US vs. Baluyot September 10, 1919 G.R. No. 14528 THE UNITED STATES, plaintiff-appellee, vs.

REGINO BALUYOT, HERMENEGILDO MAALAC, ANDRES ALFONSO and JACINTO DAVID, defendantsappellants.

Street, J.: Facts: Dolores Coronel, a rich spinster, 80 years of age, was living at her home with her niece Maria Coronel and a grand-niece Rosario Coronel, there being no man on the place, when, at about 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning, two malefactors, identified at the trial as Regino Baluyot and Hermenegildo Maalac, effected an entrance into the dwelling by scaling a bamboo pole and passing in through an opening above the window. The bamboo pole had been prepared beforehand; and the branches had been cut in such manner as to leave knots at the joint, with the result that when one end of the pole was rested against the side of the house it could be used like a ladder. Having effected an entrance into the sala [parlor] of the house in the manner just stated, the two individuals mentioned proceeded to awake the inmates. The first to be aroused was Maria Coronel who, upon seeing the miscreants, screamed aloud, notwithstanding their warning to make no noise. Rosario Coronel, hearing the outcry of her aunt Maria in the same room, also awoke. Meanwhile Dolores Coronel, the aged owner of the house, sleeping in another room, heard the noise and at once appeared upon the scene. One of the assailants thereupon hit her several blows with his fist on the head, back, and shoulders, while the other struck at her with a bolo but did not cut her. As the house was dimly lighted, Rosario Coronel was told to get another lamp, while Maria Coronel was ordered to cover herself with a sheet and remain in bed. These orders being complied with, Rosario was directed to go down stairs and open the door, the robbers intimating that they had companions outside. Upon descending and opening the door as directed, Rosario saw two men a short distance away under the banana trees but did not discern their features. Meanwhile the two robbers already inside lost no time in possessing themselves of a large sum of money which Dolores Coronel was known to have in her possession. To this end they forced the old lady, by threats of cutting her throat, to open two trunks and the money they were after was in fact discovered therein. Altogether the robbers obtained P15,000, which they carried away, together with some documents apparently of little importance. When ready to leave they told Rosario to accompany them to the door in order to light the stairway; and at the instant of departure one of the two asked her, apparently in a spirit of light bravado, whether she recognized them.

Issues: 1. Whether or not there was a band in the commission of the offense? 2. Whether or not there was the presence of the aggravating circumstance of night time?

Resolutions: 1. It appears that Regino Baluyot and Hermenegildo Maalac carried bolos while perpetrating the robbery, but there is no proof that the members of the party who remained outside were armed. For this reason the crime in question cannot be considered as having been committed by a band of armed men. 2. There were present in the commission of the offense the aggravating circumstances of nocturnity and that the crime was committed in the dwelling of the injured person.