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SECOND
DIVISION
THE
PEOPLE OF THE
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
G.
R.
No. 37197
February
8, 1934
-versus-
MARCELO
TURNO,
Defendant-Appellant.
D
E C I S I
O N
ABAD
SANTOS,
J :
Appellant
was convicted
by the Court of First Instance of Leyte of the crime of murder and
sentenced
to suffer seventeen years, four months and one day of reclusion
temporal,
with the necessary penalties prescribed by law, to indemnify the heirs
of the deceased in the sum of P1,000, and to pay the costs.
This appeal only raises
questions of fact. Appellant admits having caused the death of Mauricio
Laus, but claims that he acted in self-defense. The evidence for the
prosecution
clearly shows that the deceased Mauricio Laus was suddenly and without
any warning stabbed by the appellant with a bolo. On the other hand,
the
defense tried to show that it was Mauricio Laus who first struck
appellant
with a rattan cane, and that the latter, in order to defend himself,
had
to make use of his bolo.
After carefully
examining
the evidence presented in this case, We have come to the conclusion
that
the trial court did not err in convicting the appellant. One of the
elements
of self-defense is unlawful aggression. That there was no unlawful
aggression
in this case is fully established by the ante mortem statement
of
Mauricio Laus and by the testimony of Santiago Conig. It is true that
appellant
contends that the lower court erred in giving weight to the testimony
of
Santiago Conig, but the evidence of record shows that this contention
is
without merit.
The facts established
by the evidence constitute the crime of murder, which is penalized with
reclusion temporal in its maximum degree to death [Article
248
of
the Revised Penal Code]. The lower court took into consideration the
mitigating
circumstance of lack of education. In the absence of any aggravating
circumstance,
the penalty prescribed by law should be imposed in its minimum degree,
or from seventeen years, four months and one day to twenty years of reclusion
temporal. The prison sentence imposed by the lower court of
seventeen
years, four months and one day is, therefore, in accordance with the
law.
Pursuant, however, to the provisions of Act No. 4103, the appellant is
hereby sentenced to suffer not less than twelve years of prision
mayor
and not more than seventeen years, four months and one day of reclusion
temporal.
Modified as above
indicated,
the judgment is affirmed with costs against the appellant. So ordered.
Street, Butte, and
Diaz, JJ., concur.
I certify that Chief
Justice Avanceña, participated in this Decision and voted to
affirm
the judgment with modification as above stated; that his name does not
appear signed hereto for the reason that he was on leave at the time of
the promulgation of the decision. - STREET, J |
