Facts:

• Rufino Baybay was charged with a crime against the complaining witness following a confrontation in the Philippines.
• The incident occurred after a prior quarrel between Baybay and the complaining witness.
• The complaining witness testified that Baybay attacked him without provocation.
• The trial judge found the complaining witness's account credible and rejected Baybay's self-defense claim.
• Evidence included a bolo slash on the handle of the wounded man's bolo, indicating Baybay struck first while the complaining witness was unarmed.
• The meeting between the two men was deemed accidental, with no evidence of treachery or exploitation of darkness.
• The prosecution attempted to summon the companion of the wounded man as a witness, but he was unavailable, and Baybay did not object to the trial proceeding without him.
• Baybay was convicted and sentenced, but the ruling on aggravating circumstances and penalties was later modified.

Issue:

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Ruling:

• Baybay's self-defense plea was rejected due to the credibility of the complaining witness's testimony.
• The court found no aggravating circumstances of treachery or nocturnity in the crime's commission.
• The absence of the complaining witness's compa...(Unlock)

Ratio:

• The court rejected Baybay's self-defense claim based on the trial judge's credibility assessment of the witnesses.
• The testimony of the complaining witness was deemed more convincing, supported by physical evidence indicating Baybay initiated the attack.
• Self-defense requires a credible version of events, which was not established in this case.
• The cou...continue reading