Case Summary (G.R. No. 45186)
Petitioner
The People of the Philippine Islands
Respondent
Josefina Bandian
Key Dates
• January 31, 1936 – Morning of alleged childbirth and abandonment
• September 30, 1936 – Decision by the Supreme Court
Applicable Law
• 1935 Philippine Constitution (governing constitutional framework)
• Revised Penal Code of the Philippines:
– Article 276(2): Abandonment of a Minor resulting in death
– Infanticide provisions (pre-1975 numbering)
– Article 3: Felonies by dolo or culpa
– Article 12, subsections 4 and 7: Exempting circumstances
Facts
In the early hours of January 31, 1936, Josefina Bandian, known to suffer from persistent fever and extreme debility, entered a nearby thicket—customary among locals for relief of nature. Witness Valentin Aguilar observed her emerge minutes later, staggering and bleeding profusely. He and another neighbor, Adriano Comcom, assisted her into her home and bed. Comcom had discovered the body of a newborn in the same thicket and, at Aguilar’s instruction, brought it to Bandian. When shown the child, Bandian affirmed maternally that it was hers. Dr. Nepomuceno, summoned at 2:00 p.m., found Bandian still bleeding and concluded she had delivered in bed and wilfully discarded the infant to conceal her dishonor. He further testified that Bandian admitted to killing the child. The lower court credited this testimony despite contradictions by Aguilar, Comcom, and Bandian herself. The Solicitor-General contended the evidence, at most, showed abandonment resulting in death rather than infanticide.
Issues
- Whether Bandian’s alleged admission to Dr. Nepomuceno was properly considered to support her conviction for infanticide.
- Whether the evidence established guilt of infanticide beyond reasonable doubt, warranting reclusion perpetua.
Court’s Analysis
- Admission to Physician: The sole basis for attributing intentional killing was Dr. Nepomuceno’s testimony, which conflicted with the direct observations of Aguilar and Comcom and was flatly denied by Bandian. The Court found no credible corroboration of any admission to homicidal intent.
- Wilfulness or Fault: Both infanticide and abandonment require a voluntary, conscious act or omission. The record showed Bandian was stricken by long-standing fever, extreme weakness, and dizziness. As a young, uneducated primipara, she lacked any medical awareness that defecation might coincide with unassisted delivery. Her staggering condition rendered her incapable of recognizing the act of childbirth or of rescuing the newborn from the thicket.
- Exempting Circumstances Under Article 12:
– Subsection 4 (Lawful Act Causing Injury by Accident): Bandian’s lawful act of relieving herself accidentally precipita
Case Syllabus (G.R. No. 45186)
Facts of the Case
- Date and time: January 31, 1936, at about 7 o’clock in the morning
- Location: Thicket and the appellant’s house in Talisayan, Oriental Misamis
- Observations by Valentin Aguilar:
- Appellant entered a nearby thicket (used by locals to “respond to a call of nature”)
- A few minutes later, she emerged with front and back of her clothes stained with blood, staggering and visibly weak
- Appellant told Aguilar only that she was “very dizzy”
- Intervention by Aguilar and Adriano Comcom:
- Aguilar supported the appellant to her house and placed her in bed
- Aguilar sent Comcom to fetch bamboo leaves to stop the appellant’s hemorrhage
- On the way, Comcom discovered the body of a newborn near the path adjoining the thicket
- Comcom and Aguilar brought the corpse to the appellant’s house, where she acknowledged it as her child
- Examination by Dr. Emilio Nepomuceno at 2:00 PM:
- Appellant was found still bleeding in bed
- Bed, floor, and space beneath the bed were soaked in blood
- Physician’s opinion: appellant gave birth in her bed, then threw the newborn into the thicket to conceal a dishonorable pregnancy
- Appellant allegedly admitted to killing her child, according to Dr. Nepomuceno’s testimony
- Condition of the newborn:
- No direct evidence how the child died
- Doctor testified that wounds on the body were animal bites (pigs roaming the thicket)
Procedural History
- Trial court:
- Charged appellant with infanticide under the Revised Penal Code
- Convicted and sentenced to reclusion perpetua, accessory penalties, and costs
- Appeal:
- Appellant alleged two errors by the trial court:
- Admitting and crediting her alleged confession to Dr. Nepomuceno
- Finding guilt beyond a reasonable doubt and imposing reclusion perpetua
- Solicitor-General’s position: appellant, if liable, only for abandonment of a minor resulting in death (Art. 276(2), RPC)
- Appellant alleged two errors by the trial court:
Issues on Appeal
- Was the appellant’s alleged admission to Dr. Nepomuceno properly received and reliable?
- Was there proof beyond reasonable doubt that Josefina Bandian commit