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People vs. Maantos et al.

PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE, VS. MARK JOHN MAANTOS Y VELASCO @ "JOHN SKULL," RYAN ARINGGO Y LEGARIA (DECEASED), JORROS BINI Y HIPOLAN, ALMA CAÑETE Y PONSICA (AT LARGE), APRIL JOHN TABURADA Y SUBARIA (AT LARGE), CEDRIC MIRO Y SARABIA (AT LARGE), ACCUSED

G.R. No. 258925 | 2023-07-12

D E C I S I O N
 
LOPEZ, M., J.:
 
Accused-appellant Mark John Maantos y Velasco @ "John Skull's" (Maantos) reputation as a gang leader precedes him. Yet, the Court will not allow such notoriety to cloud our judgment. Certainly, our role in the justice system is not so much to penalize offenders as to see to it that justice is done.[1]

This resolves the appeal filed by Maantos and Jorros Bini y Hipolan (Bini) assailing the Decision[2] dated March 11, 2021 of the Court of Appeals-Cebu City (CA) in CA-G.R. CR-HC No. 02433 which affirmed the trial court's judgment in Criminal Case No. RTC-5148, finding...