G.R. No. 176609 - FERNANDO ESTABAS MAHAWAN ALIAS PADO, VS. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE, PREMISES CONSIDERED, this Court finds the accused FERNANDO ESTABAS MAHAWAN, GUILTY of committing the crime of FRUSTRATED HOMICIDE. He is hereby sentenced to suffer the indeterminate term of SIX (6) YEARS of PRISION CORRECCIONAL as minimum to TEN (10) YEARS OF PRISION MAYOR as maximum thereto. [15] Petitioner filed a motion for reconsideration [16] of the RTC Decision but this was denied. [17] Undaunted, he appealed to the Court of Appeals. On 25 May 2006, the appellate court promulgated its Decision affirming in toto the RTC Decision. Petitioner sought a reconsideration [18] of the appellate court's decision but it was denied. [19] Thus, petitioner lodged the instant petition before us assigning the following errors: I. THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS ERRED IN CONCLUDING IN ITS QUESTIONED DECISION THAT ACCUSED-APPELLANT, PETITIONER HEREIN, FAILED TO FIRMLY ESTABLISH THAT UNLAWFUL AGGRESSION PRECEDED HIS ATTACK ON THE PRIVATE OFFENDED PARTY; II. COROLLARILY TO THE FOREGOING, BOTH THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS AND THE REGIONAL TRIAL COURT LIKEWISE ERRED IN CONCLUDING THAT THE SECOND AND THIRD ELEMENTS OF SELF-DEFENSE ARE WANTING IN THE CASE AT BAR; III. THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS LIKEWISE ERRED IN NOT FINDING THAT THERE WAS NO INTENT TO KILL ON THE PART OF ACUSED-APPELLANT, PETITIONER HEREIN; IV. BOTH THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS AND THE REGIONAL TRIAL COURT ERRED IN NOT APPRECIATING THE "EQUIPOISE DOCTRINE" IN FAVOR OF THE ACCUSED-APPELLANT, PETITIONER HEREIN; V. THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS ERRED IN AFFIRMING IN TOTO THE AWARD FOR DAMAGES GRANTED BY THE LOWER COURT; VI. THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS ERRED IN DENYING ACCUSED-APPELLANT'S, PETITIONER HEREIN, EARNEST MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION WITHOUT CLEARLY SETTING FORTH THE FACTS AND LAW AS BASIS FOR THE DENIAL THEREOF. [20] In the main, petitioner argues he should be acquitted because he merely acted in self-defense when he shot Paradero during the incident. It is axiomatic that where an accused pleads self-defense, he thereby admits authorship of the crime. Accordingly, the burden of evidence is shifted to the accused who must then prove with clear and convincing proof the following elements of self-defense: (1) unlawful aggression on the part of the victim; (2) reasonable necessity of the means employed to prevent or repel the attack; and (3) lack of sufficient provocation on the part of the person defending himself. Although all three elements must concur, self-defense must rest firstly on proof of unlawful aggression on the part of the victim. If no unlawful aggression attributed to the victim is established, there can be no self-defense, whether complete or incomplete. Unlawful aggression is a condition sine qua non for the justifying circumstance of self-defense to apply. [21] As an element of self-defense, unlawful aggression refers to an assault or attack, or a threat thereof in an imminent and immediate manner, which places the defendant's life in actual peril. There