Case Digest (G.R. No. 135981)
Facts:
People of the Philippines v. Marivic Genosa, G.R. No. 135981, January 15, 2004, Supreme Court En Banc, Panganiban, J., writing for the Court. The appellee is the People of the Philippines; the appellant is Marivic Genosa, convicted below of parricide.
Appellant and the deceased, Ben Genosa, were married and lived together with their children. On or about November 15–18, 1995 the body of Ben was discovered in their rented house; appellant later admitted she had killed him. The Information charged appellant with parricide alleged to have been committed with treachery and evident premeditation; the RTC of Ormoc City (Branch 35) tried the case, found treachery, found no mitigating circumstances and, in a September 25, 1998 Decision, convicted appellant of parricide and imposed the death penalty.
Appellant sought review. Because she raised for the first time the novel defense of the battered woman syndrome (BWS) on automatic review, she moved the Supreme Court to remand the case for psychological/psychiatric examination and for potential exhumation; the Court, by Resolution dated September 29, 2000, partly granted the motion and remanded for the reception of expert psychological/psychiatric opinion on BWS. The trial court then received testimony from two experts, Dr. Natividad Dayan (clinical psychologist) and Dr. Alfredo Pajarillo (psychiatrist), who described the cycle and psychological effects of chronic domestic battery and reported that appellant fit the battered woman profile and suffered post‑traumatic effects.
After the remand proceedings the records (including the experts’ reports and testimony) were returned to the Supreme Court for automatic review. The Court considered: (a) whether appellant acted in self‑defense or in defense of her unbor...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Did appellant prove self‑defense (including by invoking the battered woman syndrome) or defense of her fetus so as to justify or exonerate the killing?
- Was the killing attended by treachery so as to aggravate...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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