On  February  14, 1930 the deputy  provincial fiscal of & Province  of Nueva Ecija filed an information in  the of the  justice of the peace of  the  municipality of Carranglan of said province, charging  the  defendants with crime of murder.   After a preliminary  investigation the justice of  the peace found that there  was  reasonable ground  for believing that the defendants committed  the crime and held them for trial in the Court  of First  Instance of the Province of Nueva Ecija.

On the 28th day of February, 1930,  an information was filed against the defendants charging them with the crime of murder,  The information  alleged:

"That on or about the 26th day of  December,  1929, in the municipality of Carranglan, Province of Nueva Ecija, Philippine Islands, and within the jurisdiction of this court, the above-named accused, Juan Alambra and Eleno Garcia alias Andoy, confederating with  each  other and mutually aiding one, another  with treachery,  evident premeditation and with cruelty by deliberately and inhumanly increasing the suffering of the offended party, and in an uninhabited place,  did then and there with intent to kill voluntarily, maliciously, illegally, and criminally attack and bolo Fulgencio Casupartg alias  Florencio inflicting  upon the latter several mortal wounds on the different parts  of the body, and as a consequence of which said Fulgencio Casupang alias Florencio  died instantly.

"In the commission of the crime the aggravating circumstance of an uninhabited place concurred.

"Contrary to law."

Upon  arraignment the defendants  pleaded  not guilty, were tried, found guilty of the crime charged, with the qualifying circumstance  of  treachery,  without  any aggravating or mitigating circumstances, and sentenced to suffer the  medium degree of  the  penalty provided  by law, or cadena perpetua, with the accessory penalties, to indemnify jointly and severally the heirs of the deceased  in the sum of P500  and each to pay one-half part of the  costs.   The lower court recommended a deduction of one-half of the time during which the defendants Were held as detention prisoners.   The dispositive  part of the decision reads as follows:

"En su virtud, el Juzgado declarando a estos dos acusados culpables del delito de asesinato de que se  halla  acusados en la presente causa,  por haber  matado a Futgecio Casupang, concurriendo  la  circunstancia cualificativa, 1. del articulo 403 o sea, la alevosia, condena  a cada urio de ellos a cadena perpetua,  con las accesorias de ley; a  pagar mancomunada y solidariamente una indemnizacion de quinientos pesos a la familia del occiso Fulgenciosin prision subsidiaria en caso de insolvencia vedad de la pena principal.  Pagaran por mitac asupang, a la graas costas del proceso.  En el cumplimiento de su conde les sera de abono la mitad  del tiempo que hayan estado preventivamente presos."

From that sentence the defendants appealed   They now contend that:

1. The lower court erred in giving credit to the testimony of the witnesses for the  prosecution, particularly Mercurio Tambuyac, a boy, 14 years of age; and
   
   
2. The lower  court erred in considering Exhibit B  as an admission of guilt by  the appellant Juan Alambra.

We have carefully examined the testimony of the witnesses for  the  prosecution and the defense and  find no reason for not sustaining the findings of fact and conclusions of the lower court.   A close  examination of  the testimony of the witnesses for the prosecution fails to disclose any material inconsistency, contradiction or any other defect which  might reflect on the veracity or sincerity of said witnesses.  In view  thereof,  and taking into consideration that the lower court saw and heard the witnesses and had full opportunity to  observe their  conduct and demeanor on the stand  and  their manner of testifying, we are of the opinion that the trial judge committed no error in giving full credit to the testimony o$ the witnesses for the prosecution.

With reference to the boy Mercurio Tambuyac, 14  years of age, who was  the only eyewitness to the commission of the crime, we find that his testimony gives a clear and simple description of  the manner how the  appellants killed the deceased Fulgencio  Casupang.  Substantially he testified  as  follows: That he and the appellants were out in the country to fish; that the appellants, seeing that Casupang was  coming, hid behind a tree and that, by  order of the appellants, he (the witness) also hid in a thicket; that as Casupang passed  by the appellants, the latter suddenly attacked him with clubs; that he (the witness) ran home; and that the next morning  he was warned by the appellants not to  say anything, for otherwise they would kill him.

Speaking of the reliability of this boy as a witness, the lower court said:

"El juzgado que ha tenido en su presencia a este testigo, a  este niño  y a quien  declare  competente para declarar despues  de  haberle sometido a  unas preguntas en forma de intelligence test, esta  convencido de  que este nino ha declarado aqui ingenuamente, con toda sinceridad, sin estar influenciado.  Y con la experiencia que el Juzgado  tiene en oir testigos y juzgar por su actitud y conducta ante el Juzgado hasta que grado de veracidad merece su testimonio, da toda la credibilidad que se merece este testigo.  Los otros testigos del Gobierno corroboran, asi como sus otras pruebas, todo lo deelarado por este niño."

Doctor Hans  Gross, a well known Austrian jurist and expert in criminology, speaking of  the weight to  be attached to the testimony  of the youths, says:

"An intelligent  boy is undoubtedly the best observer to be  found.  The world begins to take him by storm with its  thousand matters of interest;  what the school and his daily life furnish cannot satisfy his overflowing and generous  heart.   He lays hold  of everything new, striking, strange; all  his senses are on the stretch to assimilate it as far as possible.  No one notices a change in the house, no  one discovers the bird's nest, no one observes anything out of the way in the fields; but nothing of that sort escapes the boy; everything which emerges above the monotonous level of daily life gives, him a good  opportunity for exercising his wits, for extending his knowledge, and for attracting the attention of his  elders, to  whom he communicates his discoveries.  The spirit of the youth not having as yet been  led astray by the  necessities of life, its storms and battles, its  factions and quarrels, he can freely abandon himself to everything which appears out  of the way; his life has not yet been disturbed by  education, though  he often observes more clearly and accurately than any adult. Besides, he has already got some principles; lying is dis- tasteful to him, because he thinks it mean; he is no stranger to  the  sentiment  of self-respect,  and he never loses an opportunity of being right in what  he affirms. Thus  he is,  as a rule, but little influenced by the suggestions  of others, and he describes  objects and occurrences as he has really seen  them.   We say again  that an intelligent boy is as  a rule  the best witness in the world."  (As  quoted by this court in  People vs. Bustos, 45 Phil, 9, 35, 36.)

With reference  to the contention that Exhibit B  should not have been considered by the lower court as an  admission of guilt on the part of the appellant Juan Alambra, we deem it unnecessary to discuss the probatory value of said exhibit.  Suffice it to say  that, independent of said Exhibit B, there is abundant proof showing beyond  a reasonable doubt that the appellants acting treacherously, did at the time and place  mentioned in  the  information, kill the deceased Fulgencio Casupang.

The Attorney-General in a very carefully prepared brief arrived at the conclusion that the appellants are guilty of the crime of murder as found by the lower court, and recommends  that the sentence appealed  from be affirmed.

In view  of all of the foregoing, and in conformity with the recommendation of the Attorney-General, the sentence appealed from is hereby affirmed, with costs.   So ordered.

Avanceña, C. J., Street,  Malcolm, Villamor,  Ostrand Johns, Romualdez, and Villa-Real, JJ., concur.