#17 THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS , plaintiff-appellee vs. ROMANA SILVESTRE AND MARTIN ATIENZA ,
defendants-appellants.
G.R 35748, 14 December 1931 FACTS:
Romana Silvestre, wife of Domingo Joaquin by her second marriage, cohabited with her codefendant Martin Atienza. Joaquin filed a case for adultery against the defendants; a barangay conciliation happened, in which Martin Atienza signed a promise to discontinue cohabitation with Silvestre, in exchange of Joaquin’s withdrawal Joaquin’s withdrawal of complaint. In November 1930, accused Romana went to the house of her son and his wife by her former marriage, where she was followed by b y Martin Atienza. While they were gathered during supper, Atienza told the couple to take the furniture out of the house because he is going to set fire on it as his way of revenge to the residents who instigated Domingo Joaquin to file a case against him. No one, not even Romana Silvestre, dared say anything to him as he was armed with a pistol. The house was set on fire and both were charged of the crime of arson. With respect to Romana Silvestre, the only evid ence on record against a gainst her are that (1) first, she lived adulterously with her co-defendant Atienza, and (2) second, that Silvestre listened to Atienza’s intentions Atienza’s intentions without raising a protest, and did not give the alarm when the latter set fire to the house. Thus based on these facts, the court also found Silvestre guilty of arson as accomplice.||| accomplice.||| ISSUE:
Whether or not Romana Silvestre is guily of the crime of arson as accomplice. RULING:
NO. Article 14 of the Penal Code, considered in connection with article 13, defines an accomplice to be one who does not take a direct part in the commission of the act, who does not force or induce other to commit it, nor cooperates in the commission of the act by another act a ct without which it would not have been accomplished, yet cooperates in the execution of the act by previous or simultaneous actions.| actions.| In the case of the accused-appellant accuse d-appellant Romana Silvestre, there is no evidence of moral or material cooperation, and none of an agreement to commit the crime in question. Here mere presence and silence while they are simultaneous acts, do no t constitute cooperation, for it does not appear that they encouraged or nerved Martin Atienza to commit the crime of arson.
