THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, PLAINTIFF AND APPELLEE, VS. NEMESIO MORTERO, VIRGILIO YOYONGCO, FAUSTINO IGNACIO, PEDRO D. MERCADO, PETRONILO MATA, JUAN BALDONAZA, TIRSO BALA, EL…

By a second amended information, filed, on June 25,1954, with the
Court of First Instance of Tarlac, the provincial fiscal of said
province charged Nemesio Mortero, Jose R. Pagaduan, alias
Pedro Pagaduan, Agustin Nunug, Faustino Ignacio, Pedro D. Mercado, Juan
Baldonaza, Virgilio Yoyongco, Tirso Bala, Eliodoro Mandi, Felix
Bautista, Petronilo Mata, Ciriaco Viloria, Romeo Borromeo and Celso C.
Ramenta, “and other John Does, whose identities and whereabouts” were
said to be “still unknown”, with multiple murder. It was alleged in
said pleading:

“That on or about the 3rd day of January, 1950, in
the municipality of Tarlac, Province of Tarlac, Philippines, and within
the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused,
being then officers and enlisted men of the 19th PC Company or attached
thereto, stationed at Camp Makabulos, Tarlac, Tarlac, with the
exception of Petronilo Mata who is a civilian, confederating;
conspiring, helping and aiding one another, with evident premeditation
and treachery and with the intent to kill, did then and there,
intentionally, feloniously, and criminally fire with their firearms at
the civilian houses located at Barrio Panampunan, Tarlac, Tarlac, to
avenge the death of one Sgt. Mangino, a member of the said 19th PC
Company, thereby inflicting mortal wounds on the bodies of Maria Ortiz
and Fortunato Lansangan, a small boy, which caused their instant death,
and not contented with firing at the house, the said accused herded the
male residents of said barrio, namely, to wit: Juan Escaño, Policarpio
Manalo, Pablo Ramos, Eugenio Tañedo, Eugenio Gutierrez, Feliciano
Gutierrez, Mateo Magno, Antonio Galang, Felino Ventura, Simeon
Lansangan, Filomeno Samson, and Fausto Dizon, and while thus herded and
helpless, the said accused opened fire at them with their rifles,
inflicting upon their bodies mortal wounds which caused their
instantaneous death, and in order to cover up the commission of the
crime, the above-named accused carted and scattered the bodies of the
slain male persons to the sugarcane field nearby; thereafter the
accused, Virgilio Yoyongco with others, returned to their Headquarters
at Camp Makabulos, Tarlac, to take helmets and surrendered firearms
from the armory, some of which are of Japanese make, and upon securing
the same brought them to the place where the dead bodies were scattered
in the sugarcane field and placed along side or on the bodies of the
slain persons the helmets and rifles, to make it appear as if they were
armed Huks killed in an actual encounter. “That in the commission of
the crime, the generic aggravating circumstances of abuse of superior
strength, taking advantage of their then official positions, use of
vehicles, and nighttime, are present.”

On motion of the prosecution, the lower court ordered the dismissal
of the case as regards defendants Celso Ramento and Romeo Borromeo.
Subsequently, defendant Petronilo Mata was discharged from the
information, on motion, also, of the prosecution and over the objection
of his co-accused, to be used as state witness. After due trial, as
regards to the other eleven (11) defendants, said court rendered a
decision acquitting defendants Virgilio Yoyongco, Eliodoro Mandi, Felix
Bautista, Tirso Bala and Ciriaco Viloria, with the proportional part of
the costs de oficio, and finding Nemesio Mortero, Faustino Ignacio, Jose Pagaduan, alias
Pedro Pagaduan, Juan Baldonaza, Pedro D. Mercado and Agustin Nunug
guilty of fourteen (14) murders and sentencing each of them fourteen
(14) times to life imprisonment and to, jointly and severally with
their convicted co-defendants, indemnify the heirs of each of the
fourteen (14) victims named in the amended information in the sum of
P4,000.00, and to pay the proportional part of the costs. The case is
now before us on appeal taken by these six (6) convicted defendants.

The evidence for the prosecution tended to establish the following
facts. In the evening of January 3, 1950, Sergeants Faustino Mangino,
Juan Baldonaza, and Jose Pagaduan, and Corporal Agustin Nunug, all of
the 19th PC Company stationed in Camp Makabulos, municipality of
Tarlac, province of Tarlac, went to the barrio of Panampunan, which is
part of said provincial capital, having been tipped by Petronilo Mata,
a PC informer, that one Antonio Galang was sheltering in his house, and
giving aid and comfort to Hukbalahaps. It was approximately 8:00 p.m.
when said members of the Constabulary and Mata arrived at Panampunan
and proceeded to Galang’s house. Once in front of it, Sgt. Mangino bade
its occupant to come down. As Galang’s wife, Maria Mables, appeared at
the stairway, ready to come down, Sgt. Mangino told her that it was
Galang whom he wanted. Immediately, Galang went down, while Maria
remained at the top of the stairs. No sooner had Galang reached the
ground than Mangino and one of his companions inquired about the Huks
he (Galang) was taking care of Galang denied having any Huks under his
care. Mangino kept on pressing his query, but Galang insisted that he
had no Huks in his house. After a while, Mangino and his companions
began beating Galang, in view of which Maria rushed down, crying and
pleading for mercy. Then appellants Baldonaza, Pagaduan and Nunug
deployed around the house and started firing at it, while Mangino
continued beating Galang. As soon as the fusillade began, Maria asked
Mangino that she be permitted to go up the house, for there were two
(2) persons therein. Maria was referring to her children, aged one (1)
year and two (2) years, respectively, whom she wanted to bring down to
safety. Evidently believing that the persons alluded to by her were
Huks, Mangino, forthwith, rushed upstairs. In his haste, however, he
forgot to tell his companions what he intended to do and, not knowing
that he had gone up, they kept on shooting. Maria eventually succeeded
in getting permission to enter her house, where she noticed the body of
an individual sprawled near the door. Throughly frightened, she
hurriedly brought her children down. As the companions of Mangino
inquired where he was, Maria replied that he must be the person she saw
in her house. Thereupon, the soldiers rushed upstairs, and found
Mangino already dead.

What transpired in the minds of appellants Pagaduan, Baldonaza and
Nunug, at this critical moment, is purely a matter of conjecture. The
lower court surmised, and, we feel, correctly, that they must have
realized the extremely precarious position in which they were and that,
to evade responsibility for Mangino’s death, they must have decided to
impute it to the Huks. Indeed, soon, thereafter, Pagaduan went to Camp
Makabulos and reported that Mangino had been shot and killed by Huks,
at the same time calling for reinforcements. The indignation in the
camp was such that all men who could be spared, numbering twenty (20),
more or less, boarded an armored car and sped towards Panampunan. At
about 9:30 p.m., they alighted near the house of Antonio Galang.
Captain Eusebio Cabute, commanding officer of the company, who died
several months later, inquired about the body of Sgt. Mangino.
Appellant Baldonaza replied that it was in Galang’s house. Then Cabute,
allegedly in the presence of Major Mortero, one of the appellants
herein, ordered the soldiers to open fire. Deploying themselves, the
soldiers began shooting, some in the direction of Galang’s house, and
others towards the sugarcane field nearby. The same was, also, peppered
with a machine gun, mounted on the armored car. The barrage continued
for about thirty (30) minutes. Meanwhile, appellant Faustino Ignacio
investigated Galang, then maltreated him and, eventually, shot and
killed him.

Thereafter, the adult male residents of the barrio, who were
suspected of being in sympathy, if not in connivance, with the Huks,
were rounded up and then lined up in the middle of the street, in front
of Galang’s house. They were Juan Escano, Policarpio Manalo, Pablo
Ramos (alias Pablo Magbag), Eugenio Tanedo, Eugenio Gutierrez,
Feliciano Gutierrez, Mateo Magno, Felino Ventura, Simeon Lansangan,
Filomeno Samson (otherwise known as Clemente Samson) and Faustino
Dizon. The women were, likewise, herded together in a lot, near the
house of one Apong Candi, where they were made to lie flat on the
ground, face downward, and warned not to move or raise their heads to
look around. It was then about 10:30 p.m. The soldiers began
investigating the aforementioned men, repeatedly inquiring where their
Huk companions were. As the “suspects” insisted that they knew no Huks,
the agents of the law began beating them up with the butts of their
rifles. Gradually the fury of the investigators mounted until they
bayonetted and shot the “suspects”, thus killing every one of them.

When their relatives looked for them, the next morning, their
mangled bodies were found scattered in the sugarcane plantation, about
200 meters from the spot where they were massacred—some with broken
legs, arms, necks and skulls, and others with mutilated toes and
fingers, and/or with intestines coming out. Maria Ortiz and her
two-year old son, Fortunato Lansangan were, also, found dead, in their
house near that of Galang, victims, evidently, of the bullets of the
peace officers during the thirty (30) minutes of aimless firing.

The foregoing facts were established by the testimony of Petronilo
Mata and that of Rosa Lansangan, Cristina Hernandez, Anastacia Wage,
Rosalina Espinosa, Maria Mables and Estela Galang, all relatives of the
victims.

The presence of the dead bodies in the sugarcane plantation was
explained by the testimony of Basilio Liwanag, a 64-year old farmer,
residing in Panampunan. He said that, sometime after the shootings in
the barrio had stopped, in the evening of January 3, 1950, three (3)
soldiers borrowed from him a cart and a carabao, both of which they
took away after telling him to go up his house. About two (2) hours
later, they returned the carabao and the cart, which was then spattered
with blood. As he washed it at the request of the soldiers, they
advised him to use therefor, not his hands, but a broom which he
did—because, they said, the cart had human blood. Thereafter, they bade
him to go up his house and not to go down whoever called him. Thus, the
prosecution tried to prove, and the lower court held, that the soldiers
used the cart to load thereon the bodies of their victims and bring
them to the plantation, where they were scattered to give the
impression that they had been killed in the course of a battle between
the peace officers and the Huks.

Appellants Baldonaza, Pagaduan and Nunug did not take the witness
stand, whereas their co-appellants Mortero, Ignacio and Mercado, set up
alibis. The last two (2) testified that both were on duty in Camp
Makabulos, from 9:00 a.m. of January 3rd to 9:00 a.m. of January 4th,
1950, and that they did not leave the place during that period of time.
Major Mortero, in turn declared that he went to the barrio of
Panampunan when the shootings were over, and that, after investigating
the same for twenty to twenty-five minutes, he returned to Camp
Makabulos.

In an effort to prove that, in the night of January 3, 1950, there
had been, in said barrio, an engagement between the forces of the
constabulary, on the one hand, and the Huks, on the other, and that the
deceased persons named in the information were killed in the course of
the encounter, the defense introduced the affidavits of some witnesses
for the prosecution and some records of the Constabulary, as well as
reports of officers thereof and of some civil officials who
investigated the events of that fateful evening.

The lower court, however, adopted the version of the prosecution and
rejected that of the defense, and, upon a review of the records, we
find no justification to disturb the view taken by His Honor, the Trial
Judge, who observed the behaviour of the witnesses during the trial.
Indeed, the prosecution presented seven (7) eye witnesses to the
occurrence, who stated positively that twelve (12) of the fourteen (14)
victims named in the information—namely: Antonio Galang, Juan Escano,
Policarpio Manalo, Pablo Ramos (alias Pablo Magbag), Eugenio
Tanedo, Eugenio Gutierrez, Feliciano Gutierrez, Mateo Magno, Felino
Ventura, Simeon Lansangan, Filomeno Samson (alias Clemente
Samson) and Fausto Dizon—were maltreated, and, subsequently, shot and
killed, not in the course of a combat, for there was none, but, while
they were, unarmed and defenseless, being investigated by peace
officers, whereas the defense placed on the witness stand none of the
members of the Constabulary who took part in the alleged encounter, not
even Pagaduan, Baldonaza and Nunug, whose presence at the scene of the
occurrence, when the same took place, is not denied. Neither has the
defense tried to explain the reason for this omission.

Upon the other hand, we find that the circumstances surrounding the
making of said affidavits were such as to strongly indicate that the
affiants were then acting under the influence of duress, or, at least,
without the freedom necessary to narrate the facts as they saw the
same. Moreover, the records of the Constabulary and the reports on the
result of the aforementioned investigations are, at best, hearsay proof
of the alleged battle between the agents of the law and the dissidents.
Then too, said evidence for the defense is incompatible with the badly
battered bodies and broken limbs of most of the victims and the
mutilated condition of some of them. Again, if the engagement was as
fierce and bloody as to result in the death of twelve (12) Huks, armed
with firearms, in addition to a woman and a tender child, as the
defense would have us believe, why is it that not even a scratch was
sustained by Pagaduan, Baldonaza and Nunug or by any of the agents of
the law who went to Panampunan in response to the request for.
reinforcement made by Pagaduan? It is, likewise, significant that the
defense has introduced no evidence about the specific nature and
location of the injuries sustained, either by Sgt. Mangino, or by the
deceased persons named in the amended information, despite the fact
that these details would have, in all probability bolstered up the
theory of the defense, if the same were true.

It is thus clear, from the evidence of record, that the victims
named in the information died, not in consequence of an alleged
engagement with the Constabulary, but, in the manner testified to by
the witnesses for the prosecution.

The only question that remains to be considered is whether the six
(6) appellants herein took part in the killings above referred to.

As regards appellants Baldonaza, Pagaduan and Nunug, who did not
take the witness stand, the evidence for the prosecution against them
is uncontradicted. In fact, the defense has not even tried to deny,
either their presence in Panampunan, or their participation in the
occurrence, except by the aforementioned attempt to establish an
alleged battle between the Constabulary and the Huks, which, the lower
court found, and, we believe, correctly, did not take place. What is
more, the very evidence for the defense shows that Pagaduan, Baldonaza
and Nunug had actually accompanied Sgt. Mangino to Galang’s house,
where, according to the prosecution, he was riddled by the bullets of
his own comrades in arms. Hence, there can be no doubt about the guilt
of these three (3) appellants, who were positively identified by the
witnesses for the prosecution as actual participants in the
maltreatment administered and the assassinations committed in the night
of January 3, 1950.

With respect to appellants Faustino Ignacio and Pedro D. Mercado,
their version to the effect that they were on duty in Camp Makabulos
from January 3 at 9:00 a.m. to the next day, without interruption, was
sought to be corroborated by the testimony of Filomeno Rombaoa and
Francisco Ferrer and official records of their detail as guard and
“charge of quarters”, respectively, during said period of time.
However, Ignacio was positively identified by Anastacia Wage, Maria
Mables, Rosalina Espinosa and Petronilo Mata, as one of the peace
officers who took active part in the maltreatment and killing of
Antonio Galang, Policarpio Manalo, Pablo Ramos, Eugenio Tanedo, Eugenio
Gutierrez, Mateo Magno, Felino Ventura, Simeon Lansangan, Filomeno
Samson and Fausto Dizon. The participation of Mercado in such acts was,
likewise, established by the testimony of Petronilo Mata, who did not
implicate all of the defendants and had no possible improper motive to
incriminate said appellant. Moreover, the testimony of Francisco Ferrer
reveals that Mercado was actually on duty, on January 3, from 7:00 to
9:00 p.m. and, on January 4, from 1:00 to 3:00 a.m. Apart from showing
that Mercado was not truthful when he claimed to be on duty for
twenty-four (24) hours, without interruption, from January 3 at 9:00
a.m., it is apparent from Ferrer’s testimony that Mercado could have
been, consistently with his duties, in Panampunan from 9:00 p.m. of
January 3 to 1:00 a.m. of January 4, 1950, as testified to by the
witnesses for the prosecution.

It may not be amiss to note that Mercado, as well as his
co-defendants Ignacio, Baldonaza and Nunug withdrew their appeal, on
September 24, 1956, with the approval of this Court, although,
subsequently, they sought permission to withdraw said withdrawal of
appeal, upon the ground that their counsel, Capt. Pedro V. Malit of the
Judge Advocate’s Office, detailed in San Fernando, Pampanga, had
induced them to affix their signatures, on the request for withdrawal
of their appeal, stating that they had “no chance whatsoever” in this
case, and “would all be sentenced to death penalty”, and that they
signed the request without deliberating thereon judiciously and without
consulting their co-accused and relatives. In the light of the
foregoing circumstances, we are fully satisfied that the guilt of
Ignacio and Mercado has been established beyond reasonable doubt.

Referring to Major Mortero, His Honor the Trial Judge had the following to say:

“As to the accused Nemesio Mortero, his
identification as one of the officers who led the punitive expedition
is complete and positive. He came with Capt. Cabute in the armored car
that brought the twenty or more men to Panampunan. He was present when
Capt. Cabute ordered the firing that lasted for about half an hour. He,
in company with Ignacio and Baldonaza, went up the house of Fausto
Dizon to get him. He was present and he saw Sgt. Ignacio maltreated and
killed Galang. He was present and he saw when seven soldiers, including
Ignacio and Mercado, maltreated, tortured, and finally killed the
unarmed, defenseless, and unresisting eleven persons taken forcibly
from their houses. During all this, the accused Nemesio Mortero never
raised a finger or uttered a single word by way of preventing, or
dissuading, or stopping the soldiers from committing the atrocities
which resulted in the killing and death of innocent persons. His
acquiescence in the commission of the heinous acts done by the soldiers
in his presence proves beyond all peradventure of doubt that he was,
although passively, acting in unison and in cooperation with the
soldiers who were actually doing the dirty work. Morally and legally
speaking, his guilt is greater than that of the soldiers, excepting
perhaps Capt. Cabute, who is now dead.”

Appellant Mortero would have us believe that there were no more
shootings when he arrived at the barrio of Panampunan, and that all he
did there was to investigate the occurrence for less than thirty (30)
minutes, after which he returned to Camp Makabulos. Felipe Romero, his
own witness, testifies, however, that he (Romero) drove the jeep that
brought Major Mortero to Panampunan at 9:30 p.m., which, pursuant to
the evidence far the prosecution, is the very time at which the armored
car bringing twenty (20) angry members, more or less, of the
Constabulary, reached said barrio, in response to the request, for
reinforcements made by appellant Pagaduan. Thus, the testimony of
Petronilo Mata and Anastacia Wage, to the effect that Mortero was in
Panampunan when the fourteen (14) persons named in the information were
killed in the manner therein described and that he performed the acts
referred to in the above-quoted portion of the decision appealed from,
was, impliedly, corroborated by the aforementioned witness for the
defense.

In short, appellants are guilty of the acts charged in the
above-quoted information. The qualifying and aggravating circumstances
therein alleged and established by the evidence of record, require that
the penalty prescribed for the crime of murder be imposed in its
maximum period, which is death, no mitigating circumstance having been
present in the commission of the offense. Inasmuch, however, as
appellants Mortero, Ignacio and Mercado were misled by their
co-appellants Pagaduan, Baldonaza and Nunug into believing that the
latter and Sgt. Mangino had been the victims of an attack by Huks, and
that the death of Sgt. Mangino should be avenged by acts of reprisal
upon Huks and their sympathizers, it is apparent that the first three
appellants are morally less guilty than the last three, for which
reason the number of votes necessary to impose the aforementioned
penalty upon appellants Nemesio Mortero, Faustino Ignacio and Pablo D.
Mercado is lacking.

Wherefore, appellants Jose R. Pagaduan, alias Pedro Pagaduan, Juan
Baldonaza, and Agustin Nunug should be, as they are hereby, sentenced
to the extreme penalty, and the decision appealed from is affirmed, in
all other respects, with costs. It is so ordered.

Paras, C. J., Bengzon, Padilla, Montemayor, Bautista Angelo, Labrador, Concepcion, Barrera, and Gutierrez David, JJ., concur.