Case Digest (G.R. No. L-29532)
Facts:
People of the Philippines v. Mariano Oandasan, G.R. No. L-29532. September 28, 1968, the Supreme Court En Banc, Sanchez, J., writing for the Court.The plaintiff-appellee is the People of the Philippines; the defendant-appellant is Mariano Oandasan of Bulala Sur, Aparri, Cagayan. The complaint charged Oandasan with homicide under Article 249 of the Revised Penal Code.
The criminal complaint was filed in the Municipal Court of Flora, Mountain Province, where a preliminary investigation was conducted and the accused was arraigned and pleaded “not guilty.” Because municipal courts lacked jurisdiction over homicide, the case was elevated to the Court of First Instance (CFI) of Cagayan for trial. At the CFI a formal indictment was filed; upon arraignment there the accused pleaded guilty, and before sentence he offered evidence asserting (1) incomplete self-defense, (2) voluntary surrender, and (3) his plea of guilty as mitigating circumstances.
The CFI rendered judgment on September 27, 1967. The trial judge declined to regard the CFI plea of guilty as a mitigating circumstance because of the earlier “not guilty” plea at the municipal court preliminary investigation, and declined to treat the facts as amounting to incomplete self-defense; the court instead found provocation and voluntary surrender as ordinary mitigating circumstances. The CFI sentenced Oandasan to an indeterminate penalty stated as “two (2) years, four (4) months and one (1) day of prision correccional as minimum, to eight (8) years of prision mayor as maximum,” ordered indemnity of P6,000 to the heirs of the deceased without subsidiary imprisonment, and imposed costs.
Oandasan appealed the CFI judgment to the Supreme Court (defendant’s brief on appeal), contesting principally the penalty and the non-appreciation of his plea of guilty and incomplete self-defense. The Solicitor General filed a brief supporting some o...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Does the plea of guilty entered at the Court of First Instance constitute the mitigating circumstance of voluntary confession when the accused earlier pleaded not guilty during a preliminary investigation before the municipal court?
- Do the facts proven by the accused establish the privileged mitigating circumstance of incomplete self-defense (Article 11(1) in connection with Article 13(1), Revised Penal Code)?
- What is the proper penalty after recognizing incomplete self-defense and the mitigating effect of the plea of guilty and voluntary surrender, and how should the Indetermina...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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