that time appellant appeared with Filemon and Tiburcio Alitagtag.
They had guns and ropes. Filemon Alitagtag stated that Ramirez was a guerrilla
spy. Appellant tied Augusto Ramirez’s hands to his back. Ramirez was caught in
an enclosure in front of witness’s house. Julio Garcia and others went to a
place called Sinalban and returned about 11:30 in the morning. Appellant was
accompanied by Arsenio Batitis, Pandis, Canuto Velandres and two other unknown
Filipinos. Canuto Velandres had his hands tied to his back. The two unknown
persons were also tied. Ramirez, Velandres and the two unknown persons who had
their hands tied to their backs, were taken to the corner of the enclosure.
While kneeling at the edge of the hole, Ramirez was stabbed with a bayonet at
the right side of the body by Filemon Alitagtag. Tiburcio Alitagtag, in turn,
stabbed Ramirez on the right side of his body with the bayonet fixed on his
rifle. Martiniano Laurel stabbed Ramirez on the breast. Ramirez fell into the
hole. At that time appellant was holding the three persons whose hands were
tied. After he fell into the hole, Ramirez was covered with earth, and then
Arsenio Batitis said that those three persons with tied hands be released as the
guerrillas may appear, and the hands of Canuto Velandres and that of the two
unknown persons were untied. The witness knows Julio Garcia since childhood.
Appellant is a member of the Scout Battalion, composed of about 17 persons. The
Scout Battalion is Makapili. The witness stated that appellant is a
member of the Makapili, whose headquarters was located in barrio Aplaya,
100 meters away from the witness’s house. The witness saw appellant in the
headquarters all the time during the Japanese regime. He used to get persons
with their hands tied up and bring them to the headquarters. Appellant was
dressed in maong with Japanese hat and shoes, and used to carry a rifle.
When the Americans were nearing Santa Rosa, appellant went to Darangan across
the lake, in Rizal Province, on February 4, 1945, in the company of the members
of the Scout Battalion and of Japanese soldiers. All the 17 members of the Scout
Battalion and about 30 Japanese soldiers were present.

Florencio Malapitan, 30, policeman testified that on the early morning of
November 24, 1944, he was awakened at the call of Martiniano Laurel. He saw
three Japanese carrying rifles with fixed bayonets, two soldiers and one
officer, near the stairs of his house and at the back of his house there were
several persons, including Julio Garcia, all of them carrying rifles, except
Arsenio Batitis who was displaying a pistol. Some were dressed in maong,
others in khaki. The Japanese soldiers held the witness by the hands and the
Japanese officers went up the house and inquired whether there were other males.
The witness was brought outside the house and tied. His mouth was covered and he
was wrapped with a canvas and then thrown inside the truck. He was brought to
the Japanese garrison, where he saw Antonio and Jurado Alumno. At about 1 or 2
o’clock in the morning of November 26, Saturday, Antonio and Jurado Alumno and
others were taken out from their cells by members of the Scout Battalion. Later
on the witness was brought to the back of the garrison and he saw that the seven
persons he mentioned as having been taken from their cells, including the Alumno
brothers, were piled on top of the other, already dead. They were inside a hole.
When the Japanese was holding the witness with his arms outstretched and he
noticed that they were going to bayonet him, he made a jerk, shook loose from
the hands of the Japanese and jumped into the river, which was about two
arm-lengths away from the place. There were only two Japanese soldiers and the
witness was able to escape. While in the garrison, the witness saw several
members of the Scout Battalion including Julio Garcia. The Scout Battalion is an
organization of the Sakdalistas. The organization came to be known as the
Makapili when the American forces of liberation arrived.

Ruben Caro, 29, testified that from December, 1944, to February, 1945, he was
residing at barrio Borol, Santa Rosa. He rendered services to the
Makapili organization as secretary thereof. Julio Garcia is one of the
soldiers of the Makapili organization, whose objective was to make raids
on the guerrillas who were in the mountains. In January, the Makapilis
interferred in the harvest of palay in Santa Rosa. They forbade the exportation
of rice from Santa Rosa. The Japanese were deficient in their food supply. The
Makapili was organized on December 2, 1944. Before, there was an
organization known as the Scout Battalion which was helping the Japanese. Its
head was Arsenio Batitis. The members belonged to the Ganap party. Among
the soldier-members was Julio Garcia. The organization was composed of about 15
members. The accused was given uniforms and a rifle. The Makapilis had
their headquarters in the Santa Rosa Primary School building. In February, 1945,
upon the approach of the American liberation forces, they crossed the lake to
the mountains. They were accompanied by some Japanese soldiers.

Canuto Velandres, 44, testified that on February 4, 1945, two unknown
Filipinos arrived at his home asking for food. Julio Garcia and two others in
Japanese uniform with rifles with fixed bayonets also arrived there. Witness and
the two unknown Filipinos were ordered to go down. He asked the accused why. The
accused answered, “Ah, no more talking,” and thereafter tied him and brought him
to the field where he was maltreated by Arsenio Batitis. The unknown persons
were tied by Pandis. The three persons who were tied were taken to a place near
a hole. Near it was a blindfolded person, with hands tied to his back and was in
a kneeling position. Filemon Alitagtag addressed Ricardo Beato: “What do you
think about this Augusto Ramirez?” Beato answered: “My order is to kill that.”
Filemon Alitagtag stabbed with a bayonet the kneeling person on his left chest.
After that Tiburcio Alitagtag stabbed him on the right chest. Martin Laurel
stabbed him also at the chest, causing him to fall into the pit. Both Tiburcio
Alitagtag and Martin Laurel used bayonets attached to rifles. Filemon Alitagtag
asked Ricardo Beato as to what he thought about Velandres and the two unknown
Filipinos. Beato answered: “My order is kill all those three.” Then Arsenio
Batitis arrived, and said: “You should release those three persons because the
guerrillas are now approaching. They are now in Sinalaan.” The three persons
were released. The two unknown ones were ordered to go away. Velandres remained
because he was ordered to carry some articles from the house of Arsenio Batitis
to the bancas. Since then Velandres lost sight of Julio Garcia. The
witness has known the accused for a long time because they are townmates. The
accused was a member of the Scout Battalion and at the same time carrying a
rifle. The members of the Scout Battalion were confiscating palay and
rice from Filipino civilians to bring them to the other side of the lake. The
witness believes that the Scout Battalion and the Makapili have only one
purpose—to confiscate foodstuffs from the civilians. The witness was a guerrilla
under the command of Jose Alinsod.

Buenaventura Perez, 34, municipal treasurer of Santa Rosa, testified that he
came to know the accused in the month of August, 1943, as a member of a group of
pro-Japanese elements in Santa Rosa, at first called the Sakdalistas and
later, Ganap. A portion of the group formed later on the Scout Battalion.
They acted as informers of the Japanese army and gave aid and comfort to the
Japanese for the purpose of defeating the United States army and the guerrillas.
As most of them lived by the lake, they gave fish and vegetables to the
Japanese. Then they got hold of arms to help in the confiscation of rice and
other commodities and turned them over to the Japanese. Sometimes, there was a
Japanese garrison in Santa Rosa and sometimes there was none. During the latter
part of 1944, there was. The Japanese occupied the intermediate and primary
school buildings and the houses of ex-governor Feliciano Gomez and one Mariquita
Saballa. On December 11, 1944, Benigno Ramos went to Santa Rosa and inducted the
officers and enlisted men of the Makapili organization. The inducted
officers known by the witness were Martin Laurel and Filemon Alitagtag. The
accused was a member of the Scout Battalion. Later he was inducted into the
Makapili. Every time they got news that there were guerrillas approaching
the town, the members of the Makapili organization would go to the place
and attack the guerrillas, like they did on January 24-26, 1945, when they
attacked the guerrillas headed by Captain Alinsod way up in the mountains. The
only particular activity of the accused as a Makapili was his carrying a
rifle and sometimes wearing a Japanese cap, short pants, and shirt.

Florencio Jaime, 43, testified that he has been connected with the U. S. Army
CIC from February 12, 1945, to January 14, 1946. He was the senior librarian of
the office. He identified Exhibit A as the articles of association of the
Kalipunan Makabayan Ng Mga Filipino, as well as its by-laws, papers
belonging to Pio Duran and turned over to the CIC. Exhibit A-1 is a true copy of
the originals certified by the witness.

Maria Luisa Domingo, 28, step-granddaughter of General Artemio Ricarte, her
grandmother being the second wife of the latter, identified the signatures of
General Ricarte in pages 3 and 4 of Exhibit A. She heard General Ricarte
discussing about the Makapili organization. He was not in favor of the
organization. There was an order for General Ricarte to appear before General
Yamashita, otherwise his secretary would be court-martialed. General Ricarte did
not show up in General Yamashita’s headquarters, so his Japanese secretary was
court-martialed. The witness heard that her grandfather and Benigno Ramos had
some political differences.

Delfin Torres, 54, testified that he knew appellant since boyhood because he
is his neighbor. On February 4, 1945, one Augusto Ramirez was murdered about 30
meters away from witness’s house. The witness could see what was happening in
the place where Ramirez was killed. Before, during and after the killing, Julio
Garcia was hot present as he went to the other side of the lake since February
2. Besides Ramirez, no other persons were killed in the place. The witness did
not see Canuto Velandres in the place. Those who killed Ramirez left the place
at 11:30 in the morning. Buenaventura Dichoso, witness’s cousin, once had a
trouble with regard to a piece of land, with Julio Garcia and both were about to
stab each other. That happened before the war. The witness saw what happened at
the time Ramirez was killed, because he was on the seashore carrying the baggage
of the Japanese, by orders of the same that he could not disobey.

Jose Almodovar, 41, testified that during the Japanese regime he was a
policeman from 1943 to 1944. He left the service on February 3, 1944. He knows
appellant since childhood. He saw him during the Japanese regime once. He had no
occasion of seeing the accused in company with the Japanese. He does not know if
the accused had joined any organization during the occupation. His occupation
was that of a fisherman. Before he left the service of the police force of Santa
Rosa in 1944, he had no occasion of seeing the accused with the police force in
any of their trips to the barrios or with any organization connected with the
Japanese forces in Santa Rosa.

Angel Tiongco, 38, civil engineer, testified that he was the mayor of Santa
Rosa from December 4, 1944, up to March 6, 1945. His duties were practically all
the administrative and other functions in the municipality. The mayor was the
whole thing in the whole municipality during the Japanese occupation. He knows
the accused not less than 15 years. He saw the accused during the Japanese
occupation lots of times. He saw him in the municipal building every now and
then. He does not know if the accused had served under any capacity in the
government. He does not know if the accused was affiliated with any
organization. He does not know if the accused had affiliated himself with any
military organization in Santa Rosa. He did not see the accused with the
Japanese even once during the occupation. Benigno Ramos passed by Santo Rosa and
made a speech. He said that everybody who would affiliate himself with the
Makapili would be free from arrest by the Japanese. Ramos said: “If you
want me to help the town of Santa Rosa, you form that organization known as the
Makapili. “The witness asked for evidence as to the truth of the
propaganda. He informed Benigno Ramos that if the 13 prominent men from Santa
Rosa who were kidnapped are made to return, the witness would see to it that the
Makapili organization would be formed in the town. The witness was given
a piece of paper with the order of Benigno Ramos written in Japanese characters
for any garrison who had in their possession any of the 13 persons to release
them immediately. Only one named Eduardo Marcelo was released. The
Makapili organization was not really formed in Santa Rosa.

Appellant Julio Garcia, 28, testified that during the Japanese regime he was
living in barrio Aplaya. His occupation was that of a fisherman. During the
Japanese regime he did not serve the government in any capacity. He did not
affiliate himself with any political organization. His educational attainment is
grade 4. He was arrested for the first time in 1945, without knowing the reason
for his arrest. He was not investigated. Asked by his counsel as to the charges
alleged in the information, the accused answered always with “I do not know
anything about that” or “I cannot say anything.” He was arrested in Tanay with
his family. He knows Buenaventura Dichoso and he knows why he had testified
against him. “We had a land controversy and we nearly came to bolo blows.” He
does not remember the date because it happened quite a long time ago. He had a
dispute with Benjamin Dichoso who insisted on having his house within the land
which appellant’s grandfather was leasing from the Bureau of Lands. During the
Japanese regime he saw Benjamin Dichoso in the land he grabbed from the accused.
Dichoso was one of those who were ordered by the Japanese to carry eggplants to
the garrison. Ruben Caro testified against him because he was asked to by Jose
Alinsod to be a witness of the government. As to Canuto Velandres, he knows him
to be mentally deranged. On cross-examination, he testified that he knows
Filemon Alitagtag and Arsenio Batitis, that there was no Makapili
organization in Santa Rosa. He does not know Antonio and Jurado Alumno. When
Ruben Caro was asked to testify as witness for the government, the accused was
not present. He was only informed that he was taken as government witness in
order that he would be released.

The prosecution has conclusively proved that appellant was one of the members
of the group who arrested Antonio and Jurado Alumno on November 16, 1944. The
fact has been testified to by Sancha Sayao, the widow of Antonio Alumno, and by
Primitivo Malapitan. Through the testimony of both Inocencio Alumno and
Malapitan, it was also proved that appellant took part in the arrest of the
first at about 2 o’clock in the morning of November 16, 1944, although Inocencio
was able to escape to the mountains. At the time of the arrest of Inocencio
Alumno and later that of the Alumno brothers, appellant was dressed in Japanese
soldier’s uniform and carrying a rifle with fixed bayonet. The arrest was made
by Japanese and Makapili soldiers in whose company the appellant was.

Through the testimonies of Buenaventura Dichoso and Canuto Velandres it was
also proved that appellant was a member of the group of persons in Japanese
uniform, with rifles with fixed bayonets who, on February 4, 1945, arrested
Canuto Velandres and two unknown Filipinos and tied them and later brought them
near a hole where Augusto Ramirez was executed and buried. Velandres and the two
unknown Filipinos were released only after Arsenio Batitis arrived and advised
that the three persons be released because the guerrillas were approaching. We
are not in a position to conclude that appellant took part in the arrest of
Augusto Ramirez because this fact was testified to only by Buenaventura Dichoso
and by no other witness. That appellant participated in the arrest of the Alumno
brothers, their father Inocencio, Canuto Velandres and the two unknown Filipinos
to give aid and comfort to the enemy appears to be conclusively proved by
abundant evidence on record. The arrest of the three members of the Alumno
family was made by a group composed of Japanese soldiers and Filipinos in
Japanese uniform, including the appellant. When the arrest of Canuto Velandres
and the two unknown Filipinos was effected, appellant was in Japanese soldier’s
uniform and carrying a rifle with fixed bayonet During the Japanese occupation
only those in the service of the Japanese or supporting them could openly carry
rifles with fixed bayonets. All the arrests were made to show effective
adherence to the Japanese, by giving them aid and comfort in their fight against
Filipino guerrillas. The evidence presented by the defense has no merit at all.
Appellant and his witnesses limited themselves merely to general denials and to
ignorance of the facts upon which they were questioned by counsel for the
defense. Appellant failed to deny the specific facts testified to by Ignacio
Alumno, Sancha Sayao, Malapitan, Buenaventura Dichoso and Canuto Velandres. He
himself admitted being a Filipino citizen and not having changed his
citizenship.

The facts proved in this case constitute the crime of treason as punished by
article 114 of the Revised Penal Code, no modifying circumstance having been
established. The decision of the lower court sentencing appellant to
reclusion perpetua, with the accessories prescribed by law and to pay a
fine of P10,000 and the costs, being in accordance with law, is affirmed.

Moran, C.J., Feria, Pablo, Hilado, Bengzon, Briones, Padilla, and
Tuason, JJ., concur.

PARAS, J.:

I reserve my vote. The decision in the Laurel
Case is not as yet final. On the merits the appellant is guilty of murder.