G.R. No. 10470 - People vs. Bayutas

A complaint was filed on October 21, 1914, in the Court of First Instance of Cebu by the deputy provincial fiscal charging Filemon Bayutas with the crime of lesiones graves (serious physical injuries).
On November 25, 1914, a judgment was rendered sentencing Bayutas to one year and one day of prision correctional, ordering him to pay an indemnity of P50 for medicine rendered by a physician (with a provision for additional actions regarding the physician’s fees), imposing subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency, and requiring the payment of court costs.
Bayutas appealed from that judgment.

On the night of October 8, 1913, during a game of billiards in a hall located in the pueblo of Barili, Province of Cebu, a confrontation developed among the players.
The participants included Esteban Paras, Alfonso Carvajal, and the defendant Filemon Bayutas, who were related as cousins and generally treated each other like brothers.

In the midst of the game, Bayutas suggested laying a wager – betting on Carvajal against Paras.
Paras opposed the idea, remarking that such a bet was improper given their familial ties.
Bayutas retorted by telling Paras to “keep still” and resume playing, to which Paras responded by setting the terms for the bet as he positioned himself with a cue in hand.
With Paras’s back turned toward him and at a moment of vulnerability as Paras prepared to take his stroke, Bayutas unexpectedly struck him:

The first blow was delivered with a thick, hard club (a piece of wood about two inches in diameter) to the nape of the neck.
As Paras turned to identify his assailant, a second heavy blow was struck on his forehead, rendering him temporarily unconscious.
A third blow was attempted by Bayutas but was prevented by eyewitness Fructuoso Bargamento.

There was a contused wound on the middle of Paras’s forehead, sloping in an oblique direction from the medial line downward and outward.
A second contused wound was present in the right occipital region, also following an oblique course.

The injuries required 58 days to heal, during which Paras exhibited symptoms of brain fever—a consequence exacerbated by his habitual tuba drinking.

Bayutas claimed he was simply an onlooker in a billiard hall when Paras, without provocation, repeatedly challenged him to fight; on one occasion, even challenging his father.
He asserted that in an effort to avoid a quarrel, he moved away and, while passing behind Paras, was allegedly struck by Paras with a billiard cue.
Bayutas contended that in defending himself he used his left arm initially, then resorted to a club (taken from Juan Alesna) to ward off Paras, accidentally hitting Paras on the forehead and nape of the neck.
His account was supported by witnesses who provided testimonies counter to those of Paras and his supporters.

Paras did not initiate an unlawful assault, and his challenge was minimal—a reproach regarding the propriety of betting against a relative.
Bayutas, clearly angered by this reproach, positioned himself strategically and struck Paras when the latter was off guard.

The physical evidence, especially the direction and nature of Paras’s wounds, corroborated that the blows were inflicted by Bayutas from behind and the left side, inconsistent with the idea of an accidental or purely defensive act.

Whether the evidence establishes that Bayutas deliberately committed the crime of lesiones graves, qualified by the circumstance of treachery.

Determination of whether the method of attack—striking from behind while the victim was least prepared—constituted treachery.

Whether the defendant’s plea of self-defense holds merit given the chronology and nature of the injuries.

Compatibility of Bayutas’s version of accidental contact during self-defense with the physical evidence and eyewitness testimonies.

How the application of the extenuating circumstance (temporary loss of self-control as provided in Article 9, No. 7 of the Penal Code) interacts with the gravity of the offense.

Whether the mitigating circumstances sufficiently offset the intentional and injurious nature of Bayutas’s actions.