People vs Catubay

Facts:

Nerio Gaddi y Catubay (Appellant) was charged with murder for the death of one Augusto Esguerra y Navarro. Appellant disputes that the trial court's reliance on the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses as a basis for his conviction. Appellant's claim that Ernesto Guzman's testimony on Gaddi's confession of the crime to him cannot be given credence for being hearsay.

Issue:
Whether or not the testimony of the witness’ as to the confession of the appellant is hearsay evidence.

Held:
The court held that the testimony of witness Guzman falls in the exception of the hearsay rule. The Rule is that "any person, otherwise competent as a witness, who heard the confession, is competent to testify as to the substance of what he heard if he heard and understood all of it. An oral confession need not be repeated verbatim, but in such case it must be given in its substance."