Powers and functions of the President (Executive clemency) VERA vs PEOPLE G.R. No.

L-18184 January 31, 1963 FACTS Petitioners Vera, Figueras, Ambas, Florido, Bayran and 92 others were charged with the complex crime of kidnapping with murder of Amadeo Lozaes. The petitioners invoked the benefits of Amnesty Proclamation of the President, series of 1946, and the case was then referred to the 8th Guerilla Amnesty Commission. During the hearing in the Commission, none of the petitioner-defendants admitted to committing the crime. Vera, the only defendant who took the witness stand, categorically denied the killing of the victim. The Commission held that it could take cognizance of the case on the ground that the benefits of the Amnesty Proclamation can only be invoked by the defendants who, admitting the commission of the crime, plead that said commission was in pursuance of the resistance movement and perpetrated against persons who aided the enemy during the Japanese occupation. The Commission remanded the case to the court of origin for trial. The petitioners then appealed to the Court of Appeals whose decision affirmed the order of the Commission. ISSUE Can the petitioners invoke the benefits of Amnesty Proclamation No. 8? HELD/RULING NO. The proclamation only extends to the all persons who committed any act penalized under the Revised Penal Code in furtherance of the resistance to the enemy or against persons aiding in the war effort of the enemy. The killing of Lozaes was not in furtherance of the resistance movement but due to the rivalry between two guerrilla groups. The Court also reiterated its ruling in People v Llanita and People v Guillen that amnesty cannot be invoked if the accused actually denied the commission of the crime.