G.R. No. 214883
September 02, 2015
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES vs. RISTIN! S!"SON J.% "EN#O$!, J.
F!TS% Appellant Cristina Samson and victim Jerry Delmar were married and begot two daughters. Throughout their marriage, they were in constant fghting, and this was always witnessed by their children and other nearby relatives.
On June June !, !, "" "",, wh whil ile e appe appell llan antt was was in thei theirr hous house e watc watchi hing ng television with her children, her husband came in drun#. $ecause appellant was not able to coo# dinner, they had a fght which later on led to the victim pointing a #ni%e at appellant&s nec#. Appellant begged her husband not to hurt her, but the latter continued threatening her with the #ni%e and even told her to stop tal#ing or else he will put a hole in her nec#. 'e even slapped her %ace twice. (hen the fght escalated, appellant was able to get hold o% the #ni%e and begged her husband not to come near her. 'owever, the victim still continued to move towards her. That was when appellant stab stabbe bed d the the vict victim im,, wh who o then then %ell %ell on the the grou ground nd and and craw crawle led d unti untill he reached the door. )pon hearing the commotion at their daughter&s house, appellant&s %ather and brother came to help and bring the victim to the hospital. The victim eventually died in the hospital. Appellant was charged with *arricide. She pleaded not guilty and invo#ed the +usti%ying +us ti%ying circumstance o% sel%de%ense. 'owever, 'owever, the -TC %ound that there was no more unlaw%ul aggression against appellant when she stab stabbe bed d the the vict victim im,, ther thereb eby y inva invali lida dati ting ng her her clai claim m o% sel% sel%de%e de%ens nse. e. On appeal, the CA airmed the ruling o% the -TC. 'ence, this present appeal. ISSS&E% /. (hether or not there still e0ists an unlaw%ul aggression against appellant even i% the victim was already disarmed, in order that sel%de%ense may be properly invo#ed. . (hether or not there is a reasonable necessity o% the means employed by Cristina in order %or her to be +ustifed in #illing her husband. HEL#% 1. !FFIR"!TI'E. 1t seems that the victim&s aggression had already ceased when he was disarmed, but the perceived peril to Cristina&s li%e persisted as the victim continued to move towards her. 1t was only until she stabbed the victim that the danger to her li%e ended. Despite having been disarmed, the victim still posed a threat and peril to the li%e o% the appellant, leaving her with no choice but to de%end hersel% or else she would be the one to die.
)nlaw%ul aggression does not strictly re2uire that there be an actual physical %orce or actual use o% weapon against the oender that poses a threat and imminent danger on his li%e. 1t is suicient that the oender be in reasonable perception or belie% that his li%e is still in danger. Such reasonable belie% o% a perceived peril or threat to one&s li%e would +usti%y the oender&s action o% ta#ing de%ense and eventually #illing the victim. 2. !FFIR"!TI'E. There was reasonable necessity %or Cristina to stab the victim in the attendant circumstance, as her husband is much stronger than her, and there are no other available means or any less deadly weapon to prevent or repel the threat other than the #ni%e she holds. There is no more time %or her to thin# and calculate how she would save hersel% %rom the imminent danger posed against her li%e, so she can only %ollow her instinct to use the readily available means o% de%ense, which, in this case, is the #ni%e on hand.
Also, it does not mean that +ust because the victim was no longer armed, the means employed by Cristina is already unreasonable. *er%ect e2uality between the weapon used by the one de%ending himsel% and that o% the aggressor is not re2uired. (hat the law re2uires is a rational e2uivalence. There is obviously no showing that there was suicient provocation on the part o% Cristina %or her husband to hurt her. 3oreover, her 4ight and evasion o% arrest %or %our years does not automatically mean guilt, but could be +ustifed by her %ear o% possible retaliation %rom her husband&s relatives. There%ore, herein appeal is granted and Cristina is ac2uitted and ordered immediately released.
