Case Summary (G.R. No. 135981)
Charge and RTC Decision
Marivic Genosa was charged with parricide under Article 246 of the RPC for killing her husband with treachery. The RTC convicted her, found no mitigating circumstances, applied treachery as an aggravating circumstance and imposed the death penalty, plus civil indemnity and moral damages.
Prosecution’s Version of Facts
Appellant and victim married in 1983 and lived in Leyte. The victim disappeared after a cockfight on November 15, 1995. Neighbors later reported a foul odor; police found Ben’s decomposing body in the bedroom, wearing only briefs, with a depressed occipital fracture. A two-meter metal pipe stained with blood was found nearby. Post-mortem revealed severe intracranial hemorrhage from a depressed skull fracture.
Defense’s Version of Facts
Appellant admitted killing her husband but claimed self-defense and introduced the battered woman syndrome (BWS). She narrated repeated violent episodes—slappings, choke-holds, threats with a bolo or cutter—occurring some three times a week over more than a decade. On the fatal night, the victim returned home drunk, assaulted her with a chopping knife and bolo, dragged her toward a gun-filled drawer while threatening to kill her, and battered her despite her eight-month pregnancy. Fearing for her and her child’s life, she retrieved the hidden firearm and shot him.
Remand for Expert Psychological Evidence
On appeal, appellant moved for psychological and psychiatric evaluations. The Supreme Court partially granted the motion, remanding for expert testimony on BWS. Clinical psychologist Dr. Natividad Dayan and psychiatrist Dr. Alfredo Pajarillo testified on the cyclical nature of spousal abuse, its psychological effects (post-traumatic stress, learned helplessness, heightened fear), and how repetitive, severe beatings diminish an abused person’s will-power and induce overwhelming fear.
Issues on Appeal
- Whether self-defense (and defense of her fetus) was valid under the battered woman syndrome.
- Whether treachery attended the killing.
(Collateral factual assignments regarding credibility, marriage proof, cause of death, character evidence, children’s testimony, flight, and guilt indicia were also raised but found unmeritorious or peripheral.)
Self-Defense and Battered Woman Syndrome
Under Article 11(1)(1) RPC, self-defense requires (a) unlawful aggression, (b) reasonable necessity of means, and (c) lack of sufficient provocation. Although foreign courts recognize BWS as a form of (complete or imperfect) self-defense, Philippine jurisprudence still demands actual or imminent unlawful aggression at the moment of the fatal act. The Court found that when appellant shot her husband he was no longer actively attacking her; he had ceased aggression and retreated. Thus, the legal requisite of continuing unlawful aggression was not met, and complete exoneration by self-defense was unavailable.
Mitigating Circumstances
While self-defense failed in full, the Court recognized two mitigating circumstances under Article 13 of the RPC:
• Illness diminishing will-power (Art. 13(9)): Appellant’s BWS constituted a psychological paralysis that impaired her self-control without negating consciousness of her act.
• Passion and obfuscation (Art. 13(10)): The victim’s renewed acute aggression—threats with a bolo, dragging her by the neck, and hazards to her eight-month pregnancy—naturally produced an uncontrollable burst of passion and mental confusion.
Treachery
Treachery
Case Syllabus (G.R. No. 135981)
Citation and Procedural History
- Supreme Court, En Banc, G.R. No. 135981, 464 Phil. 680 (January 15, 2004)
- RTC of Ormoc City (Branch 35), Criminal Case No. 5016-0, Decision dated September 25, 1998
- Appellant convicted of parricide under Article 246, RPC (as amended by RA 7659); death penalty imposed with treachery, no mitigating circumstances
- Automatic review on appeal before the Supreme Court; appellee: People of the Philippines; appellant: Marivic Genosa
Prosecution Version of Facts
- Marriage and residence: wed November 19, 1983; lived first with in-laws, then rented house in Barangay Bilwang, Isabel, Leyte
- November 15, 1995: deceased Ben Genosa and Arturo Basobas drank at cockfight; appellant searched for husband and later quarreled with him
- November 16, 1995: appellant traveled to Cebu for prenatal check-up; left house appearing uninhabited afterward
- November 18, 1995: landlord and police forced entry due to foul odor; found Ben’s decomposing body on bed, blood at nape
- Postmortem by Dr. Refelina Cerillo: death from depressed occipital fracture causing severe intracranial hemorrhage
Defense Version of Facts
- First year of marriage happy; thereafter Ben became drunk, violent, physically abusive at least three times weekly
- Appellant sought medical aid six times (1989–1995) for bruises, hematomas, mastitis, abrasions—records by Dr. Dino Caing
- November 15, 1995 evening: Ben, drunk and angry, cut TV antenna, attacked appellant with a chopping bolo, choked and whirled her
- Appellant escaped to children’s room, husband threatened “you might as well be killed,” tried to open gun drawer with cutter
- In genuine fear for her life and unborn child, appellant seized metal pipe and later pried drawer open, grabbed husband’s gun and shot him
Trial Court Decision
- Found appellant guilty beyond reasonable doubt of parricide under Article 246, RPC
- Recognized treachery as a generic aggravating circumstance; no mitigating circumstances found
- Sentence: Death; indemnity of ₱50,000 and moral damages of ₱50,000 to heirs of the victim
Issues on Appeal
- Existence of self-defense and defense of fetus under the battered woman syndrome (BWS) theory
- Presence of treachery as aggravating circumstance
- Alleged errors:
- “Hasty” trial court decision on self-defense
- Proof of legal marriage
- Determination of cause of death
- Disregard of d