Case Digest (G.R. No. 250495)
Facts:
Leo Abuyo y Sagrit v. People of the Philippines, G.R. No. 250495, July 06, 2022, Supreme Court Second Division, Lopez, M., J., writing for the Court. Petitioner is Leo Abuyo y Sagrit; respondent is the People of the Philippines.On the evening of August 16, 2011, petitioner Leo and his wife were riding home on a motorcycle when they were confronted by Cesar Tapel and his son Charles Tapel. Cesar had a fan knife (balisong) and Charles carried a gun. Cesar and Charles blocked the way of Leo and his wife and pursued them to the vicinity of Leo’s father Leonardo Abuyo’s house. Cesar stabbed Leonardo in the chest and continued to pursue him; when Cesar turned on Leo and attempted to stab him, Leo grabbed a bolo and hacked Cesar’s right hand, after which Cesar momentarily dropped his knife, regained it, and Leo then stabbed Cesar in the abdomen. Cesar later died from stab wounds. Leo voluntarily surrendered to authorities and was charged with homicide.
At trial before the Regional Trial Court (RTC), Branch 38, Daet, Camarines Norte, Leo pleaded not guilty but claimed self-defense and defense of a relative. In a Judgment dated December 8, 2017, the RTC found Leo guilty of homicide, ruling he failed to prove the element of reasonable necessity of the means employed, but appreciated incomplete self-defense and voluntary surrender as mitigating circumstances and imposed an indeterminate sentence and awards for damages. Leo appealed to the Court of Appeals (CA) in CA-G.R. CR No. 41325, which, in a Decision dated June 28, 2019, affirmed the conviction with modification of the damages awarded; a November 12,...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Did petitioner establish the elements of self-defense and defense of a relative (unlawful aggression, reasonable necessity of means, and lack of sufficient provocation) so as to be entitled to acquittal?
- Did the Court of Appeals and the RTC err in applying the standard for the reasonable necessity of the means employed in self-defense by demanding a degree of calm calculation ...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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