Case Summary (G.R. No. 5889)
Key Dates
• February 10, 2007 – Commission of the killing
• February 12, 2007 – Filing of the Information
• December 10, 2015 – Decision of the Regional Trial Court (Branch 40, Calapan City)
• April 4, 2019 – Decision of the Court of Appeals
• October 13, 2021 – Decision of the Supreme Court
Charge of Murder
Respondent was charged with murder under Article 248 of the Revised Penal Code for allegedly stabbing his live-in partner while she was unarmed and defenseless, with attendant circumstances of treachery, abuse of superior strength, and evident premeditation. The Information alleged multiple stab wounds inflicted with a bladed instrument, resulting in instantaneous death.
Trial Court Proceedings
• Arraignment: Respondent pleaded not guilty.
• Prosecution evidence: Seven-year-old daughter Lyn Joy positively identified her father as the assailant who stabbed her mother twenty-two times. Police officers corroborated the crime-scene investigation and appellant’s arrest. A municipal health officer testified as to the autopsy findings and cause of death.
• Defense evidence: Respondent claimed a blackout and submitted certificates indicating schizophrenia from the National Center for Mental Health and Dr. Florecita Lindo.
• RTC ruling (Dec. 10, 2015): Found respondent guilty of murder by direct participation, appreciating only treachery (not premeditation). Imposed reclusion perpetua without eligibility for parole and awarded civil and moral damages.
Court of Appeals Decision
• Affirmed the murder conviction and added “abuse of superior strength” as a qualifying circumstance.
• Increased moral and exemplary damages to ₱100,000 each.
• Ordered six percent legal interest on all awards from the date of the Information’s filing until finality, and another six percent thereafter until full payment.
Issues on Appeal
- Whether respondent’s plea of insanity exempts him from criminal liability.
- Whether the killing qualifies as murder or should be reclassified as homicide.
Insanity Defense Analysis
• Exempting Insanity (RPC Art. 12(1)): Requires complete deprivation of reason or discernment at the time of the act.
• Respondent’s proof: Uncorroborated blackout claim; certificates without expert testimony on the timing or extent of mental incapacity.
• Jurisprudential standard: Insanity must be proved by expert or intimate-witness opinion relating to the time of the offense.
• Conclusion: The defense of insanity failed; respondent remained criminally liable.
Qualifying Circumstances Analysis
• Treachery requires means that ensure the perpetrator’s safety and preclude victim defense through a deliberate plan. A sudden, impulsive attack does not establish treachery.
• Abuse of superior strength demands a notorious inequality of forces consciously exploited by the aggressor; mere adult strength and a knife do not suffice.
• Here, the attack was impulsive and unplanned, with no clear evidence of deliberate exploitation of incapacitation.
• Conclusion: Neither treachery nor abuse of superior strength attended the killing.
Reclassification as Homicide
• Elements of
Case Syllabus (G.R. No. 5889)
Nature of the Case
- Appeal from the Court of Appeals’ Decision dated April 4, 2019 in CA-G.R. CR-HC No. 09196.
- The CA had affirmed with modification the Regional Trial Court’s conviction of appellant for murder.
- Before the Supreme Court are two issues: (1) whether appellant is exempt from criminal liability by reason of insanity; (2) whether the crime is properly classified as murder.
Factual Background
- On February 10, 2007 at around 8:00 PM in Sitio Riverside, Barangay Pakyas, Victoria, Oriental Mindoro, Jovelia Malinao y Panot was stabbed to death inside her home.
- The accused, her live-in partner Leonardo Macalindong y Andallon, allegedly attacked her with a bladed instrument while she was unarmed, unaware, and defenseless.
- Their seven-year-old daughter Lyn Joy witnessed the stabbing and later positively identified her father as the assailant.
Charge
- Appellant was charged with murder under Article 248 of the Revised Penal Code, with treachery, evident premeditation, and abuse of superior strength as qualifying circumstances.
- Information filed on February 12, 2007 alleged multiple stab wounds inflicted with treachery, abuse of superior strength, and evident premeditation, causing instantaneous death.
Trial Court Proceedings
- Case raffled to RTC Branch 40, Calapan City. Arraignment: plea of not guilty.
- Prosecution presented eyewitness testimony of Lyn Joy and stipulated testimonies of police officers and medical officer.
- Defense presented appellant’s own testimony claiming blackout and memory loss, plus two medical certificates diagnosing schizophrenia.
- RTC, in its December 10, 2015 Decision, credited Lyn Joy’s testimony, found treachery proven, but declined to find premeditation. Appellant was convicted of murder.
Prosecution’s Evidence
- Lyn Joy’s direct, positive identification of appellant as the stabber.
- Her account of hearing a quarrel, seeing her father stab her mother at least 22 times, and witnessing the victim’s immediate lifelessness.
- Stipulated police blotter entries, arrest procedure, and crime-scene photographs.
- Municipal Health Officer’s findings and death certificate confirming cause of death from multiple stab wounds.
Defense’s Evidence
- Appellant’s testimony of blackout on the day in question, uncertain whether he was responsible.
- Medical Certificate dated November 9, 2007 by Dr. Florecita Lindo and