Professional Documents
Culture Documents
CARSON, J.:
It further appears that the appellant, Tomas Puzon, united with the
conspirators through the agency of one Jose R. Muñoz, who was
proven to have been a prime leader of the movement, in the
intimate confidence of Ricarte, and by him authorized to distribute
bonds and nominate and appoint certain officials, including a
brigadier-general of the signal corps of the proposed revolutionary
forces; that at the time when the conspiracy was being brought to a
head in the city of Manila, Puzon held several conferences with the
said Muñoz whereat plans were made for the coming insurrection;
that at one of these conferences Muñoz offered Puzon a commission
as brigadier-general of the signal corps and undertook to do his part
in organizing the troops; and that at a later conference he assured
the said Muñoz that he had things in readiness, meaning thereby
that he had duly organized in accordance with the terms of his
commission. chanroblesv irtualawli bra ry chan roble s virtual law l ibra ry
Puzon at the trial declared that he had never united himself with the
conspirators; that he had accepted the appointment as brigadier-
general of the signal corps of the revolutionary forces with no
intention of ever taking any further action in the matter, and merely
because he did not wish to vex his friend Muñoz by refusing to do
so, and that when Muñoz offered him the appointment as brigadier-
general he did so in "a joking tone," and that he, Puzon, did not
know that Ricarte was in Manila organizing the conspiracy at that
time.chanrob lesvi rtua lawlib rary cha nrob les vi rtua l law lib rary
Q. Did you have any information that Ricarte was in these Islands
and with what object he came here? And if you know it to be true,
through whom did you get such information? - A. In the first place I
had notice of 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 occasion when I was in his house
to visit him. chanroble svi rtualawl ib rary chan rob les vi rtual law lib rary
Q. Did you acquire this information through any other person? - A.
No, sir; I have no more information than that which I have
mentioned. chanroble svirtualawl ibra ry chan roble s vi rtual law lib rary
Q. Did you accept the employment and did they give you any
commission for it? - A. Yes, sir; I accepted said employment and
although they gave me an order to organize in my brigade I did not
do it, because I had neither the confidence nor the will. cha nrob lesvi rtua lawlib rary cha nrob les vi rtua l law lib rary
Q. If you didn't have faith in the said authorization nor the will to
carry out what was intrusted to you, why did you accept
employment as general of the brigade? - A. I accepted it on account
of friendship and not to vex a friend, but I never have the intention
of fulfilling the obligations.
Puzon, when on the stand in his own behalf, did not deny that he
made this statement, but he attempted to explain it away by saying
that when he made it he was so exited that he did not know just
what he was saying. He does not allege that improper means were
taken to procure the confession, and it was proven at the trial that
it was freely and voluntarily made and not the result of violence,
intimidation, threat, menace, or promise of reward or leniency. The
accused appears to be an intelligent man and was for eighteen
years a school-teacher and later a telegraph operator under the
Spanish Government, and during the insurrection he held a
commission as an officer in the signal corps 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 when he made it, and its truth and accuracy in so far it
inculpates him is sustained by other evidence of record in this
case.chanroblesvi rtua lawlib rary cha nro bles vi rtua l law lib ra ry
In the second case - the United States vs. Nuñez et al. -- wherein
the accused were charged with brigandage, the court held that,
aside from the possession of commissions in an insurgent band,
there was no evidence to show that it they had committed the crime
and, "moreover, that it appeared that they had never united with
any party of brigands and never had been in any way connected
with such parties unless the physical possession of these
appointments proved such relation," and that it appeared that each
one of the defendants "were separately approached at different
times by armed men while working in the field and were virtually
compelled to accept the commissions." chanrobles vi rtua l law li bra ry
In the case of the United States vs. Bernardo Manalo et al. there
was testimony that four appointments of officials in a revolutionary
army were found in a trunk in the house of one Valentin Colorado,
and the court in said case reaffirmed the doctrine that "the mere
possession of the documents of this kind is not sufficient to convict,"
and held, furthermore, that there was "evidence in the case that at
the time these papers were received by the appellant, Valentin
Colorado, he went to one of the assistant councilmen of the barrio
in which lived, a witness for the Government, showed him the
envelope, and stated to him he had received these papers; that he
didn't know what they were and requested this councilman to open
them. The coucilman did not wish to do that but took the envelope
and sent it to the councilman Jose Millora. We are satisfied that this
envelope contained the appointments in question and that the
appellant did not act under the appointment but immediately
reported the receipt of them to the authorities." chanroble s virtual law lib rary