THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, PLAINTIFF AND APPELLEE, VS. CANUTO CADIZ, DEFENDANT AND APPELLANT.

The defendant Canuto Cadiz was charged with treason in the People’s
Court in an information containing six counts. The substance of the
accusation is that, being a Filipino citizen, defendant adhered to the
enemy during the period from December, 1944, to May, 1945, by joining
the Japanese soldiers and the makapilis in the apprehension and
maltreatment of members of the guerrilla forces, specially Fundador
Baltazar, Maximo Castro, Eric Broderick, Vicente Santos, Juan Serapio,
and Jose Serapio.

There is no dispute that during the period above stated
defendant was a Filipino citizen, and the evidence for the prosecution
shows that, although at first he was a member of a guerilla unit, he
later changed allegiance, defecting to the enemy early in December,
1944. Accompanying the Japanese and their ally, the makapilis, in their
campaign against the resistance movement in Bulacan province, defendant
participated in the apprehension of the above-named members of the
guerilla forces and in the maltreatment of some of them.

But to comply with the two-witness rule, we have to confine
discussion to the arrest of Fundador Baltazar, Maximo Castro, Vicente
Santos, and Jose Serapio.

The arrest of Fundador Baltazar was testified to by himself.
He declared that on December 6, 1944, he was arrested by defendant, who
was accompanied by some Japanese soldiers and one Paulo Capa in Sapang
Palay, San Jose del Monte, Bulacan. He also stated that his captors
tied him with a rope, took him to the garrison and maltreated him
because he was a member of a guerrilla unit. Baltazar was corroborated
by Tranquilino Lucas, who was himself apprehended on the same day and in
the same place, and also by Vicente Ponce, who was likewise arrested
and even dealt a first blow by the defendant.

The arrest of Maximo Castro was also effected by the defendant
during the same month. Castro was arrested while he and Antonio
Desquitado were taking a pair of carabaos to the Japanese garrison in
Tungkan Manga, defendant suspecting that Castro and Desquitado were
taking the animals to the guerrillas in the mountains. The arrest was
testified to by Castro and Desquitado, with the corroboration of Vicente
Nepomuceno, who saw Castro with hands tied being led by the makapilis
to the poblacion.

The arrest of Vicente Santos is established by the testimony of
himself and Jose Serapio, while that of Jose Serapio is established by
the testimony of himself and Vicente Santos.

Testifying in his defense, the defendant claimed that he was
drafted into the service of the enemy and joined the makapili
organization against his will, having been told that all the members of
his family would be killed if he did not accompany the Japanese patrols.
He admitted being with the group that raided Sapang Palay and arrested
Fundador Baltazar and three other guerrillas, but said that he had been
forced to do so by Paulo Capa, the head of the makapilis, and by one
named Gubat. He also admitted being in the group that arrested Maximo
Castro, but explained that he did not lead that group and was merely
acting under orders from Paulo Capa. He said that some members of his
group were able to escape from the Japanese and that he himself could
have done so if he did not fear for the life of the members of his
family. He, however, admitted that he had no children. He further
declared that after the Americans had liberated San Jose del Monte on
February 4, 1945, he and many other Filipinos headed for the mountains
of Ipo, carrying supplies for the Japanese, who were then retreating,
and that he finally managed to escape on May 15, 1945.

The trial court did not believe defendant’s exculpatory
statements, declared him guilty of treason and sentenced him to 10
years, 8 months and 1 day of reclusion temporal, a fine of
P5,000.00 and the costs.

From this sentence defendant appealed to the Court of Appeals,
but that court certified the case here, being of the opinion that
defendant should be sentenced to life imprisonment.

The case hinges principally on the credibility of witnesses,
and there being nothing in the record to show that those who testified
for the prosecution had any reason to impute to the defendant a crime he
had not committed, we have no justification for doubting their
testimony.

The contradictions which the defendant claims to have noted in
the testimony of the witnesses for the prosecution refer to mere matters
of detail and do not affect their veracity. And while it is true that,
due to lapse of time, some of the witnesses were not able to give the
exact date of the arrest of Fundandor Baltazar, Maximo Castro, Vicente
Santos, and Jose Serapio, except to say that it took place in December,
1944, there is no doubting the fact that these arrests were actually
made, for defendant has confessed to the apprehension of the first two
and of three other guerrilla members whom he did not name.

From the evidence submitted, we find that the trial court did
not err in declaring defendant guilty of treason, and the sentence
imposed below being sufficient punishment for the treasonous sets
perpetrated by him, the decision appealed from is affirmed, with costs.

Paras, C. J., Feria, Pablo, Bengzon, Padilla, Tuason,
Montemayor, Jugo, Bautista Angelo, and Labrador, JJ., concur.