THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, plaintiff-appellee, vs. JOSEFINA BANDIAN, defendant-appellant. G.R. N. !"#$% Septe&'e( )*, #+)%
Fats One morning, Valentin Aguilar Aguilar saw his neighbor, Josefina Josefina Bandian, got to a thicket apparently to respond to the call of nature. Few minutes later, Bandian emerged from the thicket with her clothes stained with blood both in the front and back, staggering and visibly showing signs of not being able to support herself. ushing to her aid, he brought her to her house and placed her on the bed. !e called on Adriano "omcom to help them "omcom saw he body of a newborn babe near a path ad#oining the thicket where the appellant had gone a few moments before. $he claimed it was hers. %r. &milio &milio 'epomuceno declared that the appellant gave birth in her own house and three her child into the thicket to kill it. (he trial court gave credit to this opinion. Isse )O' Bandian is guilty of infanticide Held 'o. *nfanticide and abandonment of a minor, to be punishable, must be committed willfully or consciously, or at least it must be the result of a voluntary, conscious and free act or o mission. (he evidence does not show that the appellant, in causing her child+s death in one way or another, or in abandoning it in the thicket, did so willfully, willfully, consciously or imprudently. $he had no cause to kill or abandon it, to epose it to death, because he r affair with a former lover, which was not unknown to her second lover, -irol, took place three years before the incident her married life with -irol/she considers him her husband as he considers him his wife/began a year ago as he so testified at the trial, he knew of the pregnancy and that it was his a nd that they+ve been eagerly awaiting the birth of the child. (he appellant, thus, had no cause to be ashamed o her pregnancy to -irol.
Apparently, Apparently, she was was not aware of her childbirth, or if she was, itit did not occur to her or she was unable, due to her debility or di00iness, which cause may be considered lawful or insuperable to constitute the 1th eempting circumstance, to take her child from the thicket where she h ad given it birth, so as not to leave it abandoned and e posed to the danger of losing its life. *f by going into the thicket to pee, she caused a wrong as that of giving birth to her child in that same place and later abandoning it, not because of imprudence or any other reason than that she was overcome by strong di00iness and etreme debility, she she could not be blamed because it all happened by mere accident, with no fault or intention on her part. (he law eempts from liability any person who so acts and behaves under such circumstances 23" A452677. (hus, having the fourth and seventh eempting circumstances in her favor, she is ac8uitted of the crime that she had been accused of.