G.R. No.

L-2189    November 3, 1906 failure of the people to rise en masse  in response to

their propaganda.
THE UNITED STATES,Plaintiff-Appellee,
vs. FRANCISCO BAUTISTA, ET AL.,Defendants- It further appears from the evidence that the appellant
Appellants. Francisco Bautista, a resident of the city of Manila,
was an intimate friend of the said Ricarte; that
Aguedo Velarde and Pineda and Escueta, for Ricarte wrote and notified Bautista of his coming
appellants. to Manila and that, to aid him in his journey,
Office of the Solicitor-General Araneta, for appellee. Bautista forwarded to him secretly 200 pesos; that
after the arrival of Ricarte, Bautista was present,
taking part in several of the above-mentioned
CARSON, J.:
meetings whereat the plans of the conspirators
were discussed and perfected, and that at one of
The appellants in this case was convicted in the Court these meetings Bautista, in answer to a question
of First Instance of Manila of the crime of conspiracy to of Ricarte, assured him that the necessary
overthrow, put down, and destroy by force the preparations had been made and that he "held the
Government of the United States in the Philippine people in readiness.
Islands and the Government of the Philippine Islands,
as defined and penalized in section 4 of Act No. 292 of
It further appears that the appellant, Tomas Puzon,
the Philippine Commission.
united with the conspirators through the agency of one
Jose R. Muñoz, who was proven to have been a prime
The appellant Francisco Bautista was sentenced to leader of the movement, in the intimate confidence of
four years' imprisonment, with hard labor, and $3,000 Ricarte, and by him authorized to distribute bonds and
fine, and Aniceto de Guzman and Tomas Puzon, and nominate and appoint certain officials, including a
each of them, to three years' imprisonment, with hard brigadier-general of the signal corps of the proposed
labor, and a fine of $2,000, and all and each of the revolutionary forces; that at the time when the
said appellants to pay their proportionate share of the conspiracy was being brought to a head in the city of
costs of the trial and to undergo subsidiary Manila, Puzon held several conferences with the said
imprisonment in the event of insolvency and failure to Muñoz whereat plans were made for the coming
pay their respective insurrection; that at one of these conferences Muñoz
fines.chanroblesvirtualawlibrary chanrobles virtual law offered Puzon a commission as brigadier-general of
library the signal corps and undertook to do his part in
organizing the troops; and that at a later conference he
The evidence of record conclusively establishes that assured the said Muñoz that he had things in
during the latter part of the year 1903 a junta  was readiness, meaning thereby that he had duly
organized and a conspiracy entered into by a number organized in accordance with the terms of his
of Filipinos, resident in the city of Hongkong, for the commission.chanroblesvirtualawlibrary chanrobles
purpose of overthrowing the Government of the United virtual law library
States in the Philippine Islands by force of arms and
establishing in its stead a government to be known as Puzon at the trial declared that he had never united
the Republica Universal Democratica Filipina; that himself with the conspirators; that he had accepted the
one Prim Ruiz was recognized as the titular head of appointment as brigadier-general of the signal corps of
this conspiracy and one Artemio Ricarte as chief of the the revolutionary forces with no intention of ever taking
military forces to the organized in the Philippines in the any further action in the matter, and merely because
furtherance of the plans of the conspirators; that he did not wish to vex his friend Muñoz by refusing to
toward the end of December, 1903 the said Ricarte do so, and that when Muñoz offered him the
came to Manila from Hongkong in hidding on board the appointment as brigadier-general he did so in "a joking
steamship Yuensang; that after his arrival in the tone," and that he, Puzon, did not know that Ricarte
Philippines he held a number of meetings in the city of was in Manila organizing the conspiracy at that
Manila and the adjoining provinces whereat was time.chanroblesvirtualawlibrary chanrobles virtual law
perfected the above-mentioned conspiracy hatched in library
Hongkong that at these meetings new members were
taken into the conspiracy and plans made for the
These statements, however (except in so far as they
enlistment of an army of revolution and the raising of
corroborate the testimony of Muñoz as to the fact that
money by national and private loans to carry on the
he had several interviews with Puzon at which plans
campaign; that to this end bonds were issued and
were entered into for the advancement of the cause of
commissions as officers in the revolutionary army were
the conspirators), can not be accepted as true in the
granted to a number of conspirators, empowering the
light of a written statement signed by Puzon himself at
officers thus appointed to raise troops and take
the time when he was first arrested, part of which is as
command thereof; and that the conspirators did in fact
follows:
take the field and offered armed resistance to the
constituted authorities in the Philippines, only failing in
their design of overthrowing the Government because Q. What is your name and what is your age, residence,
of their failure to combat successfully with the officers and occupation? - A. My name is Tomas Puzon; born
of the law who were sent against them and of the in Binondo in the Province of Manila; 37 years of age;
married; by profession a teacher of primary and
secondary schools, and residing in Calle Concepcion, procure the confession, and it was proven at the trial
No. 195, district of that it was freely and voluntarily made and not the
Quiapo.chanroblesvirtualawlibrary chanrobles virtual result of violence, intimidation, threat, menace, or
law library promise of reward or leniency. The accused appears
to be an intelligent man and was for eighteen years a
Q. Do you know Artemio Ricarte? - A. Personally I do school-teacher and later a telegraph operator under
not know him, but by name, the Spanish Government, and during the insurrection
yes.chanroblesvirtualawlibrary chanrobles virtual law he held a commission as an officer in the signal corps
library of the revolutionary army. His confession is clear and
intelligible and in no way supports his pretense that he
was so excited as not to know what he was saying
Q. Did you have any information that Ricarte was in
when he made it, and its truth and accuracy in so far it
these Islands and with what object he came here? And
inculpates him is sustained by other evidence of record
if you know it to be true, through whom did you get
in this case.chanroblesvirtualawlibrary chanrobles
such information? - A. In the first place I had notice of
virtual law library
his coming to the Islands as well as his object by
reading the newspapers of Manila, and secondly
because J. R. Muñoz told me the same on one It is contended that the acceptance or possession of
occasion when I was in his house to visit an appointment as an officer of the military forces of
him.chanroblesvirtualawlibrary chanrobles virtual law the conspiracy should not be considered as evidence
library against him in the light of the decisions of this court in
the cases of the United States vs. Antonio de los
Reyes 1 (2 Off. Gaz., 364), United States vs. Silverio
Q. Did you acquire this information through any other
Nuñez et al. 2 (3 Off. Gaz., 408), the United
person? - A. No, sir; I have no more information than
States vs. Eusebio de la Serna et al. 3 (3 Off. Gaz.,
that which I have
528), and United States vs. Bernardo Manalo et al. 4 (4
mentioned.chanroblesvirtualawlibrary chanrobles
Off. Gaz., 570). But the case at bar is to be
virtual law library
distinguished from these and like cases by the fact that
the record clearly disclose that the accused actually
Q. Are you a part of his new revolution presided over and voluntarily accepted the apppointment in question
by Ricarte? - A. Yes, and in doing so assumed all the obligations implied by
sir.chanroblesvirtualawlibrary chanrobles virtual law such acceptance, and that the charge in this case is
library that of conspiracy, and the fact that the accused
accepted the appointment is taken into consideration
Q. What is the employment ( empleo) which you have merely as evidence of his criminal relations with the
in this organization, and who is it who invited you to conspirators. In the first of these cases - the United
join it? - A. J. R. Muñoz, who is general of division of States vs. De los Reyes - the accused was charged
this new organization, spoke to me with much with treason, and the court found that the mere
instance, asking me to accept employment as acceptance of a commission by the defendant, nothing
brigadier-general, chief of signal corps, to which I, on else being done either by himself or by his
account of his request and in view of the fact that the companions, was not an "overt act" of treason within
said Muñoz is a friend of mine from my youth, the meaning of the law, but the court further expressly
acceded; nevertheless I have organized absolutely held that -
nothing in respect to this
matter.chanroblesvirtualawlibrary chanrobles virtual That state of affairs disclosed body of evidence, . . .
law library the playing of the game of government like children,
the secretaries, colonels, and captains, the pictures of
Q. Did you accept the employment and did they give flags and seals and commission, all on proper, for the
you any commission for it? - A. Yes, sir; I accepted purpose of duping and misleading the ignorant and the
said employment and although they gave me an order visionary . . . should not be dignified by the name of
to organize in my brigade I did not do it, because I had treason.
neither the confidence nor the
will.chanroblesvirtualawlibrary chanrobles virtual law In the second case - the United States vs. Nuñez et al.
library -- wherein the accused were charged with brigandage,
the court held that, aside from the possession of
Q. If you didn't have faith in the said authorization nor commissions in an insurgent band, there was no
the will to carry out what was intrusted to you, why did evidence to show that it they had committed the crime
you accept employment as general of the brigade? - A. and, "moreover, that it appeared that they had never
I accepted it on account of friendship and not to vex a united with any party of brigands and never had been
friend, but I never have the intention of fulfilling the in any way connected with such parties unless the
obligations. physical possession of these appointments proved
such relation," and that it appeared that each one of
Puzon, when on the stand in his own behalf, did not the defendants "were separately approached at
deny that he made this statement, but he attempted to different times by armed men while working in the field
explain it away by saying that when he made it he was and were virtually compelled to accept the
so exited that he did not know just what he was saying. commissions." chanrobles virtual law library
He does not allege that improper means were taken to
In the case of the United States vs. de la Serna et al. it Counsel for appellants contend that the constitutional
was contended that de la Serna had confessed that provision requiring the testimony of at least two
"he was one of the members of the pulajanes, with a witnesses to the same overt act, or confession in open
commission as colonel," but the court was of opinion court, to support a conviction for the crime of treason
that the evidence did not sustain a finding that such should be applied in this case, but this court has
confession had in fact been made, hence the doctrine always held, in conformance with the decisions of the
laid down in that decision, "that the mere possession of Federal courts of the United States, that the crime of
such an appointment, when it is not shown that the conspiring to commit treason is a separate and distinct
possessor executed some external act by the virtue of offense from the crime of treason, and that this
the same, does not constitute sufficient proof of the constitutional provision is not applicable in such cases.
guilt of the defendant," applies only the case of ( In re  Bollman, 4 Cranch, 74; U. S. vs. Mitchell, 2
Enrique Camonas, against whom the only evidence of Dall., 348.)chanrobles virtual law library
record was "the fact that a so-called appointment of
sergeant was found at his house."chanrobles virtual The evidence of record does not sustain the conviction
law library of Aniceto de Guzman. The finding of his guilt rest
substantially upon his acceptance of a number of
In the case of the United States vs. Bernardo Manalo bonds from one of the conspirators, such bonds having
et al. there was testimony that four appointments of been prepared by the conspirators for the purpose of
officials in a revolutionary army were found in a trunk raising funds for carrying out the plans of the
in the house of one Valentin Colorado, and the court in conspiracy, but it does not affirmatively appear that he
said case reaffirmed the doctrine that "the mere knew anything of the existence of the conspiracy or
possession of the documents of this kind is not that, when he received the bonds wrapped in a bundle,
sufficient to convict," and held, furthermore, that there he knew what the contents of the bundle was, nor that
was "evidence in the case that at the time these ever, on any occasion, assumed any obligation with
papers were received by the appellant, Valentin respect to these bonds. He, himself, states that when
Colorado, he went to one of the assistant councilmen he opened the bundle and discovered the nature of the
of the barrio in which lived, a witness for the contents he destroyed them with fire, and that he
Government, showed him the envelope, and stated to never had any dealings with the conspirators in
him he had received these papers; that he didn't know relation to the conspiracy or the object for which it was
what they were and requested this councilman to open organized.chanroblesvirtualawlibrary chanrobles virtual
them. The coucilman did not wish to do that but took law library
the envelope and sent it to the councilman Jose
Millora. We are satisfied that this envelope contained We are of opinion, therefore, that the judgment and
the appointments in question and that the appellant did sentence before us, in so far as it affects the said
not act under the appointment but immediately Aniceto de Guzman, should be reversed, with his
reported the receipt of them to the proportionate share of the costs of both instances de
authorities." chanrobles virtual law library oficio, and that the said Anecito de Guzman should be
acquitted of the crime with which he is charged and set
It is quite conceivable that a group of conspirators a liberty forthwith, and that the judgment and sentence
might appoint a person in no wise connected with them of the trial court, in so far as it applies to Francisco
to some high office in the conspiracy, in the hope that Bautista and Tomas Puzon, should be, and is
such person would afterwards accept the commission hereby, affirmed, except so far as it imposes
and thus unite himself with them, and it is even subsidiary imprisonment in the event of insolvency and
possible that such an appointment might be forwarded failure to pay their respective fines, and, there being no
in the mail or otherwise, and thus come into the authority in law of such provision, so much of the
possession of the person thus nominated, and that sentence as undertakes to impose subsidiary
such appointment might be found in his possession, imprisonment is hereby
and, notwithstanding all this, the person in whose reversed.chanroblesvirtualawlibrary chanrobles virtual
possession the appointment was found might be law library
entirely innocent of all intention to join the conspiracy,
never having authorized the conspirators to use his After ten days let judgment be entered in accordance
name in this manner nor to send such a commission to herewith, when the record will be returned to the trial
him. Indeed, cases are not unknown in the annals of court for execution. So
criminal prosecutions wherein it has been proven that ordered.chanroblesvirtualawlibrary chanrobles virtual
such appointments have been concealed in the law library
baggage or among the papers of the accused persons,
so that when later discovered by the officers of the law Arellano,  C.J., Torres, Johnson and Tracey, JJ.,
they might be used as evidence against the accused. concur.
But where a genuine conspiracy is shown to have Mapa, and Willard,  JJ., concur as to the penalty
existed as in this case, and it is proven that the imposed upon Bautista and dissent as to that imposed
accused voluntarily accepted an appointment as an upon Puzon.
officer in that conspiracy, we think that this fact may
properly be taken into consideration as evidence of his
relations with the
conspirators.chanroblesvirtualawlibrary chanrobles
virtual law library