Case Digest (G.R. No. 140065)
Facts:
Benito Calim v. Court of Appeals and People of the Philippines, G.R. No. 140065, February 13, 2001, Supreme Court Third Division, Gonzaga-Reyes, J., writing for the Court.Petitioner Benito Calim, a member of the Philippine National Police, was charged by information filed December 21, 1993 with murder for the August 14, 1993 killing of Esmeraldo A. Ty in front of Bistro Francisco in Borongan, Eastern Samar. The information alleged intent to kill with evident premeditation and treachery. Calim pleaded not guilty and was tried by the Regional Trial Court (RTC), Branch I, Borongan.
Prosecution witnesses—Dennis Apar, Eutopia Ty, Dr. Norma Villa Macapanas (the District Medical Officer), and Desiderio Alvor, Jr.—testified that at about 12:30 a.m. on August 14, 1993 Calim fired a .38 revolver at Ty from about five meters away, striking Ty repeatedly; Ty died on the spot. Dr. Macapanas’ autopsy documented five gunshot wounds (head, face, chest, right arm and right leg), severe hemorrhage and skull fracture, and concluded the cause of death was severe hemorrhage secondary to multiple gunshot wounds. The prosecution witnesses also executed affidavits earlier; Calim did not file an affidavit during preliminary investigation despite notice.
Calim admitted firing the gun but asserted self-defense, claiming Ty had been puncturing motorcycle tires, brandished a Batangas knife, and advanced on him; Calim said he first fired a warning shot, then shot Ty’s hand and knee to disarm/disable him and finally fired three successive shots when cornered. At trial, the RTC disbelieved Calim’s account, found that self-defense was not established (unlawful aggression, reasonable necessity and lack of sufficient provocation were not proven), and convicted him of homicide (not murder). The court imposed an indeterminate penalty within prision mayor to reclusion temporal and ordered P50,000 death indemnity and P20,000 moral damages.
On appeal, the Court of Appeals affirmed the RTC in a decision dated August 4, 1999, holding Calim’s version incredible, noting the distance between parties, the absence of the alleged knife, the nature and multiplicity of wounds, and Calim’s flight after the shooting. The CA agreed that the qualifying circumstances of treachery and evident premeditation...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Whether the Court of Appeals gravely erred in affirming the RTC’s rejection of petitioner’s plea of self-defense.
- Assuming self-defense fails, whether the privileged mitigating circumstance of incomplete self-defense should have be...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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