Case Digest (G.R. No. 46530)
Facts:
The People of the Philippines v. Catalino Rabao, G.R. No. 46530, April 10, 1939, the Supreme Court En Banc, Imperial, J., writing for the Court.The appellant Catalino Rabao was charged by information filed by the acting provincial fiscal of Camarines Sur with parricide for the killing of his wife Salvacion Agawa on December 15, 1937, in Naga, Camarines Sur. The Court of First Instance of Camarines Sur convicted Rabao of parricide and sentenced him to an indeterminate term of imprisonment from eight years and one day of prision mayor to twenty years of reclusion temporal, ordered indemnity of P1,000 to the heirs, and costs.
The factual background shows that Rabao and his wife had married January 15, 1936 and lived in the house of Urbano Rellora. On the morning of December 15, 1937, a quarrel erupted when Rabao objected to his wife bathing their ill child. In the heat of the quarrel Rabao struck his wife in the abdomen. She fell on a sack of rice, immediately suffered an attack, became unconscious and died despite aid. Dr. Vicente Roxas's autopsy indicated a hypertrophied spleen (due to malaria) and that death resulted from hemorrhage caused by rupture of the spleen, which could have been caused by an external blow to the abdomen.
At trial, eyewitness Urbano Rellora testified he saw Rabao punch his wife in the abdomen; another witness, Raymundo Hilano, testified he saw Rabao delivering blows though the Court found this testimony incredible because of the witness's asserted vantage point. Rabao made a sworn declaration (Exhibit C) admitting he struck his wife when provoked. The trial court ...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Was the appellant guilty of parricide rather than only parricide by reckless imprudence?
- Was the penalty imposed by the Court of First Instance proper, or should it be modified under the applicable provisions of the Revis...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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