EN BANC

[G.R. No. 138453. May 29, 2002.]

PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES , appellee, vs . MELECIO ROBIÑOS y

DOMINGO , appellant.

Solicitor General for appellee.

Public Attorney's Office for appellant.

SYNOPSIS

Appellant, charged with parricide with unintentional abortion, pleaded not guilty and
interposed the defense of insanity. He presented witnesses who testi ed that he was of
unsound mental condition after the commission of the crime. The trial court rendered
judgment of conviction and imposed the penalty of death on appellant. Hence, this
automatic review.
For insanity to be exempting, the complete deprivation of intelligence must be at the
time of, not after, the commission of the crime.
In the complex crime of parricide with unintentional abortion, the penalty to be
imposed is that provided for the graver offense which is reclusion perpetua to death. In the
absence of any aggravating circumstance, the penalty imposable is reclusion perpetua.

SYLLABUS

1. CRIMINAL LAW; EXEMPTING CIRCUMSTANCES; INSANITY; REQUIRES

COMPLETE DEPRIVATION OF INTELLIGENCE AT THE TIME OF COMMISSION OF THE
CRIME. — Insanity presupposes that the accused was completely deprived of reason or
discernment and freedom of will at the time of the commission of the crime. A defendant
in a criminal case who relies on the defense of mental incapacity has the burden of
establishing the fact of insanity at the very moment when the crime was committed. Only
when there is a complete deprivation of intelligence at the time of the commission of the
crime should the exempting circumstance of insanity be considered. Indeed, when insanity
is alleged as a ground for exemption from criminal responsibility, the evidence must refer
to the time preceding the act under prosecution or to the very moment of its execution. If
the evidence points to insanity subsequent to the commission of the crime, the accused
cannot be acquitted. TAacHE

2. REMEDIAL LAW; EVIDENCE; BURDEN OF PROOF; IN CLAIMING INSANITY,

BURDEN IS UPON THE ACCUSED; REASON. — The presumption of law always lies in favor
of sanity and, in the absence of proof to the contrary, every person is presumed to be of
sound mind. Accordingly, one who pleads the exempting circumstance of insanity has the
burden of proving it. Failing this, one will be presumed to be sane when the crime was
committed. cCaSHA

3. ID.; ID.; ID.; ID.; CASE AT BAR. — Insanity is a defense in the nature of a confession
or avoidance and, as such, clear and convincing proof is required to establish its existence.
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 Indubitably, the defense failed to meet the quantum of proof required to overthrow the
presumption of sanity. SAcaDE

4. CRIMINAL LAW; PARRICIDE WITH UNINTENTIONAL ABORTION; PENALTY IN

ABSENCE OF QUALIFYING CIRCUMSTANCE. — Since appellant was convicted of the
complex crime of parricide with unintentional abortion, the penalty to be imposed on him
should be that for the graver offense which is parricide. This is in accordance with the
mandate of Article 48 of the Revised Penal Code. The law on parricide, as amended by RA
7659, is punishable with reclusion perpetua to death. In all cases in which the law
prescribes a penalty consisting of two indivisible penalties, the court is mandated to
impose one or the other, depending on the presence or the absence of mitigating and
aggravating circumstances. The rules with respect to the application of a penalty
consisting of two indivisible penalties are prescribed by Article 63 of the Revised Penal
Code. Hence, when the penalty provided by law is either of two indivisible penalties and
there are neither mitigating nor aggravating circumstances, the lower penalty shall be
imposed. Considering that neither aggravating nor mitigating circumstances were
established in this case, the imposable penalty should only be reclusion perpetua. Indeed,
because the crime of parricide is not a capital crime per se, it is not always punishable with
death. The law provides for the exible penalty of reclusion perpetua to death — two
indivisible penalties, the application of either one of which depends on the presence or the
absence of mitigating and aggravating circumstances.

DECISION

PANGANIBAN, J : p

Where the law prescribes a penalty consisting of two indivisible penalties, as in the
present case for parricide with unintentional abortion, the lesser one shall be applied in the
absence of any aggravating circumstances. Hence, the imposable penalty here is reclusion
perpetua, not death.
The Case
For automatic review by this Court is the April 16, 1999 Decision 1 of the Regional
Trial Court (RTC) of Camiling, Tarlac (Branch 68), in Criminal Case No. 95-45, nding
Melecio Robiños 2 y Domingo guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the complex crime of
parricide with unintentional abortion and sentencing him to death. The decretal portion of
the Decision reads as follows: cEaACD

"WHEREFORE, nding accused Melecio Robiños guilty beyond reasonable

doubt of the complex crime of parricide with unintentional abortion, this Court
hereby renders judgment sentencing him to suffer the penalty of DEATH by lethal
injection. He is also ordered to pay P50,000.00 as civil indemnity for the death of
the victim; and P22,800.00 as actual damages." 3

In an Information dated May 31, 1995, 4 appellant was accused of killing his
pregnant wife and the fetus inside her. It reads thus:
"That on or about March 25, 1995 at around 7:00 a.m. in Brgy. San Isidro,
Municipality of Camiling, Province of Tarlac, Philippines and within the
jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the said accused Melecio Robiños, did then
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 and there willfully, unlawfully and feloniously stab by means of a bladed knife 8
inches long, his legitimate wife Lorenza Robiños, who was, then six (6) months
pregnant causing the instantaneous death of said Lorenza Robiños, and the fetus
inside her womb." 5

When arraigned on July 27, 1995, appellant, with the assistance of his counsel, 6
pleaded not guilty. 7 After due trial, the RTC convicted him.
The Facts
Version of the Prosecution
The O ce of the Solicitor General (OSG) narrates the prosecution's version of how
appellant assaulted his pregnant wife, culminating in a brutal bloodbath, as follows:
"1. On March 25, 1995, at around seven o'clock in the morning, fteen-year
old Lorenzo Robiños was in his parents' house at Barangay San Isidro in
Camiling, Tarlac. While Lorenzo was cooking, he heard his parents, appellant
Melecio Robiños and the victim Lorenza Robiños, who were at the sala,
quarrelling.

"2. Lorenzo heard his mother tell appellant, 'Why did you come home, why
don't you just leave?' After hearing what his mother said, Lorenzo, at a distance of
about ve meters, saw appellant, with a double-bladed knife, stab Lorenza on the
right shoulder. Blood gushed from where Lorenza was hit and she fell down on
the oor. Upon witnessing appellant's attack on his mother, Lorenzo immediately
left their house and ran to his grandmother's house where he reported the
incident.

"3. At around eight o'clock in the morning of the same day, Benjamin
Bueno, the brother of the victim Lorenza Robiños, was at the house of his mother
Remedios Bueno at Barangay San Isidro. Benjamin, a resident of Barangay
Mabilang in Paniqui, Tarlac, went to his mother's house for the purpose of
informing his relatives that on the evening of March 24, 1995, appellant had killed
his uncle, Alejandro Robiños, at Barangay Mabilang. However while Benjamin
was at his mother's house, he received the more distressing news that his own
sister Lorenza had been killed by appellant.
"4. Upon learning of the attack on his sister, Benjamin did not go to her
house because he was afraid of what appellant might do. From his mother's
house, which was about 150 meters away from his sister's home, Benjamin saw
appellant who shouted at him, 'It's good you would see how your sister died.'
"5. Benjamin sought the help of Barangay Captain Virgilio Valdez who
called the police station at Camiling, Tarlac. SPO1 Herbert Lugo and SPO3 Tirso
Martin, together with the other members of the PNP Alert Team at Camiling,
Tarlac, immediately went to Barangay San Isidro. The police, together with
Benjamin Bueno and some barangay o cials and barangay folk, proceeded to
the scene of the crime where they saw blood dripping from the house of appellant
and Lorenza. The police told appellant to come out of the house. When appellant
failed to come out, the police, with the help of barangay o cials, detached the
bamboo wall from the part of the house where blood was dripping. The removal
of the wall exposed that section of the house where SPO1 Lugo saw appellant
embracing [his] wife.
"6. Appellant and Lorenza were lying on the oor. Appellant, who was lying
on his side and holding a bloodstained double-bladed knife with his right hand,
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 was embracing his wife. He was uttering the words, 'I will kill myself, I will kill
myself.' Lorenza, who was lying on her back and facing upward, was no longer
breathing. She appeared to be dead.
"7. The police and the barangay o cials went up the stairs of the house
and pulled appellant away from Lorenza's body. Appellant dropped the knife
which was taken by SPO3 Martin. Appellant tried to resist the people who held
him but was overpowered. The police, with the help of the barangay o cials
present, tied his hands and feet with a plastic rope. However, before he was pulled
away from the body of his wife and restrained by the police, appellant admitted to
Rolando Valdez, a neighbor of his and a barangay kagawad, that he had killed his
wife, showing him the bloodstained knife.

"8. Upon examining Lorenza, SPO1 Lugo found that she was already dead.
She was pale and not breathing. The police thus solicited the services of a funeral
parlor to take Lorenza's body for autopsy. Appellant was brought to the police
station at Camiling, Tarlac. However, he had to be taken to the Camiling District
Hospital for the treatment of a stab wound.
"9. After the incident, Senior Inspector Reynaldo B. Orante, the Chief of
Police at Camiling, Tarlac, prepared a Special Report which disclosed that:

'The victim Lorenza Robiños was six (6) months pregnant. She
suffered 41 stab wounds on the different parts of her body.

'That suspect (Melecio Robiños) was under the in uence of

liquor/drunk [who] came home and argued/quarreled with his wife, until
the suspect got irked, [drew] a double knife and delivered forty-one (41)
stab blows.
'Suspect also stabbed his own body and [was] brought to the
Provincial Hospital.
'Recovered from the crime scene is a double blade sharp knife about
eight (8) inches long including handle.'
"10. During the trial of the case, the prosecution was not able to present the
doctor who conducted the autopsy on Lorenza Robiños' body. Nor, was the
autopsy report presented as evidence." 8

Version of the Defense

Appellant does not refute the factual allegations of the prosecution that he indeed
killed his wife, but seeks exoneration from criminal liability by interposing the defense of
insanity as follows:
"Pleading exculpation, herein accused-appellant interposed insanity. The
defense presented the testimonies of the following:
"FEDERICO ROBIÑOS , 19 years old son of Melecio Robiños, testi ed that
his parents had occasional quarrels[. B]efore March 23, 1995, his father told him
that he had seen a person went [sic] inside their house and who wanted to kill
him. On March 23, 1995, he heard his father told the same thing to his mother and
because of this, his parents quarreled and exchanged heated words.

"LOURDES FAJARDO , nurse of the Tarlac Penal Colony, testi ed that she
came to know Melecio Robiños only in May to June 1996. Every time she visited
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 him in his cell, accused isolated himself, 'laging nakatingin sa malayo', rarely
talked, just stared at her and murmured alone.
"BENEDICT REBOLLOS , a detention prisoner of the Tarlac Penal Colony,
testi ed that he and the accused were seeing each other everyday from 6:00
o'clock in the morning up to 5:30 o'clock in the afternoon. He had observed that
accused sometime[s] refused to respond in the counting of prisoners. Sometimes,
he stayed in his cell even if they were required to fall in line in the plaza of the
penal colony.
"DOMINGO FRANCISCO, another detention prisoner of the Tarlac Penal
Colony, testi ed that as the accused's inmate, he had occasion to meet and
mingle with the latter. Accused sometimes was lying down, sitting, looking, or
staring on space and without companion, laughing and sometimes crying.

"MELECIO ROBIÑOS , herein accused-appellant, testi ed that on March 25,

1995, he was in their house and there was no unusual incident that happened on
that date. He did not know that he was charged for the crime of parricide with
unintentional abortion. He could not remember when he was informed by his
children that he killed his wife. He could not believe that he killed his wife." 9

In view of the penalty imposed by the trial court, this case was automatically
elevated to this Court for review. 1 0
The Issues
Appellant submits for our consideration the following assignment of errors:
"I
The court a quo erred in not giving probative weight to the testimony and
psychiatric evaluation of Dr. Maria Mercedita Mendoza nding the accused-
appellant to be suffering from psychosis or insanity classi ed under
schizophrenia, paranoid type.

"II
The court a quo erred in disregarding accused-appellant's defense of
insanity." 1 1

The Court's Ruling

The appeal is partly meritorious.
Main Issue
Insanity as an Exempting Circumstance
At the outset, it bears noting that appellant did not present any evidence to
contravene the allegation that he killed his wife. Clear and undisputed are the RTC ndings
on the identity of the culprit and the commission of the complex crime of parricide with
unintentional abortion. Appellant, however, interposes the defense of insanity to absolve
himself of criminal liability.
Insanity presupposes that the accused was completely deprived of reason or
discernment and freedom of will at the time of the commission of the crime. 1 2 A
defendant in a criminal case who relies on the defense of mental incapacity has the burden
of establishing the fact of insanity at the very moment when the crime was committed. 1 3
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 Only when there is a complete deprivation of intelligence at the time of the commission of
the crime should the exempting circumstance of insanity be considered. 1 4
The presumption of law always lies in favor of sanity and, in the absence of proof to
the contrary, every person is presumed to be of sound mind. 1 5 Accordingly, one who
pleads the exempting circumstance of insanity has the burden of proving it. 1 6 Failing this,
one will be presumed to be sane when the crime was committed.
A perusal of the records of the case reveals that appellant's claim of insanity is
unsubstantiated and wanting in material proof. Testimonies from both prosecution and
defense witnesses show no substantial evidence that appellant was completely deprived
of reason or discernment when he perpetrated the brutal killing of his wife.
As can be gleaned from the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses, a domestic
altercation preceded the fatal stabbing. Thus, it cannot be said that appellant attacked his
wife for no reason at all and without knowledge of the nature of his action. To be sure, his
act of stabbing her was a deliberate and conscious reaction to the insulting remarks she
had hurled at him as attested to by their 15-year-old son Lorenzo Robiños. We reproduce
Lorenzo's testimony in part as follows:
"Q: Before your father Melecio Robiños stabbed your mother, do you recall if they
talked to one and the other?

A: Yes, sir.
ATTY. IBARRA:
Q: Did you hear what they talked about?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: What did you hear?

A: 'Why did you come home, why don't you just leave?', Sir.
COURT:
In other words, you better go away, you should have not come back home.
ATTY. IBARRA:

Q: After you mother uttered those words, what did your father do?
A: That was the time that he stabbed my mother, sir." 1 7

Furthermore, appellant was obviously aware of what he had done to his wife. He was
even bragging to her brother, Benjamin Bueno, how he had just killed her. Bueno testi ed
thus:
"ATTY. JOAQUIN:
Q: Now, from the house of your mother, can you see the house of your sister?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: When you arrived at the house of your mother, Lorenzo Robiños was already
there in the house of your mother, is that right, Mr. Witness?
A: Yes, sir.
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 Q: And he was the one who informed you about your sister already dead?

A: Yes, Sir.
Q: Did you go near the house of your sister upon learning that she was already
dead?
A: No, sir.
ATTY. JOAQUIN:
Q: Why?
A: My brother-in-law was still amok, Sir.

COURT:
Q: Why do you know that he was amok?
A: Yes, sir, because he even shouted at me, sir.
Q: How?
A: It's good you would see how your sister died, Sir." 1 8

Finally, the fact that appellant admitted to responding law enforcers how he had just
killed his wife may have been a manifestation of repentance and remorse — a natural
sentiment of a husband who had realized the wrongfulness of his act. His behavior at the
time of the killing and immediately thereafter is inconsistent with his claim that he had no
knowledge of what he had just done. Barangay Kagawad Rolando Valdez validated the
clarity of mind of appellant when the latter confessed to the former and to the police
o cers, and even showed to them the knife used to stab the victim. Valdez's testimony
proceeded as follows:
"Q: And what did you discover when you went there at the house of Melecio
Robiños?
A: When we arrived at the house of Melecio Robiños, it was closed. We waited for
the police o cers to arrive and when they arrived, that was the time that
we started going around the house and when we saw blood, some of our
companions removed the walling of the house and at that time, we saw the
wife of Melecio Robiños lying down as if at that moment, the wife of
Melecio Robiños was already dead, Sir.
Q: When you were able to remove this walling, what did you do?
A: We talked to Melecio Robiños, Sir.
xxx xxx xxx

Q: What was he doing when you talked to him?

A: When we saw them they were both lying down and when we got near, he said
he killed his wife and showing the weapon he used, sir.
Q: What is that weapon?
A: Double bladed weapon, Sir.
COURT:
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 What is that, knife?
A: It's a double bladed knife, sir.

xxx xxx xxx

COURT:
He admitted to you that he killed his wife?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: How did he say that, tell the court exactly how he tell you that, in tagalog,
ilocano or what?
A: What I remember Sir he said, 'Pinatay ko ni baket ko' meaning 'I killed my wife,'
Sir." 1 9

Clearly, the assault of appellant on his wife was not undertaken without his
awareness of the atrocity of his act.
Similarly, an evaluation of the testimonies of the defense witnesses hardly supports
his claim of insanity. The bulk of the defense evidence points to his allegedly unsound
mental condition after the commission of the crime. Except for appellant's 19-year-old son
Federico Robiños, 2 0 all the other defense witnesses testi ed on the supposed
manifestations of his insanity after he had already been detained in prison.
To repeat, insanity must have existed at the time of the commission of the offense,
or the accused must have been deranged even prior thereto. Otherwise he would still be
criminally responsible. 2 1 Verily, his alleged insanity should have pertained to the period
prior to or at the precise moment when the criminal act was committed, not at anytime
thereafter. In People v. Villa, 2 2 this Court incisively ratiocinated on the matter as follows:
"It could be that accused-appellant was insane at the time he was
examined at the center. But, in all probability, such insanity was contracted during
the period of his detention pending trial. He was without contact with friends and
relatives most of the time. He was troubled by his conscience, the realization of
the gravity of the offenses and the thought of a bleak future for him. The
con uence of these circumstances may have conspired to disrupt his mental
equilibrium. But, it must be stressed, that an inquiry into the mental state of
accused-appellant should relate to the period immediately before or at the precise
moment of doing the act which is the subject of the inquiry, and his mental
condition after that crucial period or during the trial is inconsequential for
purposes of determining his criminal liability. In ne, this Court needs more
concrete evidence on the mental condition of the person alleged to be insane at
the time of the perpetration of the crimes in order that the exempting
circumstance of insanity may be appreciated in his favor. . . . ." 2 3 (Emphasis
supplied)

Indeed, when insanity is alleged as a ground for exemption from criminal

responsibility, the evidence must refer to the time preceding the act under prosecution or
to the very moment of its execution. If the evidence points to insanity subsequent to the
commission of the crime, the accused cannot be acquitted. 2 4
The testimony of Dr. Maria Mercedita Mendoza, the psychiatrist who conducted an
examination of the mental condition of appellant, does not provide much help in
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 determining his state of mind at the time of the killing. It must be noted that she examined
him only on September 11, 1995, or six months after the commission of the crime. 2 5
Moreover, she was not able to make a background study on the history of his mental
condition prior to the killing because of the failure of a certain social worker to gather data
on the matter. 2 6
Although Dr. Mendoza testi ed that it was possible that the accused had already
been suffering from psychosis at the time of the commission of the crime, 2 7 she likewise
admitted that her conclusion was not de nite and was merely an opinion. 2 8 As correctly
observed by the trial court, her declarations were merely conjectural and inconclusive to
support a positive finding of insanity. According to the RTC:
"The testimony of Dr. Maria Mercidita Mendoza, who examined accused at
the National Center for Mental Health, Mandaluyong City, that at the time of
examination accused Melecio Robiños was still mentally ill; that accused was
experiencing hallucination and suffering from insanity and it is possible that the
sickness have occurred eight (8) to nine (9) months before examination; and in
her opinion accused was suffering from delusion and hallucination. And her
opinion that at the time accused stabbed himself, he was not in his lucid interval,
is merely her conclusion. . . . Aside from being her opinion, she conducted the
mental, physical and neurological examinations on the accused seven (7) months
after the commission of the offense. That span of seven (7) months has given
accused an opportunity to contrive and feign mental derangement. Dr. Mendoza
had no opportunity to observed (sic) and assessed (sic) the behavior of the
accused immediately before, during and immediately after the commission of the
offense. Her nding is conjectural, inconclusive. She did not conduct background
examination of the mental condition of the accused before the incident by
interviewing persons who had the opportunity to associate with him." 2 9

Hence, appellant who invoked insanity should have proven that he had already been
completely deprived of reason when he killed the victim. 3 0 Verily, the evidence proffered
by the defense did not indicate that he had been completely deprived of intelligence or
freedom of will when he stabbed his wife to death. Insanity is a defense in the nature of a
confession or avoidance and, as such, clear and convincing proof is required to establish
its existence. 3 1 Indubitably, the defense failed to meet the quantum of proof required to
overthrow the presumption of sanity.
Second Issue:
Proper Penalty
Although the RTC correctly rejected the defense of insanity, it nonetheless erred in
imposing the death penalty on appellant. It imposed the maximum penalty without
considering the presence or the absence of aggravating and mitigating circumstances.
The imposition of the capital penalty was not only baseless, but contrary to the rules on
the application of penalties as provided in the Revised Penal Code. Even the O ce of the
Solicitor General concedes this error in the imposition of the death penalty. 3 2
Since appellant was convicted of the complex crime of parricide with unintentional
abortion, the penalty to be imposed on him should be that for the graver offense which is
parricide. This is in accordance with the mandate of Article 48 of the Revised Penal Code,
which states: "When a single act constitutes two or more grave or less grave felonies, . . . ,
the penalty for the most serious crime shall be imposed, . . . . "
The law on parricide, as amended by RA 7659, is punishable with reclusion perpetua
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 to death. In all cases in which the law prescribes a penalty consisting of two indivisible
penalties, the court is mandated to impose one or the other, depending on the presence or
the absence of mitigating and aggravating circumstances. 3 3 The rules with respect to the
application of a penalty consisting of two indivisible penalties are prescribed by Article 63
of the Revised Penal Code, the pertinent portion of which is quoted as follows: cSCTID

"In all cases in which the law prescribes a penalty composed of two
indivisible penalties, the following rules shall be observed in the application
thereof:

xxx xxx xxx

2. When there are neither mitigating nor aggravating circumstances in the
commission of the deed, the lesser penalty shall be applied." (Emphasis supplied)
Hence, when the penalty provided by law is either of two indivisible penalties and
there are neither mitigating nor aggravating circumstances, the lower penalty shall be
imposed. 3 4 Considering that neither aggravating nor mitigating circumstances were
established in this case, the imposable penalty should only be reclusion perpetua. 3 5
Indeed, because the crime of parricide is not a capital crime per se, it is not always
punishable with death. The law provides for the exible penalty of reclusion perpetua to
death — two indivisible penalties, the application of either one of which depends on the
presence or the absence of mitigating and aggravating circumstances. 3 6
WHEREFORE, the Decision of the Regional Trial Court of Camiling, Tarlac (Branch 68)
in Criminal Case No. 95-45 is hereby AFFIRMED with the MODIFICATION that the penalty is
REDUCED to reclusion perpetua. Consistent with current jurisprudence, appellant shall pay
the heirs of the victim the amount of P50,000 as civil indemnity and P22,800 as actual
damages, which were duly proven. No pronouncement as to costs.
SO ORDERED.
Davide, Jr., C.J., Bellosillo, Melo, Puno, Vitug, Kapunan, Mendoza, Quisumbing,
Ynares-Santiago, De Leon, Jr., Sandoval-Gutierrez, Carpio, Austria-Martinez and Corona, JJ.,
concur.

Footnotes
1. Rollo, pp. 36-49. The Decision was written by Judge Cesar M. Sotero.

2. Also spelled "Robinos" in the records.

3. RTC Decision, pp. 13-14; rollo, pp. 48-49; records, pp. 196-197.
4. Rollo, p. 11; records, Vol. I, p. 1.
5. Ibid.

6. Atty. Domingo R. Joaquin.

7. Order dated July 27, 1995; records, Vol. I, p. 30.
8. Appellee's Brief, pp. 3-6; rollo, pp. 119-122. This was signed by Solicitor General Ricardo P.
Galvez, Assistant Solicitor General Mariano M. Martinez and Solicitor Vida G. San
Vicente.
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 9. Appellant's Brief, pp. 6-7; rollo, pp. 81-82. This was signed by Attys. Arceli A. Rubin, Amelia C.
Garchitorena and Eden B. Chavez — all of the Public Attorney's Office.
10. This case was deemed submitted for decision on August 24, 2000, which is the deadline
given by the Court for the ling of a Reply Brief, which, however, was deemed waived as
none had been filed by appellant within the given period.
11. Ibid., pp. 8 & 83. Original in upper case.
12. People v. Danao, 215 SCRA 795, November 19, 1992.

13. People v. Diaz, 320 SCRA 168, December 8, 1999.

14. People v. Condino, G.R. No. 130945, November 19, 2001.
15. People v. Medina, 286 SCRA 44, February 6, 1998.
16. People v. Tabugoca, 285 SCRA 312, January 28, 1998.
17. TSN, August 1, 1995, pp. 9-10.

18. TSN, August 3, 1995, pp. 13-14.

19. TSN, February 6, 1996, pp. 11-14.
20. TSN, June 11, 1996, pp. 12-15. Federico Robiños testi ed that on March 23, 1995, or two
days before the date of the commission of the crime, his father told him that there was a
person who was going to enter their house who wanted to kill the father.
21. Regalado, Criminal Law Conspectus, 2000 ed., p. 53.

22. 331 SCRA 142; April 27, 2000.

23. Ibid., pp. 153-154, per Bellosillo, J.

24. Aquino, The Revised Penal Code, 1987 ed., p. 213.

25. TSN, December 12, 1995, pp. 26-27.

26. TSN, January 9, 1996, p. 14.

27. Ibid., pp. 15-16.

28. Id., p. 16.

29. RTC Decision, p. 11.

30. People v. Bañez, 301 SCRA 248, January 20, 1999.

31. People v. Danao, supra.

32. See Brief for Appellee, pp. 19-20; rollo, pp. 135-136.

33. People v. Pedroso, 336 SCRA 163, July 19, 2000.

34. People v. Cayago , 312 SCRA 623, August 18, 1999; People v. Barellano , 319 SCRA 567,
December 2, 1999.

35. People v. Naguita, 313 SCRA 292, August 30, 1999.

36. People v. Reyes , 292 SCRA 663, July 20, 1998; People v. Javier , 311 SCRA 576, July 28,
1999.
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