G.R. No. 199687 - Pacific Rehouse Corp. vs. Court of Appeals

By Information dated July 5, 2013, petitioner Prudencio Ganal, Jr. was charged with homicide for the death of Julwin Alvarez. The information alleged that on May 20, 2013, at Baggao, Cagayan, petitioner, armed with a handgun and with intent to kill, shot Alvarez, causing fatal gunshot wounds.
The case was raffled to RTC Branch 3, Tuguegarao City. Petitioner pleaded “not guilty” and admitted the killing but invoked self-defense and defense of a relative, prompting the presentation of evidence in support of those defenses.

On May 20, 2013, petitioner and companions (Ubina, Castillo, and others) were drinking at petitioner’s house. Neighbor Angelo Follante—intoxicated—insisted on joining, became belligerent, hurled stones, and left after a brief scuffle.
Thirty minutes later, stones struck petitioner’s and his father’s roofs. Ganal Sr. went out, met Angelo and his uncle Julwin Alvarez. When Ganal Sr. asked them to leave, Julwin threatened to kill them, picked up stones, pushed open the gate, and struck Ganal Sr. on the chest, knocking him unconscious.
Petitioner armed himself with a handgun, fired a warning shot; Julwin nonetheless advanced with stones and a knife, threatening everyone. Fearing for his and his family’s life, petitioner fired all rounds, wounding Julwin fatally. He then called police, surrendered his weapon, and admitted the killing.

Angelo carried stones to scare dogs; petitioner ordered him to hand them over and brandished a gun as warning. Angelo later informed Julwin, who approached petitioner’s house through a slightly open gate.
Upon confrontation, petitioner shot Julwin in the chest; Angelo fled and heard additional shots. A post-mortem showed death from severe hemorrhage due to multiple gunshot wounds. Alvarez’s widow incurred funeral expenses and losses, and Alvarez’s income was proved to compute civil indemnities.

RTC Branch 3, by judgment dated December 19, 2017, convicted petitioner of homicide, ruling that he failed to prove self-defense, defense of property, or uncontrollable fear; it credited passion and obfuscation and voluntary surrender to mitigate the penalty to an indeterminate term of 6 years and 1 day to 10 years, with civil indemnity (₱50,000), moral damages (₱50,000), and temperate damages (₱25,000).
On appeal in CA-G.R. CR No. 41105, the Court of Appeals, in a Decision dated March 27, 2019, affirmed the RTC decision in full; it denied petitioner’s motion for reconsideration by Resolution dated July 2, 2019. Petitioner then filed a Rule 45 petition before the Supreme Court.

Whether petitioner successfully established the justifying circumstance of self-defense (and defense of relative) under Article 11, Revised Penal Code.
Whether the elements of unlawful aggression, reasonable necessity of the means employed, and lack of sufficient provocation were present to acquit petitioner.