001 G.R. No. 135981 January 15, 2004 Pp vs Genosa

8/20/2019 001 G.R. No. 135981 January 15, 2004 Pp vs Genosa

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G.R. No. 135981 January 15, 2004 Pp vs Genosa

PEOPLE OF TE P!L!PP!NE", appellee,vs.#$R!%!& GENO"$, appellant.

D E C I S I O N

P$NG$N!'$N, J .(

Admitting she killed her husband, appellant anchors her prayer or ac!uittal on anovel theory "" the #battered $oman syndrome# %&'S(, $hich allegedly

constitutes sel"deense. )nder the proven acts, ho$ever, she is not entitled tocomplete e*oneration because there $as no unla$ul aggression "" noimmediate and une*pected attack on her by her batterer"husband at the timeshe shot him.

Absent unla$ul aggression, there can be no sel"deense, complete orincomplete.

&ut all is not lost. +he severe beatings repeatedly inlicted on appellantconstituted a orm o cumulative provocation that broke do$n her psychologicalresistance and sel"control. +his #psychological paralysis# she suereddiminished her $ill po$er, thereby entitling her to the mitigating actor under

paragraphs and - o Article -/ o the 0evised 1enal Code.

In addition, appellant should also be credited $ith the e*tenuating circumstanceo having acted upon an impulse so po$erul as to have naturally producedpassion and obuscation. +he acute battering she suered that atal night in thehands o her batterer"spouse, in spite o the act that she $as eight monthspregnant $ith their child, over$helmed her and put her in the aoresaidemotional and mental state, $hich overcame her reason and impelled her tovindicate her lie and her unborn child2s.

Considering the presence o these t$o mitigating circumstances arising rom

&'S, as $ell as the beneits o the Indeterminate Sentence 3a$, she may no$apply or and be released rom custody on parole, because she has already

served the minimum period o her penalty $hile under detention during thependency o this case.

T)e &ase

4or automatic revie$ beore this Court is the September 56, -7 Decision- othe 0egional +rial Court %0+C( o Ormoc City %&ranch /6( in Criminal Case No.6-8", inding 9arivic :enosa guilty beyond reasonable doubt o parricide. +hedecretal portion o the Decision reads;

#'<E0E4O0E, ater all the oregoing being duly considered, the Courtinds the accused, 9arivic :enosa y Isidro, :)I3+= beyond reasonabledoubt o the crime o 1arricide as provided under Article 5>8 o the0evised 1enal Code as restored by Sec. 6, 0A No. ?86, and aterinding treachery as a generic aggravating circumstance and none omitigating circumstance, hereby sentences the accused $ith the penaltyo DEA+<.

#+he Court like$ise penali@es the accused to pay the heirs o thedeceased the sum o ity thousand pesos %16,.(, 1hilippinecurrency as indemnity and another sum o ity thousand pesos%16,.(, 1hilippine currency as moral damages.#5

+he Inormation/ charged appellant $ith parricide as ollo$s;

#+hat on or about the -6 th day o November -6, at &arangay &il$ang,9unicipality o Isabel, 1rovince o 3eyte, 1hilippines and $ithin the

urisdiction o this <onorable Court, the above"named accused, $ith

intent to kill, $ith treachery and evident premeditation, did then andthere $ilully, unla$ully and eloniously attack, assault, hit and $oundone &EN :ENOSA, her legitimate husband, $ith the use o a harddeadly $eapon, $hich the accused had provided hersel or thepurpose, Bcausing the ollo$ing $ounds, to $it;

2Cadaveric spasm.

2&ody on the 5nd stage o decomposition.

24ace, black, blo$nup s$ollen $ evident post"mortem lividity.Eyes protruding rom its sockets and tongue slightly protrudesout o the mouth.

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24racture, open, depressed, circular located at the occipitalbone o the head, resulting Bin laceration o the brain,spontaneous rupture o the blood vessels on the posteriorsurace o the brain, laceration o the dura and meningealvessels producing severe intracranial hemorrhage.

2&listers at both e*tremBities, anterior chest, posterior chest,trunk $ shedding o the epidermis.

2Abdomen distended $ gas. +runk bloated.2

$hich caused his death.#>

'ith the assistance o her counsel,6 appellant pleaded not guilty during herarraignment on 9arch /, -?.8 In due course, she $as tried or and convictedo parricide.

T)e Fa*+s

Version of the Prosecution

+he Oice o the Solicitor :eneral %OS:( summari@es the prosecution2s versiono the acts in this $ise;

#Appellant and &en :enosa $ere united in marriage on November -,-7/ in Ormoc City. +hereater, they lived $ith the parents o &en intheir house at Isabel, 3eyte. 4or a time, &en2s younger brother, Ale*,and his $ie lived $ith them too. Sometime in -6, ho$ever, appellant

and &en rented rom Steban 9atiga a house at &arangay &il$ang,Isabel, 3eyte $here they lived $ith their t$o children, namely; Fohn9arben and Earl 1ierre.

#On November -6, -6, &en and Arturo &asobas $ent to a cockightater receiving their salary. +hey each had t$o %5( bottles o beer beoreheading home. Arturo $ould pass &en2s house beore reaching his.'hen they arrived at the house o &en, he ound out that appellant hadgone to Isabel, 3eyte to look or him. &en $ent inside his house, $hile

Arturo $ent to a store across it, $aiting until ; in the evening or themasiao runner to place a bet. Arturo did not see appellant arrive but onhis $ay home passing the side o the :enosas2 rented house, he heardher say 2I $on2t hesitate to kill you2 to $hich &en replied 2'hy kill me

$hen I am innocentG2 +hat $as the last time Arturo sa$ &en alive. Arturo also noticed that since then, the :enosas2 rented houseappeared uninhabited and $as al$ays closed.

#On November -8, -6, appellant asked Erlinda 1aderog, her close

riend and neighbor living about ity %6( meters rom her house, to lookater her pig because she $as going to Cebu or a pregnancy check"up.

Appellant like$ise asked Erlinda to sell her motorcycle to their neighbor0onnie Dayandayan $ho unortunately had no money to buy it.

#+hat same day, about -5;-6 in the aternoon, Foseph Halida $as$aiting or a bus going to Ormoc $hen he sa$ appellant going out otheir house $ith her t$o kids in to$, each one carrying a bag, lockingthe gate and taking her children to the $aiting area $here he $as.Foseph lived about ity %6( meters behind the :enosas2 rented house.Foseph, appellant and her children rode the same bus to Ormoc. +heyhad no conversation as Foseph noticed that appellant did not $ant to

talk to him.

#On November -7, -6, the neighbors o Steban 9atiga told him aboutthe oul odor emanating rom his house being rented by &en andappellant. Steban $ent there to ind out the cause o the stench but thehouse $as locked rom the inside. Since he did not have a duplicate key$ith him, Steban destroyed the gate padlock $ith a borro$ed steel sa$.<e $as able to get inside through the kitchen door but only aterdestroying a $indo$ to reach a hook that locked it. Alone, Steban $entinside the unlocked bedroom $here the oensive smell $as comingrom. +here, he sa$ the lieless body o &en lying on his side on the bedcovered $ith a blanket. <e $as only in his bries $ith inuries at the back

o his head. Seeing this, Steban $ent out o the house and sent $ord tothe mother o &en about his son2s misortune. 3ater that day, Iluminada:enosa, the mother o &en, identiied the dead body as that o Bherson.

#9ean$hile, in the morning o the same day, S1O/ 3eo Acodesin, thenassigned at the police station at Isabel, 3eyte, received a reportregarding the oul smell at the :enosas2 rented house. +ogether $ithS1O- 9illares, S1O- Colon, and Dr. 0eelina Cerillo, S1O/ Acodesinproceeded to the house and $ent inside the bedroom $here they oundthe dead body o &en lying on his side $rapped $ith a bedsheet. +here$as blood at the nape o &en $ho only had his bries on. S1O/

Acodesin ound in one corner at the side o an aparador a metal pipe

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about t$o %5( meters rom $here &en $as, leaning against a $all. +hemetal pipe measured three %/( eet and si* %8( inches long $ith adiameter o one and hal %- -5( inches. It had an open end $ithout astop valve $ith a red stain at one end. +he bedroom $as not in disarray.

#About -; that same morning, the cadaver o &en, because o itsstench, had to be taken outside at the back o the house beore thepostmortem e*amination $as conducted by Dr. Cerillo in the presenceo the police. A municipal health oicer at Isabel, 3eyte responsible ormedico"legal cases, Dr. Cerillo ound that &en had been dead or t$o tothree days and his body $as already decomposing. +he postmorteme*amination o Dr. Cerillo yielded the indings !uoted in the Inormationor parricide later iled against appellant. She concluded that the causeo &en2s death $as 2cardiopulmonary arrest secondary to severeintracranial hemorrhage due to a depressed racture o the occipitalBbone.2

#$ppean+ a-/++e- //n 'en. She testiied that going home ater$ork on November -6, -6, she got $orried that her husband $ho $asnot home yet might have gone gambling since it $as a payday. 'ith her cousin Ecel Arao, appellant $ent to look or &en at the marketplaceand taverns at Isabel, 3eyte but did not ind him there. +hey ound &endrunk upon their return at the :enosas2 house. Ecel $ent home despiteappellant2s re!uest or her to sleep in their house.

#+hen, &en purportedly nagged appellant or ollo$ing him, evenchallenging her to a ight. She allegedly ignored him and insteadattended to their children $ho $ere doing their home$ork. Apparentlydisappointed $ith her reaction, &en s$itched o the light and, $ith the

use o a chopping knie, cut the television antenna or $ire to keep herrom $atching television. According to appellant, &en $as about toattack her so she ran to the bedroom, but he got hold o her hands and$hirled her around. She ell on the side o the bed and screamed orhelp. &en let. At this point, appellant packed his clothes because she$anted him to leave. Seeing his packed clothes upon his return home,&en allegedly le$ into a rage, dragged appellant outside o thebedroom to$ards a dra$er holding her by the neck, and told her 2=oumight as $ell be killed so nobody $ould nag me.2 Appellant testiied thatshe $as a$are that there $as a gun inside the dra$er but since &en didnot have the key to it, he got a three"inch long blade cutter rom his$allet. She ho$ever, 2smashed2 the arm o &en $ith a pipe, causing him

to drop the blade and his $allet. Appellant then 2smashed2 &en at his

nape $ith the pipe as he $as about to pick up the blade and his $allet.She thereater ran inside the bedroom.

#Appellant, ho$ever, insisted that she ended the lie o her husband byshooting him. She supposedly 2distorted2 the dra$er $here the gun $as

and shot &en. <e did not die on the spot, though, but in the bedroom.#?

%Citations omitted(

Version of the Defense

Appellant relates her version o the acts in this manner;

#-. 9arivic and &en :enosa $ere allegedly married on November -,-7/. 1rior to her marriage, 9arivic had graduated rom San Carlos,Cebu City, obtaining a degree o &achelor o Science in &usiness

Administration, and $as $orking, at the time o her husband2s death, asa Secretary to the 1ort 9anagers in Ormoc City. +he couple had three%/( children; Fohn 9arben, Earl 1ierre and 9arie &ianca.

#5. 9arivic and &en had kno$n each other since elementary schoolJthey $ere neighbors in &il$angJ they $ere classmatesJ and they $erethird degree cousins. &oth sets o parents $ere against theirrelationship, but &en $as persistent and tried to stop other suitors romcourting her. +heir closeness developed as he $as her constant partnerat iestas.

#/. Ater their marriage, they lived irst in the home o &en2s parents,together $ith &en2s brother, Ale*, in Isabel, 3eyte. In the irst year o

marriage, 9arivic and &en 2lived happily2. &ut apparently, soonthereater, the couple $ould !uarrel oten and their ights $ould becomeviolent.

#>. &en2s brother, Ale*, testiied or the prosecution that he could notremember $hen &en and 9arivic married. <e said that $hen &en and9arivic !uarreled, generally $hen &en $ould come home drunk, 9arivic$ould inlict inuries on him. <e said that in one incident in -/ he sa$9arivic holding a kitchen knie ater &en had shouted or help as his lethand $as covered $ith blood. 9arivic let the house but ater a $eek,she returned apparently having asked or &en2s orgiveness. In anotherincident in 9ay 55, ->, early morning, Ale* and his ather apparently

rushed to &en2s aid again and sa$ blood rom &en2s orehead and

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9arivic holding an empty bottle. &en and 9arivic reconciled ater9arivic had apparently again asked or &en2s orgiveness.

#9rs. Iluminada :enosa, 9arivic2s mother"in"la$, testiied too, sayingthat &en and 9arivic married in 2-78 or -76 more or less here in

4atima, Ormoc City.2 She said as the marriage $ent along, 9arivicbecame 2already very demanding. 9rs. Iluminada :enosa said that ater the birth o 9arivic2s t$o sons, there $ere 2three %/( misunderstandings.2+he irst $as $hen 9arivic stabbed &en $ith a table knie through hislet armJ the second incident $as on November -6, ->, $hen 9arivicstruck &en on the orehead 2using a sharp instrument until the eye $asalso aected. It $as $ounded and also the ear2 and her husband $entto &en to helpJ and the third incident $as in -6 $hen the couple hadalready transerred to the house in &il$ang and she sa$ that &en2shand $as plastered as 2the bone cracked.2

#&oth mother and son claimed they brought &en to a 1asar clinic or

medical intervention.

#6. Arturo &asobas, a co"$orker o &en, testiied that on November -6,-6 2Ater $e collected our salary, $e $ent to the cock"ighting place o ISCO.2 +hey stayed there or three %/( hours, ater $hich they $ent to2)niloks2 and drank beer K allegedly only t$o %5( bottles each. Aterdrinking they bought barbe!ue and $ent to the :enosa residence.9arivic $as not there. <e stayed a $hile talking $ith &en, ater $hich he$ent across the road to $ait 2or the runner and the usher o the masiaogame because during that time, the hearing on masiao numbers $asrampant. I $as $aiting or the ushers and runners so that I can place mybet.2 On his $ay home at about ; in the evening, he heard the

:enosas arguing. +hey $ere !uarreling loudly. Outside their house $asone 24redo2 $ho is used by &en to eed his ighting cocks. &asobas2testimony on the root o the !uarrel, conveniently overheard by him $as9arivic saying 2I $ill never hesitate to kill you2, $hilst &en replied 2'hykill me $hen I am innocent.2 &asobas thought they $ere oking.

#<e did not hear them !uarreling $hile he $as across the road rom the:enosa residence. &asobas admitted that he and &en $ere al$ays atthe cockpits every Saturday and Sunday. <e claims that he once told&en 2beore $hen he $as stricken $ith a bottle by 9arivic :enosa2 thathe should leave her and that &en $ould al$ays take her back ater she$ould leave him 2so many times2.

#&asobas could not remember $hen 9arivic had hit &en, but it $as along time that they had been !uarreling. <e said &en 2even had a$ound2 on the right orehead. <e had kno$n the couple or only one %-(year.

#8. 9arivic testiied that ater the irst year o marriage, &en becamecruel to her and $as a habitual drinker. She said he provoked her, he$ould slap her, sometimes he $ould pin her do$n on the bed, andsometimes beat her.

#+hese incidents happened several times and she $ould oten runhome to her parents, but &en $ould ollo$ her and seek her out,promising to change and $ould ask or her orgiveness. She said atershe $ould be beaten, she $ould seek medical help rom Dr. Dino Caing,Dr. 3ucero and Dra. Cerillo. +hese doctors $ould enter the inuriesinlicted upon her by &en into their reports. 9arivic said &en $ould beather or !uarrel $ith her every time he $as drunk, at least three times a

$eek.

#?. In her deense, $itnesses $ho $ere not so closely related to 9arivic,testiied as to the abuse and violence she received at the hands o &en.

2?.-. 9r. Foe &arrientos, a isherman, $ho $as a Bneighbor o the:enosas, testiied that on November -6, -6, he overheard a !uarrelbet$een &en and 9arivic. 9arivic $as shouting or help and through theopen alousies, he sa$ the spouses 2grappling $ith each other2. &en had9arivic in a choke hold. <e did not do anything, but had comevoluntarily to testiy. %Please note this was the same night as thattestified to by Arturo Busabos.7(

2?.5. 9r. Funnie &arrientos, also a isherman, and the brother o 9r. Foe&arrientos, testiied that he heard his neighbor 9arivic shouting on thenight o November -6, -6. <e peeped through the $indo$ o his hut$hich is located beside the :enosa house and sa$ 2the spousesgrappling $ith each other then &en :enosa $as holding $ith his bothhands the neck o the accused, 9arivic :enosa2. <e said ater a $hile,9arivic $as able to e*tricate heBrsel and enter the room o the children.

Ater that, he $ent back to $ork as he $as to go ishing that evening.<e returned at 7; the ne*t morning. % Again, please note that this wasthe same night as that testified to by Arturo Basobas(.

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2?./. 9r. +eodoro Sarabia $as a ormer neighbor o the :enosas $hilethey $ere living in Isabel, 3eyte. <is house $as located about ity %6(meters rom theirs. 9arivic is his niece and he kne$ them to be livingtogether or -/ or -> years. <e said the couple $as al$ays !uarreling.9arivic conided in him that &en $ould pa$n items and then $ould use

the money to gamble. One time, he $ent to their house and they $ere!uarreling. &en $as so angry, but $ould be paciied 2i somebody $ouldcome.2 <e testiied that $hile &en $as alive 2he used to gamble and$hen he became drunk, he $ould go to our house and he $ill say,2+eody2 because that $as $hat he used to call me, 2mokimas ta,2 $hichmeans 2let2s go and look or a $hore.2 9r. Sarabia urther testiied that&en 2$ould bo* his $ie and I $ould see bruises and one time she ran tome, I noticed a $ound %the $itness pointed to his right breast( asaccording to her a knie $as stricken to her.2 9r. Sarabia also said thatonce he sa$ &en had been inured too. <e said he voluntarily testiiedonly that morning.

2?.>. 9iss Ecel Arano, an -7"year old student, $ho is a cousin o9arivic, testiied that in the aternoon o November -6, -6, 9arivic$ent to her house and asked her help to look or &en. +hey searched inthe market place, several taverns and some other places, but could notind him. She accompanied 9arivic home. 9arivic $anted her to sleep$ith her in the :enosa house 2because she might be battered by herhusband.2 'hen they got to the :enosa house at about ?; in theevening, 9iss Arano said that 2her husband $as already there and $asdrunk.2 9iss Arano kne$ he $as drunk 2because o his staggering$alking and I can also detect his ace.2 9arivic entered the house andshe heard them !uarrel noisily. %Again, please note that this is the samenight as that testiied to by Arturo &asobas( 9iss Arano testiied that this

$as not the irst time 9arivic had asked her to sleep in the house as9arivic $ould be araid every time her husband $ould come homedrunk. At one time $hen she did sleep over, she $as a$akened at-; in the evening $hen &en arrived because the couple 2$ere verynoisy in the sala and I had heard something $as broken like a vase.2She said 9arivic ran into her room and they locked the door. 'hen &encouldn2t get in he got a chair and a knie and 2sho$ed us the kniethrough the $indo$ grill and he scared us.2 She said that 9arivicshouted or help, but no one came. On cross"e*amination, she said that$hen she let 9arivic2s house on November -6, -6, the couple $erestill !uarreling.

2?.6. Dr. Dino Caing, a physician testiied that he and 9arivic $ere co"employees at 1<I31<OS, Isabel, 3eyte. 9arivic $as his patient 2many

times2 and had also received treatment rom other doctors. Dr. Caingtestiied that rom Fuly 8, -7 until November , -6, there $ere si*%8( episodes o physical inuries inlicted upon 9arivic. +hese inuries$ere reported in his Out"1atient Chart at the 1<I31<OS <ospital. +heprosecution admitted the !ualiications o Dr. Caing and considered him

an e*pert $itness.2

* * * * * * * * *

2Dr. Caing2s clinical history o the tension headache and hypertention o9arivic on t$enty"three %5/( separate occasions $as marked at E*hibits252 and 25"&.2 +he O1D Chart o 9arivic at the 1hilphos Clinic $hichrelected all the consultations made by 9arivic and the si* %8( incidentso physical inuries reported $as marked as E*hibit 2/.2

#On cross"e*amination, Dr. Caing said that he is not a psychiatrist, hecould not say $hether the inuries $ere directly related to the crime

committed. <e said it is only a psychiatrist $ho is !ualiied to e*aminethe psychological make"up o the patient, 2$hether she is capable ocommitting a crime or not.2

2?.8 9r. 1anilo +ero, the barangay captain in the place $here the:enosas resided, testiied that about t$o %5( months beore &en died,9arivic $ent to his oice past 7; in the evening. She sought his helpto settle or conront the :enosa couple $ho $ere e*periencing 2amilytroubles2. <e told 9arivic to return in the morning, but he did not hearrom her again and assumed 2that they might have settled $ith eachother or they might have orgiven $ith each other.2

* * * * * * * * *

#9arivic said she did not provoke her husband $hen she got home thatnight it $as her husband $ho began the provocation. 9arivic said she$as rightened that her husband $ould hurt her and she $anted tomake sure she $ould deliver her baby saely. In act, 9arivic had to beadmitted later at the 0i@al 9edical Centre as she $as suering romeclampsia and hypertension, and the baby $as born prematurely onDecember -, -6.

#9arivic testiied that during her marriage she had tried to leave her

husband at least ive %6( times, but that &en $ould al$ays ollo$ herand they $ould reconcile. 9arivic said that the reason $hy &en $as

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violent and abusive to$ards her that night $as because 2he $as cra@yabout his recent girlriend, 3ulu * * * 0ubillos.2

#On cross"e*amination, 9arivic insisted she shot &en $ith a gunJ shesaid that he died in the bedroomJ that their !uarrels could be heard by

anyone passing their houseJ that &asobas lied in his testimonyJ that shelet or 9anila the ne*t day, November -8, -6J that she did not botheranyone in 9anila, rented hersel a room, and got hersel a ob as a ieldresearcher under the alias 29arvelous Isidro2J she did not tell anyonethat she $as leaving 3eyte, she ust $anted to have a sae delivery oher babyJ and that she $as arrested in San 1ablo, 3aguna.

2Ans$ering !uestions rom the Court, 9arivic said that she thre$ thegun a$ayJ that she did not kno$ $hat happened to the pipe she used to2smash him once2J that she $as $ounded by &en on her $rist $ith theboloJ and that t$o %5( hours ater she $as 2$hirled2 by &en, he kickedher 2ass2 and dragged her to$ards the dra$er $hen he sa$ that she had

packed his things.2

#. +he body o &en :enosa $as ound on November -7, -6 ater aninvestigation $as made o the oul odor emitting rom the :enosaresidence. +his act $as testiied to by all the prosecution $itnesses andsome deense $itnesses during the trial.

#-. Dra. 0eelina =. Cerillo, a physician, $as the 9unicipal <ealthOicer o Isabel, 3eyte at the time o the incident, and among herresponsibilities as such $as to take charge o all medico"legal cases,such as the e*amination o cadavers and the autopsy o cadavers. Dra.Cerillo is not a orensic pathologist. She merely took the medical boarde*ams and passed in -78. She $as called by the police to go to the:enosa residence and $hen she got there, she sa$ 2some police oicer and neighbor around.2 She sa$ &en :enosa, covered by a blanket,lying in a semi"prone position $ith his back to the door. <e $as $earingonly a brie.

* * * * * * * * *

#Dra. Cerillo said that 2there is only one inury and that is the inuryinvolving the skeletal area o the head2 $hich she described as a2racture2. And that based on her e*amination, &en had been dead 5 or /

days. Dra. Cerillo did not testiy as to $hat caused his death.

#Dra. Cerillo $as not cross"e*amined by deense counsel.

#--. +he Inormation, dated November ->, -8, iled against 9arivic:enosa charged her $ith the crime o 1A00ICIDE committed 2$ithintent to kill, $ith treachery and evidence premeditation, * * * $ilully,

unla$ully and eloniously attack, assault, hit and $ound * * * herlegitimate husband, $ith the use o a hard deadly $eapon * * * $hichcaused his death.2

#-5. +rial took place on ? and -> April -?, -> 9ay -?, 5- Fuly -?,-?, 55 and 5/ September -?, -5 November -?, -6 and -8December -?, 55 9ay -7, and 6 and 8 August -7.

#-/. On 5/ September -7, or only ity %6( days rom the day o thelast trial date, the <on. 4ortunito 3. 9adrona, 1residing Fudge, 0+C"&ranch /6, Ormoc City, rendered a F)D:9EN+ inding 9arivic guilty2beyond reasonable doubt2 o the crime o parricide, and urther ound

treachery as an aggravating circumstance, thus sentencing her to theultimate penalty o DEA+<.

#->. +he case $as elevated to this <onorable Court upon automaticrevie$ and, under date o 5> Fanuary 5, 9arivic2s trial la$yer, Atty.:il 9arvel 1. +abucanon, iled a 9otion to 'ithdra$ as counsel,attaching thereto, as a precautionary measure, t$o %5( drats o

Appellant2s &ries he had prepared or 9arivic $hich, or reasons o hero$n, $ere not conormed to by her.

#+he <onorable Court allo$ed the $ithdra$al o Atty. +abucanon and

permitted the entry o appearance o undersigned counsel.

#-6. 'ithout the kno$ledge o counsel, 9arivic :enosa $rote a letterdated 5 Fanuary 5, to the Chie Fustice, coursing the same through

Atty. +eresita :. Dimaisip, Deputy Clerk o Court o Chie Fudicial0ecords Oice, $herein she submitted her 2&rie $ithout counsels2 tothe Court.

#+his letter $as stamp"received by the <onorable Court on > 4ebruary5.

#-8. In the meantime, under date o -? 4ebruary 5, and stamp"

received by the <onorable Court on - 4ebruary 5, undersigned

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counsel iled an )0:EN+ O9NI&)S 9O+ION praying that the<onorable Court allo$ the e*humation o &en :enosa and the re"e*amination o the cause o his deathJ allo$ the e*amination o 9arivic:enosa by !ualiied psychologists and psychiatrists to determine herstate o mind at the time she killed her husbandJ and inally, to allo$ a

partial re"opening o the case a quo to take the testimony o saidpsychologists and psychiatrists.

#Attached to the )0:EN+ O9NI&)S 9O+ION $as a letter o Dr.0a!uel 4ortun, then the only !ualiied orensic pathologist in thecountry, $ho opined that the description o the death $ound %as culledrom the post"mortem indings, E*hibit 2A2( is more akin to a gunshot$ound than a beating $ith a lead pipe.

#-?. In a 0ESO3)+ION dated 5 September 5, the <onorable Courtpartly granted 9arivic2s )0:EN+ O9NI&)S 9O+ION and remandedthe case 2to the trial court or the reception o e*pert psychological

andor psychiatric opinion on the 2battered $oman syndrome2 plea,$ithin ninety %( days rom notice, and, thereater to orth$ith report tothis Court the proceedings taken, together $ith the copies o the +SNand relevant documentary evidence, i any, submitted.2

#-7. On -6 Fanuary 5-, Dra. Natividad A. Dayan appeared andtestiied beore the <on. 4ortunito 3. 9adrona, 0+C"&ranch /6, OrmocCity.

#Immediately beore Dra. Dayan $as s$orn, the Court a quo asked ishe had intervie$ed 9arivic :enosa. Dra. Dayan inormed the Courtthat intervie$s $ere done at the 1enal Institution in -, but that the

clinical intervie$s and psychological assessment $ere done at herclinic.

#Dra. Dayan testiied that she has been a clinical psychologist or t$enty%5( years $ith her o$n private clinic and connected presently to the De3a Salle )niversity as a proessor. &eore this, she $as the <ead o the1sychology Department o the Assumption CollegeJ a member o theaculty o 1sychology at the Ateneo de 9anila )niversity and St.Foseph2s CollegeJ and $as the counseling psychologist o the NationalDeense College. She has an A& in 1sychology rom the )niversity othe 1hilippines, a 9aster o Arts in Clinical BCounseling, 1sychologyrom the Ateneo, and a 1hD rom the ).1. She $as the past president o the 1sychological Association o the 1hilippines and is a member o the

American 1sychological Association. She is the secretary o theInternational Council o 1sychologists rom about 87 countriesJ amember o the 4orensic 1sychology AssociationJ and a member o the

ASEAN BCounseling Association. She is actively involved $ith the1hilippine Fudicial Academy, recently lecturing on the socio"

demographic and psychological proile o amilies involved in domesticviolence and nullity cases. She $as $ith the Davide Commission doingresearch about 9ilitary 1sychology. She has $ritten a book entitled2Energy :lobal 1sychology2 %together $ith Drs. Allan +an and Allan&ernardo(. +he :enosa case is the irst time she has testiied as ane*pert on battered $omen as this is the irst case o that nature.

#Dra. Dayan testiied that or the research she conducted, on the socio"demographic and psychological proile o amilies involved in domesticviolence, and nullity cases, she looked at about 6 cases over a periodo ten %-( years and discovered that 2there are lots o variables thatcause all o this marital conlicts, rom domestic violence to inidelity, to

psychiatric disorder.2

#Dra. Dayan described domestic violence to comprise o 2a lot oincidents o psychological abuse, verbal abuse, and emotional abuse tophysical abuse and also se*ual abuse.2

* * * * * * * * *

#Dra. Dayan testiied that in her studies, 2the battered $oman usuallyhas a very lo$ opinion o hersel. She has a sel"deeating and sel"sacriicing characteristics. * * * they usually think very lo$ly othemselves and so $hen the violence $ould happen, they usually think

that they provoke it, that they $ere the one $ho precipitated theviolence, they provoke their spouse to be physically, verbally and evense*ually abusive to them.2 Dra. Dayan said that usually a battered * * *comes rom a dysunctional amily or rom 2broken homes.2

#Dra. Dayan said that the batterer, ust like the battered $oman, 2alsohas a very lo$ opinion o himsel. &ut then emerges to have superioritycomple* and it comes out as being very arrogant, very hostile, veryaggressive and very angry. +hey also had %sic( a very lo$ tolerance orrustrations. A lot o times they are involved in vices like gambling,drinking and drugs. And they become violent.2 +he batterer also usuallycomes rom a dysunctional amily $hich over"pampers them andmakes them eel entitled to do anything. Also, they see oten ho$ their

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parents abused each other so 2there is a lot o modeling o aggression inthe amily.2

#Dra. Dayan testiied that there are a lot o reasons $hy a battered$oman does not leave her husband; poverty, sel"blame and guilt that

she provoked the violence, the cycle itsel $hich makes her hope herhusband $ill change, the belie in her obligations to keep the amilyintact at all costs or the sake o the children.

* * * * * * * * *

#Dra. Dayan said that abused $ives react dierently to the violence;some leave the house, or lock themselves in another room, orsometimes try to ight back triggering 2physical violence on both othem.2 She said that in a 2normal marital relationship,2 abuses alsohappen, but these are 2not consistent, not chronic, are not happeningday in Band day out.2 In an 2abnormal marital relationship,2 the abuse

occurs day in and day out, is long lasting and 2even $ould causehospitali@ation on the victim and even death on the victim.2

* * * * * * * * *

#Dra. Dayan said that as a result o the battery o psychological testsshe administered, it $as her opinion that 9arivic its the proile o abattered $oman because 2inspite o her eeling o sel"conidence $hich$e can see at times there are really eeling %sic( o loss, such eelings o humiliation $hich she sees hersel as damaged and as a brokenperson. And at the same time she still has the imprint o all the abusesthat she had e*perienced in the past.2

* * * * * * * * *

#Dra. Dayan said 9arivic thought o hersel as a loving $ie and did noteven consider iling or nullity or legal separation inspite o the abuses. It$as at the time o the tragedy that 9arivic then thought o hersel as avictim.

* * * * * * * * *

#-. On 4ebruary 5-, Dr. Alredo 1aarillo, a physician, $ho hassince passed a$ay, appeared and testiied beore 0+C"&ranch /6,Ormoc City.

#Dr. 1aarillo $as a Diplomate o the 1hilippine &oard o 1sychiatryJ a

4ello$ o the 1hilippine &oard o 1sychiatry and a 4ello$ o the1hilippine 1sychiatry Association. <e $as in the practice o psychiatryor thirty"eight %/7( years. 1rior to being in private practice, he $asconnected $ith the Heterans 9emorial 9edical Centre $here he gainedhis training on psychiatry and neurology. Ater that, he $as called toactive duty in the Armed 4orces o the 1hilippines, assigned to the H.3una 9edical Center or t$enty si* %58( years. 1rior to his retirementrom government service, he obtained the rank o &rigadier :eneral. <eobtained his medical degree rom the )niversity o Santo +omas. <e$as also a member o the 'orld Association o 9ilitary SurgeonsJ theLue@on City 9edical SocietyJ the Cagayan 9edical SocietyJ and the1hilippine Association o 9ilitary Surgeons.

#<e authored 2+he Comparative Analysis o Nervous &reakdo$n in the1hilippine 9ilitary Academy rom the 1eriod -6> K -?72 $hich $aspresented t$ice in international congresses. <e also authored 2+he9ental <ealth o the Armed 4orces o the 1hilippines 52, $hich $aslike$ise published internationally and locally. <e had a medical te*tbookpublished on the use o 1rasepam on a 1arke"Davis grantJ $as the irstto use Enanthate %si!uiline(, on an E.0. S!uibb grantJ and he publishedthe use o the drug Mopiclom in -76"78.

#Dr. 1aarillo e*plained that psychiatry deals $ith the unctional disordero the mind and neurology deals $ith the ailment o the brain and spinal

cord enlarged. 1sychology, on the other hand, is a bachelor degree anda doctorate degreeJ $hile one has to inish medicine to become aspecialist in psychiatry.

#Even only in his ?th year as a resident in H. 3una 9edical Centre, Dr.1aarillo had already encountered a suit involving violent amilyrelations, and testiied in a case in -8>. In the Armed 4orces o the1hilippines, violent amily disputes abound, and he has seen probablyten to t$enty thousand cases. In those days, the primordial intention otherapy $as reconciliation. As a result o his e*perience $ith domesticviolence cases, he became a consultant o the &attered 'oman Oicein Lue@on City under Atty. Nenita Depro@a.

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#As such consultant, he had seen around orty %>( cases o severedomestic violence, $here there is physical abuse; such as slapping,pushing, verbal abuse, battering and bo*ing a $oman even to anunconscious state such that the $oman is sometimes conined. +healiction o 1ost"+raumatic Stress Disorder 2depends on the vulnerability

o the victim.2 Dr. 1aarillo said that i the victim is not very healthy,perhaps one episode o violence may induce the disorderJ i thepsychological stamina and physiologic constitutional stamina o thevictim is stronger, 2it $ill take more repetitive trauma to precipitate thepost"traumatic stress disorder and this * * * is very dangerous.2

#In psychiatry, the post"traumatic stress disorder is incorporated underthe 2an*iety neurosis or neurologic an*cietism.2 It is produced by2over$helming brutality, trauma.2

* * * * * * * * *

#Dr. 1aarillo e*plained that $ith 2neurotic an*iety2, the victim relives thebeating or trauma as i it $ere real, although she is not actually beingbeaten at that time. She thinks 2o nothing but the suering.2

* * * * * * * * *

#A $oman $ho suers battery has a tendency to become neurotic, heremotional tone is unstable, and she is irritable and restless. She tendsto become hard"headed and persistent. She has higher sensitivity andher 2sel"$orld2 is damaged.

#Dr. 1aarillo said that an abnormal amily background relates to anindividual2s illness, such as the deprivation o the continuous care andlove o the parents. As to the batterer, he normally 2internali@es $hat isaround him $ithin the environment.2 And it becomes his o$n personality.<e is very competitiveJ he is aiming high all the timeJ he is so machoJ hesho$s his strong aade 2but in it there are doubts in himsel and proneto act $ithout thinking.2

* * * * * * * * *

#Dr. 1aarillo emphasi@ed that 2even though $ithout the presence o theprecipator %sic( or the one $ho administered the battering, that re"

e*periencing o the trauma occurred %sic( because the individual cannotcontrol it. It $ill ust come up in her mind or in his mind.2

* * * * * * * * *

#Dr. 1aarillo said that a $oman suering post traumatic stress disordertry to deend themselves, and 2primarily $ith knives. )sually pointed$eapons or any $eapon that is available in the immediate surroundingor in a hospital * * * because that abound in the household.2 <e said avictim resorts to $eapons $hen she has 2reached the lo$est rockbottom o her lie and there is no other recourse let on her but to actdecisively.2

* * * * * * * * *

#Dr. 1aarillo testiied that he met 9arivic :enosa in his oice in anintervie$ he conducted or t$o %5( hours and seventeen %-?( minutes.<e used the psychological evaluation and social case studies as a helpin orming his diagnosis. <e came out $ith a 1sychiatric 0eport, dated55 Fanuary 5-.

* * * * * * * * *

#On cross"e*amination by the private prosecutor, Dr. 1aarillo said thatat the time she killed her husband 9arivic2c mental condition $as thatshe $as 2re"e*periencing the trauma.2 <e said 2that $e are trying toe*plain scientiically that the re"e*periencing o the trauma is notcontrolled by 9arivic. It $ill ust come in lashes and probably at that

point in time that things happened $hen the re"e*periencing o thetrauma lashed in her mind.2 At the time he intervie$ed 9arivic 2she $asmore subdued, she $as not super alert anymore * * * she is mentallystress %sic( because o the predicament she is involved.2

* * * * * * * * *

#5. No rebuttal evidence or testimony $as presented by either theprivate or the public prosecutor. +hus, in accord $ith the 0esolution othis <onorable Court, the records o the partially re"opened trial a quo $ere elevated.#

Ru/n o +)e Tr/a &our+

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4inding the proered theory o sel"deense untenable, the 0+C gave credenceto the prosecution evidence that appellant had killed the deceased $hile he $asin bed sleeping. 4urther, the trial court appreciated the generic aggravatingcircumstance o treachery, because &en :enosa $as supposedly deenseless$hen he $as killed "" lying in bed asleep $hen 9arivic smashed him $ith a pipe

at the back o his head.

+he capital penalty having been imposed, the case $as elevated to this Courtor automatic revie$.

Supervening Circumstances

On 4ebruary -, 5, appellant iled an )rgent Omnibus 9otion praying thatthis Court allo$ %-( the e*humation o &en :enosa and the ree*amination o thecause o his deathJ %5( the e*amination o appellant by !ualiied psychologistsand psychiatrists to determine her state o mind at the time she had killed herspouseJ and %/( the inclusion o the said e*perts2 reports in the records o the

case or purposes o the automatic revie$ or, in the alternative, a partialreopening o the case or the lo$er court to admit the e*perts2 testimonies.

On September 5, 5, this Court issued a 0esolution granting in partappellant2s 9otion, remanding the case to the trial court or the reception oe*pert psychological andor psychiatric opinion on the #battered $omansyndrome# pleaJ and re!uiring the lo$er court to report thereater to this Courtthe proceedings taken as $ell as to submit copies o the +SN and additionalevidence, i any.

Acting on the Court2s 0esolution, the trial udge authori@ed the e*amination o9arivic by t$o clinical psychologists, Drs. Natividad Dayan- and Alredo1aarillo,-- supposedly e*perts on domestic violence. +heir testimonies, along$ith their documentary evidence, $ere then presented to and admitted by thelo$er court beore inally being submitted to this Court to orm part o therecords o the case.-5

T)e !ssues

Appellant assigns the ollo$ing alleged errors o the trial court or this Court2sconsideration;

#-. +he trial court gravely erred in promulgating an obviously hasty

decision $ithout relecting on the evidence adduced as to sel"deense.

#5. +he trial court gravely erred in inding as a act that &en and 9arivic:enosa $ere legally married and that she $as thereore liable orparricide.

#/. +he trial court gravely erred inding the cause o death to be by

beating $ith a pipe.

#>. +he trial court gravely erred in ignoring and disregarding evidenceadduced rom impartial and unbiased $itnesses that &en :enosa $as adrunk, a gambler, a $omani@er and $ie"beaterJ and urther gravelyerred in concluding that &en :enosa $as a battered husband.

#6. +he trial court gravely erred in not re!uiring testimony rom thechildren o 9arivic :enosa.

#8. +he trial court gravely erred in concluding that 9arivic2s light to9anila and her subse!uent apologies $ere indicia o guilt, instead o aclear attempt to save the lie o her unborn child.

#?. +he trial court gravely erred in concluding that there $as anaggravating circumstance o treachery.

#7. +he trial court gravely erred in reusing to re"evaluate the traditionalelements in determining the e*istence o sel"deense and deense ooetus in this case, thereby erroneously convicting 9arivic :enosa othe crime o parricide and condemning her to the ultimate penalty odeath.#-/

In the main, the ollo$ing are the essential legal issues; %-( $hether appellantacted in sel"deense and in deense o her etusJ and %5( $hether treacheryattended the killing o &en :enosa.

T)e &our+s Ru/n

+he appeal is partly meritorious.

&oa+era Fa*+ua !ssues

+he irst si* assigned errors raised by appellant are actual in nature, i not

collateral to the resolution o the principal issues. As consistently held by thisCourt, the indings o the trial court on the credibility o $itnesses and their

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testimonies are entitled to a high degree o respect and $ill not be disturbed onappeal in the absence o any sho$ing that the trial udge gravely abused hisdiscretion or overlooked, misunderstood or misapplied material acts orcircumstances o $eight and substance that could aect the outcome o thecase.->

In appellant2s irst si* assigned items, $e ind no grave abuse o discretion,reversible error or misappreciation o material acts that $ould reverse or modiythe trial court2s disposition o the case. In any event, $e $ill no$ briely disposeo these alleged errors o the trial court.

First , $e do not agree that the lo$er court promulgated #an obviously hastydecision $ithout relecting on the evidence adduced as to sel"deense.# 'enote that in his -?"page Decision, Fudge 4ortunito 3. 9adrona summari@ed thetestimonies o both the prosecution and the deense $itnesses and "" on thebasis o those and o the documentary evidence on record "" made hisevaluation, indings and conclusions. <e $rote a /"page discourse assessing

the testimony and the sel"deense theory o the accused. 'hile she, or eventhis Court, may not agree $ith the trial udge2s conclusions, $e cannotperemptorily conclude, absent substantial evidence, that he ailed to reflect onthe evidence presented.

Neither do $e ind the appealed Decision to have been made in an #obviouslyhasty# manner. +he Inormation had been iled $ith the lo$er court onNovember ->, -8. +hereater, trial began and at least -/ hearings $ere heldor over a year. It took the trial udge about t$o months rom the conclusion otrial to promulgate his udgment. +hat he conducted the trial and resolved thecase $ith dispatch should not be taken against him, much less used tocondemn him or being unduly hasty. I at all, the dispatch $ith $hich he handled

the case should be lauded. In any case, $e ind his actions in substantialcompliance $ith his constitutional obligation.-6

Second , the lo$er court did not err in inding as a act that &en :enosa andappellant had been legally married, despite the non"presentation o theirmarriage contract. In People v. Malabago,-8 this Court held;

#+he key element in parricide is the relationship o the oender $ith thevictim. In the case o parricide o a spouse, the best proo o therelationship bet$een the accused and the deceased is the marriagecertiicate. In the absence o a marriage certiicate, ho$ever, oralevidence o the act o marriage may be considered by the trial court isuch proo is not obected to.#

+$o o the prosecution $itnesses "" namely, the mother and the brother oappellant2s deceased spouse "" attested in court that &en had been married to9arivic.-? +he deense raised no obection to these testimonies. 9oreover,during her direct e*amination, appellant hersel made a udicial admission o her marriage to &en.-7 A*iomatic is the rule that a udicial admission is conclusive

upon the party making it, e*cept only $hen there is a sho$ing that %-( theadmission $as made through a palpable mistake, or %5( no admission $as inact made.- Other than merely attacking the non"presentation o the marriagecontract, the deense oered no proo that the admission made by appellant incourt as to the act o her marriage to the deceased $as made through apalpable mistake.

hird , under the circumstances o this case, the speciic or direct cause o &en2sdeath "" $hether by a gunshot or by beating $ith a pipe "" has no legalconse!uence. As the Court elucidated in its September 5, 5 0esolution,#Bconsidering that the appellant has admitted the act o killing her husband andthe acts o hitting his nape $ith a metal pipe and o shooting him at the back o

his head, the Court believes that e*humation is unnecessary, i not immaterial,to determine which of said acts actually caused the victim!s death.# Determining$hich o these admitted acts caused the death is not dispositive o the guilt ordeense o appellant.

Fourth, $e cannot ault the trial court or not ully appreciating evidence that &en$as a drunk, gambler, $omani@er and $ie"beater. )ntil this case came to us or automatic revie$, appellant had not raised the novel deense o #battered$oman syndrome,# or $hich such evidence may have been relevant. <ertheory o sel"deense $as then the crucial issue beore the trial court. As $ill bediscussed shortly, the legal re!uisites o sel"deense under prevailing

urisprudence ostensibly appear inconsistent $ith the surrounding acts that led

to the death o the victim. <ence, his personal character, especially his pastbehavior, did not constitute vital evidence at the time.

Fifth, the trial court surely committed no error in not re!uiring testimony romappellant2s children. As correctly elucidated by the solicitor general, all criminalactions are prosecuted under the direction and control o the public prosecutor,in $hom lies the discretion to determine $hich $itnesses and evidence arenecessary to present.5 As the ormer urther points out, neither the trial courtnor the prosecution prevented appellant rom presenting her children as$itnesses. +hus, she cannot no$ ault the lo$er court or not re!uiring them totestiy.

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Finally , merely collateral or corroborative is the matter o $hether the light o9arivic to 9anila and her subse!uent apologies to her brother"in"la$ are indiciao her guilt or are attempts to save the lie o her unborn child. Any reversibleerror as to the trial court2s appreciation o these circumstances has little bearingon the inal resolution o the case.

F/rs+ Lea !ssue(

Self-Defense and Defense of a Fetus

Appellant admits killing &en :enosa but, to avoid criminal liability, invokes sel"deense andor deense o her unborn child. 'hen the accused admits killingthe victim, it is incumbent upon her to prove any claimed ustiying circumstanceby clear and convincing evidence.5- 'ell"settled is the rule that in criminalcases, sel"deense %and similarly, deense o a stranger or third person( shitsthe burden o proo rom the prosecution to the deense.55

The Battered Woman Syndrome

In claiming sel"deense, appellant raises the novel theory o the battered$oman syndrome. 'hile ne$ in 1hilippine urisprudence, the concept has beenrecogni@ed in oreign urisdictions as a orm o sel"deense or, at the least,incomplete sel"deense.5/ &y appreciating evidence that a victim or deendant isalicted $ith the syndrome, oreign courts convey their #understanding o the

ustiiably earul state o mind o a person $ho has been cyclically abused andcontrolled over a period o time.#5>

A battered $oman has been deined as a $oman #$ho is repeatedly subected

to any orceul physical or psychological behavior by a man in order to coerceher to do something he $ants her to do $ithout concern or her rights. &attered$omen include $ives or $omen in any orm o intimate relationship $ith men.4urthermore, in order to be classiied as a battered $oman, the couple must gothrough the battering cycle at least t$ice. Any $oman may ind hersel in anabusive relationship $ith a man once. I it occurs a second time, and sheremains in the situation, she is deined as a battered $oman.#56

&attered $omen e*hibit common personality traits, such as lo$ sel"esteem,traditional belies about the home, the amily and the emale se* roleJ emotionaldependence upon the dominant maleJ the tendency to accept responsibility orthe batterer2s actionsJ and alse hopes that the relationship $ill improve.58

9ore graphically, the battered $oman syndrome is characteri@ed by the so"called #cycle o violence,#5? $hich has three phases; %-( the tension"buildingphaseJ %5( the acute battering incidentJ and %/( the tran!uil, loving %or, at least,nonviolent( phase.57

During the +ens/onu/-/n p)ase, minor battering occurs "" it could be verbalor slight physical abuse or another orm o hostile behavior. +he $oman usuallytries to paciy the batterer through a sho$ o kind, nurturing behaviorJ or bysimply staying out o his $ay. 'hat actually happens is that she allo$s hersel tobe abused in $ays that, to her, are comparatively minor. All she $ants is toprevent the escalation o the violence e*hibited by the batterer. +his $ish,ho$ever, proves to be double"edged, because her #placatory# and passivebehavior legitimi@es his belie that he has the right to abuse her in the irst place.

<o$ever, the techni!ues adopted by the $oman in her eort to placate him arenot usually successul, and the verbal andor physical abuse $orsens. Eachpartner senses the imminent loss o control and the gro$ing tension and

despair. E*hausted rom the persistent stress, the battered $oman soon$ithdra$s emotionally. &ut the more she becomes emotionally unavailable, themore the batterer becomes angry, oppressive and abusive. Oten, at someunpredictable point, the violence #spirals out o control# and leads to an acutebattering incident.5

+he a*u+e a++er/n /n*/-en+ is said to be characteri@ed by brutality,destructiveness and, sometimes, death. +he battered $oman deems thisincident as unpredictable, yet also inevitable. During this phase, she has nocontrolJ only the batterer may put an end to the violence. Its nature can be asunpredictable as the time o its e*plosion, and so are his reasons or ending it.+he battered $oman usually reali@es that she cannot reason $ith him, and that

resistance $ould only e*acerbate her condition.

At this stage, she has a sense o detachment rom the attack and the terriblepain, although she may later clearly remember every detail. <er apparentpassivity in the ace o acute violence may be rationali@ed thus; the batterer isalmost al$ays much stronger physically, and she kno$s rom her past painule*perience that it is utile to ight back. Acute battering incidents are oten verysavage and out o control, such that innocent bystanders or intervenors arelikely to get hurt./

+he inal phase o the cycle o violence begins $hen the acute battering incidentends. During this +ran6u/ per/o-, the couple e*perience proound relie. On theone hand, the batterer may sho$ a tender and nurturing behavior to$ards his

Page 12 of 35

























partner. <e kno$s that he has been viciously cruel and tries to make up or it,begging or her orgiveness and promising never to beat her again. On the other hand, the battered $oman also tries to convince hersel that the battery $illnever happen againJ that her partner $ill change or the betterJ and that this#good, gentle and caring man# is the real person $hom she loves.

A battered $oman usually believes that she is the sole anchor o the emotionalstability o the batterer. Sensing his isolation and despair, she eels responsibleor his $ell"being. +he truth, though, is that the chances o his reorming, orseeking or receiving proessional help, are very slim, especially i she remains$ith him. :enerally, only ater she leaves him does he seek proessional help asa $ay o getting her back. =et, it is in this phase o remorseul reconciliation thatshe is most thoroughly tormented psychologically.

+he illusion o absolute interdependency is $ell"entrenched in a battered$oman2s psyche. In this phase, she and her batterer are indeed emotionallydependent on each other "" she or his nurturant behavior, he or her

orgiveness. )nderneath this miserable cycle o #tension, violence andorgiveness,# each partner may believe that it is better to die than to beseparated. Neither one may really eel independent, capable o unctioning$ithout the other ./-

istory of !"usein the Present Case

+o sho$ the history o violence inlicted upon appellant, the deense presentedseveral $itnesses. She hersel described her heart"rending e*perience asollo$s;

#A++=. +A&)CANON

L <o$ did you describe your marriage $ith &en :enosaG

A In the irst year, I lived $ith him happily but in the subse!uent year he$as cruel to me and a behavior o habitual drinker.

L =ou said that in the subse!uent year o your marriage, your husband$as abusive to you and cruel. In $hat $ay $as this abusive and crueltymaniested to youG

A <e al$ays provoke me in everything, he al$ays slap me andsometimes he pinned me do$n on the bed and sometimes beat me.

L <o$ many times did this happenG

A Several times already.

L 'hat did you do $hen these things happen to youG

A I $ent a$ay to my mother and I ran to my ather and $e separateeach other.

L 'hat $as the action o &en :enosa to$ards you leaving homeG

A <e is ollo$ing me, ater that he sought ater me.

L 'hat $ill happen $hen he ollo$ youG

A <e said he changed, he asked or orgiveness and I $as convincedand ater that I go to him and he said 2sorry2.

L During those times that you $ere the recipient o such cruelty andabusive behavior by your husband, $ere you able to see a doctorG

A =es, sir.

L 'ho are these doctorsG

A +he company physician, Dr. Dino Caing, Dr. 3ucero and Dra. Cerillo.

* * * * * * * * *

L =ou said that you sa$ a doctor in relation to your inuriesG

A =es, sir.

L 'ho inlicted these inuriesG

A O course my husband.

Page 13 of 35






L =ou mean &en :enosaG

A =es, sir.

* * * * * * * * *

BCourt to the $itness

L <o$ re!uent $as the alleged cruelty that you saidG

A Everytime he got drunk.

L No, rom the time that you said the cruelty or the inliction o inuryinlicted on your occurred, ater your marriage, rom that time on, ho$re!uent $as the occurrenceG

A Everytime he got drunk.

L Is it daily, $eekly, monthly or ho$ many times in a month or in a$eekG

A +hree times a $eek.

L Do you mean three times a $eek he $ould beat youG

A Not necessarily that he $ould beat me but sometimes he $ill ust!uarrel me.# /5

0eerring to his #Out"1atient Chart#// on 9arivic :enosa at the 1hilphos<ospital, Dr. Dino D. Caing bolstered her oregoing testimony on chronic batteryin this manner;

#L So, do you have a summary o those si* %8( incidents $hich areound in the chart o your clinicG

A =es, sir.

L 'ho prepared the list o si* %8( incidents, DoctorG

A I did.

L 'ill you please read the physical indings together $ith the dates orthe record.

A -. 9ay -5, - " physical indings are as ollo$s; <ematoma %0(lo$er eyelid and redness o eye. Attending physician; Dr. 3uceroJ

5. 9arch -, -5 " Contusion"<ematoma %3( lo$er arbitalarea, pain and contusion %0( breast. Attending physician; Dr.CanoraJ

/. 9arch 58, -/ " Abrasion, 4uruncle %3( A*illaJ

>. August -, -> " 1ain, mastitis %3( breast, 5o to trauma. Attending physician; Dr. CaingJ

6. April -?, -6 " +rauma, tenderness %0( Shoulder. Attendingphysician; Dr. CanoraJ and

8. Fune 6, -6 " S$elling Abrasion %3( leg, multiple contusion1regnancy. Attending physician; Dr. Canora.

L Among the indings, there $ere t$o %5( incidents $herein you $erethe attending physician, is that correctG

A =es, sir.

L Did you actually physical e*amine the accusedG

A =es, sir.

L No$, going to your inding no. / $here you $ere the one $hoattended the patient. 'hat do you mean by abrasion uruncle let a*illaG

A Abrasion is a skin $ound usually $hen it comes in contact $ithsomething rough substance i orce is applied.

L 'hat is meant by uruncle a*illaG

A It is secondary o the light inection over the abrasion.

Page 14 of 35









L 'hat is meant by pain mastitis secondary to traumaG

A So, in this >th episode o physical inuries there is an inlammation olet breast. So, Bpain meaning there is tenderness. 'hen your breast istraumati@ed, there is tenderness pain.

L So, these are obective physical inuries. DoctorG

* * * * * * * * *

L 'ere you able to talk $ith the patientG

A =es, sir.

L 'hat did she tell youG

A As a doctor"patient relationship, $e need to kno$ the cause o theseinuries. And she told me that it $as done to her by her husband.

L =ou mean, &en :enosaG

A =es, sir.

* * * * * * * * *

A++=. +A&)CANON;

L &y the $ay Doctor, $ere you able to physical e*amine the accusedsometime in the month o November, -6 $hen this incidenthappenedG

A As per record, yes.

L 'hat $as the dateG

A It $as on November 8, -6.

L So, did you actually see the accused physicallyG

A =es, sir.

L On November 8, -6, $ill you please tell this <onorable Court, $asthe patient pregnantG

A =es, sir.

L &eing a doctor, can you more engage at $hat stage o pregnancy$as sheG

A Eight %7( months pregnant.

L So in other $ords, it $as an advance stage o pregnancyG

A =es, sir.

L 'hat $as your November 8, -6 e*amination, $as it ane*amination about her pregnancy or or some other indingsG

A No, she $as admitted or hypertension headache $hich complicatesher pregnancy.

L 'hen you said admitted, meaning she $as coninedG

A =es, sir.

L 4or ho$ many daysG

A One day.

L 'hereG

A At 1<I31<OS <ospital.

* * * * * * * * *

L 3ets go back to the clinical history o 9arivic :enosa. =ou said thatyou $ere able to e*amine her personally on November 8, -6 and she

$as 7 months pregnant.

Page 15 of 35



'hat is this all aboutG

A &ecause she has this problem o tension headache secondary tohypertension and I think I have a record here, also the same period rom-7 to -6, she had a consultation or t$enty"three %5/( times.

L 4or $hatG

A +ension headache.

L Can $e say that specially during the latter consultation, that thepatient had hypertensionG

A +he patient deinitely had hypertension. It $as reractory to ourtreatment. She does not response $hen the medication $as given toher, because tension headache is more or less stress related andemotional in nature.

L 'hat did you deduce o tension headache $hen you said isemotional in natureG

A 4rom $hat I deduced as part o our physical e*amination o thepatient is the amily history in line o giving the root cause o $hat iscausing this disease. So, rom the moment you ask to the patient allcomes rom the domestic problem.

L =ou mean problem in her householdG

A 1robably.

L Can amily trouble cause elevation o blood pressure, DoctorG

A =es, i it is emotionally related and stressul it can cause increases inhypertension $hich is unortunately does not response to themedication.

L In November 8, -6, the date o the incident, did you take the bloodpressure o the accusedG

A On November 8, -6 consultation, the blood pressure $as -7-5.

L Is this considered hypertensionG

A =es, sir, severe.

L Considering that she $as 7 months pregnant, you mean this is

dangerous level o blood pressureG

A It $as dangerous to the child or to the etus.# />

Another deense $itness, +eodoro Sarabia, a ormer neighbor o the :enosas inIsabel, 3eyte, testiied that he had seen the couple !uarreling several timesJ andthat on some occasions 9arivic $ould run to him $ith bruises, coniding that theinuries $ere inlicted upon her by &en./6

Ecel Arano also testiied/8 that or a number o times she had been asked by9arivic to sleep at the :enosa house, because the latter eared that &en $ouldcome home drunk and hurt her. On one occasion that Ecel did sleep over, she$as a$akened about ten o2clock at night, because the couple #$ere very noisy and I heard something $as broken like a vase.# +hen 9arivic came runninginto Ecel2s room and locked the door. &en sho$ed up by the $indo$ grill atop achair, scaring them $ith a knie.

On the aternoon o November -6, -6, 9arivic again asked her help "" thistime to ind &en "" but they $ere unable to. +hey returned to the :enosa home,$here they ound him already drunk. Again araid that he might hurt her, 9arivicasked her to sleep at their house. Seeing his state o drunkenness, EcelhesitatedJ and $hen she heard the couple start arguing, she decided to leave.

On that same night that culminated in the death o &en :enosa, at least threeother $itnesses sa$ or heard the couple !uarreling./? 9arivic relates in detailthe ollo$ing backdrop o the ateul night $hen lie $as snued out o him,sho$ing in the process a vivid picture o his cruelty to$ards her;

#A++=. +A&)CANON;

L 1lease tell this Court, can you recall the incident in November -6,-6 in the eveningG

A 'hole morning and in the aternoon, I $as in the oice $orking thenater oice hours, I boarded the service bus and $ent to &il$ang. 'henI reached &il$ang, I immediately asked my son, $here $as his ather,

Page 16 of 35












then my second child said, 2he $as not home yet2. I $as $orriedbecause that $as payday, I $as anticipating that he $as gambling. So$hile $aiting or him, my eldest son arrived rom school, I prepareddinner or my children.

L +his is evening o November -6, -6G

A =es, sir.

L 'hat time did &en :enosa arriveG

A 'hen he arrived, I $as not there, I $as in Isabel looking or him.

L So $hen he arrived you $ere in Isabel looking or himG

A =es, sir.

L Did you come back to your houseG

A =es, sir.

L &y the $ay, $here $as your conugal residence situated this timeG

A &il$ang.

L Is this your house or you are rentingG

A 0enting.

L 'hat time $ere you able to come back in your residence at &il$angG

A I $ent back around almost 7; o2clock.

L 'hat happened $hen you arrived in your residenceG

A 'hen I arrived home $ith my cousin Ecel $hom I re!uested to sleep$ith me at that time because I had ears that he $as again drunk and I$as $orried that he $ould again beat me so I re!uested my cousin to

sleep $ith me, but she resisted because she had ears that the samething $ill happen again last year.

L 'ho $as this cousin o yours $ho you re!uested to sleep $ith youG

A Ecel Arao, the one $ho testiied.

L Did Ecel sleep $ith you in your house on that eveningG

A No, because she e*pressed ears, she said her ather $ould not allo$her because o &en.

L During this period November -6, -6, $ere you pregnantG

A =es, 7 months.

L <o$ advance $as your pregnancyG

A Eight %7( months.

L 'as the baby subse!uently bornG

A =es, sir.

L 'hat2s the name o the baby you $ere carrying at that timeG

A 9arie &ianca.

L 'hat time $ere you able to meet personally your husbandG

A =es, sir.

L 'hat timeG

A 'hen I arrived home, he $as there already in his usual behavior.

L 'ill you tell this Court $hat $as his dispositionG

A <e $as drunk again, he $as yelling in his usual unruly behavior.

L 'hat $as he yelling all aboutG

Page 17 of 35



A <is usual attitude $hen he got drunk.

L =ou said that $hen you arrived, he $as drunk and yelling at youG'hat else did he do i anyG

A <e is nagging at me or ollo$ing him and he dared me to !uarrel him.

L 'hat $as the cause o his nagging or !uarreling at you i you kno$G

A <e $as angry at me because I $as ollo$ing * * * him, looking orhim. I $as ust $orried he might be overly drunk and he $ould beat meagain.

L =ou said that he $as yelling at you, $hat else, did he do to you ianyG

A <e $as nagging at me at that time and I ust ignore him because I$ant to avoid trouble or ear that he $ill beat me again. 1erhaps he$as disappointed because I ust ignore him o his provocation and hes$itch o the light and I said to him, 2$hy did you s$itch o the light$hen the children $ere there.2 At that time I $as also attending to mychildren $ho $ere doing their assignments. <e $as angry $ith me ornot ans$ering his challenge, so he $ent to the kitchen and Bgot a boloand cut the antenna $ire to stop me rom $atching television.

L 'hat did he do $ith the boloG

A <e cut the antenna $ire to keep me rom $atching +.H.

L 'hat else happened ater he cut the $ireG

A <e s$itch o the light and the children $ere shouting because they$ere scared and he $as already holding the bolo.

L <o$ do you described this boloG

A - -5 eet.

L 'hat $as the bolo used or usuallyG

A 4or chopping meat.

L =ou said the children $ere scared, $hat else happened as &en $ascarrying that boloG

A <e $as about to attack me so I run to the room.

L 'hat do you mean that he $as about to attack youG

A 'hen I attempt to run he held my hands and he $hirled me and I ellto the bedside.

L So $hen he $hirled you, $hat happened to youG

A I screamed or help and then he let.

L =ou said earlier that he $hirled you and you ell on the bedsideG

A =es, sir.

L =ou screamed or help and he let, do you kno$ $here he $as goingG

A Outside perhaps to drink more.

L 'hen he let $hat did you do in that particular timeG

A I packed all his clothes.

L 'hat $as your reason in packing his clothesG

A I $anted him to leave us.

L During this time, $here $ere your children, $hat $ere their reactionsG

A Ater a couple o hours, he $ent back again and he got angry $ith meor packing his clothes, then he dragged me again o the bedroomholding my neck.

Page 18 of 35



L =ou said that $hen &en came back to your house, he dragged youG<o$ did he drag youG

CO)0+ IN+E010E+E0;

+he $itness demonstrated to the Court by using her right handle*ed orcibly in her ront neck(

A And he dragged me to$ards the door back$ard.

A++=. +A&)CANON;

L 'here did he bring youG

A Outside the bedroom and he $anted to get something and then hekept on shouting at me that 2you might as $ell be killed so there $ill be

nobody to nag me.2

L So you said that he dragged you to$ards the dra$erG

A =es, sir.

L 'hat is there in the dra$erG

A I $as a$are that it $as a gun.

CO)0+ IN+E010E+E0;

%At this uncture the $itness started crying(.

A++=. +A&)CANON;

L 'ere you actually brought to the dra$erG

A =es, sir.

L 'hat happened $hen you $ere brought to that dra$erG

A <e dragged me to$ards the dra$er and he $as about to open thedra$er but he could not open it because he did not have the key thenhe pulled his $allet $hich contained a blade about / inches long and I$as a$are that he $as going to kill me and I smashed his arm and thenthe $allet and the blade ell. +he one he used to open the dra$er I sa$,it $as a pipe about that long, and $hen he $as about to pick"up the$allet and the blade, I smashed him then I ran to the other room, and onthat very moment everything on my mind $as to pity on mysel, then theeeling I had on that very moment $as the same $hen I $as admitted in1<I31<OS Clinic, I $as about to vomit.

CO)0+ IN+E010E+E0;

%+he $itness at this uncture is crying intensely(.

* * * * * * * * *

A++=. +A&)CANON;

L +alking o dra$er, is this dra$er outside your roomG

A Outside.

L In $hat part o the houseG

A Dining.

L 'here $ere the children during that timeG

A 9y children $ere already asleep.

L =ou mean they $ere inside the roomG

A =es, sir.

L =ou said that he dropped the blade, or the record $ill you pleasedescribe this blade about / inches long, ho$ does it look likeG

A +hree %/( inches long and -5 inch $ide.

Page 19 of 35



L Is it a le*ible bladeG

A It2s a cutter.

L <o$ do you describe the blade, is it sharp both edgesG

A =es, because he once used it to me.

L <o$ did he do itG

A <e $anted to cut my throat.

L 'ith the same bladeG

A =es, sir, that $as the obect used $hen he intimidate me.# /7

In addition, Dra. Natividad Dayan $as called by the 0+C to testiy as an e*pert$itness to assist it in understanding the psyche o a battered person. She hadmet $ith 9arivic :enosa or ive sessions totaling about seventeen hours.&ased on their talks, the ormer briely related the latter2s ordeal to the court aquo as ollo$s;

#L; 'hat can you say, that you ound 9arivic as a battered $ieG Couldyou in layman2s term describe to this Court $hat her lie $as like as saidto youG

A; 'hat I remember happened then $as it $as more than ten years,that she $as suering emotional anguish. +here $ere a lot o instanceso abuses, to emotional abuse, to verbal abuse and to physical abuse.+he husband had a very meager income, she $as the one $ho $aspractically the bread earner o the amily. +he husband $as involved ina lot o vices, going out $ith barkadas, drinking, even $omani@ing beinginvolved in cockight and going home very angry and $hich $ill trigger alot o physical abuse. She also had the e*perience a lot o taunting romthe husband or the reason that the husband even accused her oinidelity, the husband $as saying that the child she $as carrying $asnot his o$n. So she $as very angry, she $as at the same time verydepressed because she $as also a$are, almost like living in purgatoryor even hell $hen it $as happening day in and day out.# /

In cross"e*amining Dra. Dayan, the public prosecutor not merely elicited, but$ittingly or un$ittingly put or$ard, additional supporting evidence as sho$nbelo$;

#L In your irst encounter $ith the appellant in this case in -, $here

you talked to her about three hours, $hat $as the most relevantinormation did you gatherG

A +he most relevant inormation $as the tragedy that happened. +hemost important inormation $ere escalating abuses that she hade*perienced during her marital lie.

L &eore you met her in - or three hours, $e presume that youalready kne$ o the acts o the case or at least you have substantialkno$ledge o the acts o the caseG

A I believe I had an idea o the case, but I do not kno$ $hether I can

consider them as substantial.

* * * * * * * * *

L Did you gather an inormation rom 9arivic that on the side o herhusband they $ere ond o battering their $ivesG

A I also heard that rom herG

L =ou heard that rom herG

A =es, sir.

L Did you ask or a complete e*ample $ho are the relatives o herhusband that $ere ond o battering their $ivesG

A 'hat I remember that there $ere brothers o her husband $ho arealso battering their $ives.

L Did she not inorm you that there $as an instance that she stayed in ahotel in Ormoc $here her husband ollo$ed her and battered Bherseveral times in that roomG

Page 20 of 35







A She told me about that.

L Did she inorm you in $hat hotel in OrmocG

A Sir, I could not remember but I $as told that she $as battered in that

room.

L Several times in that roomG

A =es, sir. 'hat I remember $as that there is no problem about beingbattered, it really happened.

L &eing an e*pert $itness, our urisprudence is not complete on sayingthis matter. I think that is the irst time that $e have this in the1hilippines, $hat is your opinionG

A Sir, my opinion is, she is really a battered $ie and in this kindhappened, it $as really a sel"deense. I also believe that there hadbeen provocation and I also believe that she became a disorderedperson. She had to suer an*iety reaction because o all the batteringthat happened and so she became an abnormal person $ho had lostshe2s not during the time and that is $hy it happened because o all thephysical battering, emotional battering, all the psychological abuses thatshe had e*perienced rom her husband.

L I do believe that she is a battered $ie. 'as she e*tremely batteredG

A Sir, it is an e*treme orm o battering. =es.>

1arenthetically, the credibility o appellant $as demonstrated as ollo$s;

#L And you also said that you administered Bthe obective personalitytest, $hat * * * Bis this all aboutG

A +he obective personality test is the 9illon Clinical 9ultia*ial Inventory.+he purpose o that test is to ind out about the lying proneBness o theperson.

L 'hat do you mean by thatG

A 9eaning, am I dealing $ith a client $ho is telling me the truth, or isshe someone $ho can e*aggerate or * * * B$ill tell a lieBG

L And $hat did you discover on the basis o this obective personalitytestG

A She $as a person $ho passed the honesty test. 9eaning she is aperson that I can trust. +hat the data that I2m gathering rom her are thetruth.#>-

+he other e*pert $itness presented by the deense, Dr. Alredo 1aarillo,testiied on his 1sychiatric 0eport,>5 $hich $as based on his intervie$ ande*amination o 9arivic :enosa. +he 0eport said that during the irst three yearso her marriage to &en, everything looked good "" the atmosphere $as ine,normal and happy "" until #&en started to be attracted to other girls and $as alsoenticed inBto gamblingB, especially cockighting. * * *. At the same time &en$as oten oining his bar"ada in drinking sprees.#

+he drinking sprees o &en greatly changed the attitude he sho$ed to$ard hisamily, particularly to his $ie. +he 0eport continued; #At irst, it $as verbal andemotional abuses but as time passed, he became physically abusive. 9arivicclaimed that the viciousness o her husband $as progressive every time he gotdrunk. It $as a painul ordeal 9arivic had to anticipate $henever she suspectedthat her husband $ent or a drinking Bspree. +hey had been married or t$elveyearsBJ and practically more than eight years, she $as battered and maltreatedrelentlessly and mercilessly by her husband $henever he $as drunk.#

9arivic sought the help o her mother"in"la$, but her eorts $ere in vain. 4urther !uoting rom the 0eport, #Bshe also sought the advice and help o close

relatives and $ell"meaning riends in spite o her eeling ashamed o $hat $ashappening to her. &ut incessant battering became more and more re!uent andmore severe. * * *.#>/

4rom the totality o evidence presented, there is indeed no doubt in the Court2smind that Appellant 9arivic :enosa $as a severely abused person.

#ffect of Battery on !ppellant

&ecause o the recurring cycles o violence e*perienced by the abused $oman,her state o mind metamorphoses. In determining her state o mind, $e cannot

rely merely on the udgment o an ordinary, reasonable person $ho is evaluating

Page 21 of 35












the events immediately surrounding the incident. A Canadian court has aptlypointed out that e*pert evidence on the psychological eect o battering on$ives and common la$ partners are both relevant and necessary. #<o$ can themental state o the appellant be appreciated $ithout itG +he average member othe public may ask; 'hy $ould a $oman put up $ith this kind o treatmentG'hy should she continue to live $ith such a manG <o$ could she love a partner $ho beat her to the point o re!uiring hospitali@ationG 'e $ould e*pect the$oman to pack her bags and go. 'here is her sel"respectG 'hy does she notcut loose and make a ne$ lie or herselG Such is the reaction o the averageperson conronted $ith the so"called 2battered $ie syndrome.2#>>

+o understand the syndrome properly, ho$ever, one2s vie$point should not bedra$n rom that o an ordinary, reasonable person. 'hat goes on in the mind oa person $ho has been subected to repeated, severe beatings may not beconsistent $ith "" nay, comprehensible to "" those $ho have not been through asimilar e*perience. E*pert opinion is essential to clariy and reute commonmyths and misconceptions about battered $omen.>6

+he theory o &'S ormulated by 3enore 'alker, as $ell as her research ondomestic violence, has had a signiicant impact in the )nited States and the)nited Pingdom on the treatment and prosecution o cases, in $hich a battered$oman is charged $ith the killing o her violent partner. +he psychologiste*plains that the cyclical nature o the violence inlicted upon the battered$oman immobili@es the latter2s #ability to act decisively in her o$n interests,making her eel trapped in the relationship $ith no means o escape.#>8 In heryears o research, Dr. 'alker ound that #the abuse oten escalates at the pointo separation and battered $omen are in greater danger o dying then.#>?

Corroborating these research indings, Dra. Dayan said that #the battered

$oman usually has a very lo$ opinion o hersel. She has * * * sel"deeatingand sel"sacriicing characteristics. * * * B'hen the violence $ould happen,they usually think that they provokeBd it, that they $ere the oneBs $hoprecipitated the violenceBJ that they provokeBd their spouse to be physically,verbally and even se*ually abusive to them.#>7

According to Dra. Dayan, there are a lot o reasons $hy a battered $oman doesnot readily leave an abusive partner "" poverty, sel"blame and guilt arising romthe latter2s belie that she provoked the violence, that she has an obligation tokeep the amily intact at all cost or the sake o their children, and that she is theonly hope or her spouse to change.>

+he testimony o another e*pert $itness, Dr. 1aarillo, is also helpul. <e hadpreviously testiied in suits involving violent amily relations, having evaluated#probably ten to t$enty thousand# violent amily disputes $ithin the Armed4orces o the 1hilippines, $herein such cases abounded. As a result o hise*perience $ith domestic violence cases, he became a consultant o the&attered 'oman Oice in Lue@on City. As such, he got involved in about orty%>( cases o severe domestic violence, in $hich the physical abuse on the$oman $ould sometimes even lead to her loss o consciousness.6

Dr. 1aarillo e*plained that #over$helming brutality, trauma# could result inposttraumatic stress disorder, a orm o #an*iety neurosis or neurologican*ietism.#6- Ater being repeatedly and severely abused, battered persons#may believe that they are essentially helpless, lacking po$er to change theirsituation. * * * BAcute battering incidents can have the eect o stimulating thedevelopment o coping responses to the trauma at the e*pense o the victim2sability to muster an active response to try to escape urther trauma.4urthermore, * * * the victim ceases to believe that anything she can do $illhave a predictable positive eect.#65

A study6/ conducted by 9artin Seligman, a psychologist at the )niversity o1ennsylvania, ound that #even i a person has control over a situation, butbelieves that she does not, she $ill be more likely to respond to that situation$ith coping responses rather than trying to escape.# <e said that it $as thecognitive aspect "" the individual2s thoughts "" that proved all"important. <ereerred to this phenomenon as #learned helplessness.# #B+he truth or acts o asituation turn out to be less important than the individual2s set o belies orperceptions concerning the situation. &attered $omen don2t attempt to leave thebattering situation, even $hen it may seem to outsiders that escape is possible,because they cannot predict their o$n saetyJ they believe that nothing they or

anyone else does $ill alter their terrible circumstances.#

6>

+hus, ust as the battered $oman believes that she is someho$ responsible orthe violent behavior o her partner, she also believes that he is capable o killingher, and that there is no escape.66 &attered $omen eel unsae, suer rompervasive an*iety, and usually ail to leave the relationship.68 )nless a shelter isavailable, she stays $ith her husband, not only because she typically lacks ameans o sel"support, but also because she ears that i she leaves she $ouldbe ound and hurt even more.6?

In the instant case, $e meticulously scoured the records or speciic evidenceestablishing that appellant, due to the repeated abuse she had suered rom her

spouse over a long period o time, became alicted $ith the battered $oman

Page 22 of 35

































syndrome. 'e, ho$ever, ailed to ind suicient evidence that $ould supportsuch a conclusion. 9ore speciically, $e ailed to ind ample evidence that $ouldconirm the presence o the essential characteristics o &'S.

+he deense ell short o proving all three phases o the #cycle o violence#

supposedly characteri@ing the relationship o &en and 9arivic :enosa. Nodoubt there $ere acute battering incidents. In relating to the court a quo ho$ theatal incident that led to the death o &en started, 9arivic perectly described thetension"building phase o the cycle. She $as able to e*plain in ade!uate detailthe typical characteristics o this stage. <o$ever, that single incident does notprove the e*istence o the syndrome. In other $ords, she ailed to prove that inat least another battering episode in the past, she had gone through a similarpattern.

<o$ did the tension bet$een the partners usually arise or build up prior to acutebatteringG <o$ did 9arivic normally respond to &en2s relatively minor abusesG'hat means did she employ to try to prevent the situation rom developing into

the ne*t %more violent( stageG

Neither did appellant proer suicient evidence in regard to the third phase othe cycle. She simply mentioned that she $ould usually run a$ay to hermother2s or ather2s houseJ67 that &en $ould seek her out, ask or herorgiveness and promise to changeJ and that believing his $ords, she $ouldreturn to their common abode.

Did she ever eel that she provoked the violent incidents bet$een her and herspouseG Did she believe that she $as the only hope or &en to reormG And thatshe $as the sole support o his emotional stability and $ell"beingG Conversely,ho$ dependent $as she on himG Did she eel helpless and trapped in their

relationshipG Did both o them regard death as preerable to separationG

In sum, the deense failed to elicit from appellant herself her factual e#periencesand thoughts that would clearly and fully demonstrate the essentialcharacteristics of the syndrome.

+he Court appreciates the ratiocinations given by the e*pert $itnesses or thedeense. Indeed, they $ere able to e*plain ully, albeit merely theoretically andscientiically, ho$ the personality o the battered $oman usually evolved ordeteriorated as a result o repeated and severe beatings inlicted upon her byher partner or spouse. +hey corroborated each other2s testimonies, $hich $ereculled rom their numerous studies o hundreds o actual cases. $owever, theyfailed to present in court the factual e#periences and thoughts that appellant

had related to them %% if at all %% based on which they concluded that she hadB&S.

'e emphasi@e that in criminal cases, all the elements o a modiyingcircumstance must be proven in order to be appreciated. +o repeat, the records

lack supporting evidence that $ould establish all the essentials o the battered$oman syndrome as maniested speciically in the case o the :enosas.

BWS as Self-Defense

In any event, the e*istence o the syndrome in a relationship does not in itselestablish the legal right o the $oman to kill her abusive partner. Evidence muststill be considered in the conte*t o sel"deense.6

4rom the e*pert opinions discussed earlier, the Court reckons urther that crucialto the &'S deense is the state o mind o the battered $oman at the time o theoense8 "" she must have actually eared imminent harm rom her batterer and

honestly believed in the need to kill him in order to save her lie.

Settled in our urisprudence, ho$ever, is the rule that the one $ho resorts tosel"deense must ace a real threat on one2s lieJ and the peril sought to beavoided must be imminent and actual , not merely imaginary.8- +hus, the0evised 1enal Code provides the ollo$ing re!uisites and eect o sel"deense;85

#Art. --. 'ustifying circumstances. "" +he ollo$ing do not incur anycriminal liability;

#-. Anyone $ho acts in deense o his person or rights, provided that theollo$ing circumstances concurJ

First . )nla$ul aggressionJ

Second . 0easonable necessity o the means employed to prevent orrepel itJ

hird . 3ack o suicient provocation on the part o the person deendinghimsel.#

)nla$ul aggression is the most essential element o sel"deense.8/ Itpresupposes actual, sudden and une*pected attack "" or an imminent danger

Page 23 of 35


















thereo "" on the lie or saety o a person.8> In the present case, ho$ever,according to the testimony o 9arivic hersel, there $as a suicient time intervalbet$een the unla$ul aggression o &en and her atal attack upon him. She hadalready been able to $ithdra$ rom his violent behavior and escape to theirchildren2s bedroom. During that time, he apparently ceased his attack and $entto bed. +he reality or even the imminence o the danger he posed had endedaltogether. <e $as no longer in a position that presented an actual threat on her lie or saety.

<ad &en still been a$aiting 9arivic $hen she came out o their children2sbedroom "" and based on past violent incidents, there $as a great probabilitythat he $ould still have pursued her and inlicted graver harm "" then, theimminence o the real threat upon her lie $ould not have ceased yet. 'here thebrutali@ed person is already suering rom &'S, urther evidence o actualphysical assault at the time o the killing is not re!uired. Incidents o domesticbattery usually have a predictable pattern. +o re!uire the battered person toa$ait an obvious, deadly attack beore she can deend her lie #$ould amount tosentencing her to 2murder by installment.2#86 Still, impending danger %based onthe conduct o the victim in previous battering episodes( prior to the deendant2suse o deadly orce must be sho$n. +hreatening behavior or communication cansatisy the re!uired imminence o danger .88 Considering such circumstances andthe e*istence o &'S, sel"deense may be appreciated.

'e reiterate the principle that aggression, i not continuous, does not $arrantsel"deense.8? In the absence o such aggression, there can be no sel"deense"" complete or incomplete "" on the part o the victim.87 +hus, 9arivic2s killing o&en $as not completely ustiied under the circumstances.

$itigating Circumstances Present

In any event, all is not lost or appellant. 'hile she did not raise any othermodiying circumstances that $ould alter her penalty, $e deem it proper toevaluate and appreciate in her avor circumstances that mitigate her criminalliability. It is a hornbook doctrine that an appeal in a criminal case opens it$holly or revie$ on any issue, including that $hich has not been raised by theparties.8

4rom several psychological tests she had administered to 9arivic, Dra. Dayan,in her 1sychological Evaluation 0eport dated November 5, 5, opined asollo$s;

#+his is a classic case o a &attered 'oman Syndrome. +he repeatedbattering 9arivic e*perienced $ith her husband constitutes a orm oBcumulative provocation $hich broke do$n her psychological resistanceand natural sel"control. It is very clear that she developed heightenedsensitivity to sight o impending danger her husband posedcontinuously. 9arivic truly e*perienced at the hands o her abuserhusband a state o psychological paralysis $hich can only be ended byan act o violence on her part.# ?

Dr. 1aarillo corroborates the indings o Dra. Dayan. <e e*plained that the eecto #repetitious pain taking, repetitious battering, Band repetitious maltreatment#as $ell as the severity and the prolonged administration o the battering isposttraumatic stress disorder .?- E*pounding thereon, he said;

#L 'hat causes the trauma, 9r. 'itnessG

A 'hat causes the trauma is probably the repetitious battering. Second,

the severity o the battering. +hird, the prolonged administration obattering or the prolonged commission o the battering and thepsychological and constitutional stamina o the victim and another oneis the public and social support available to the victim. I nobody isinterceding, the more she $ill go to that disorder....

* * * * * * * * *

L =ou reerred a $hile ago to severity. 'hat are the !ualiications interms o severity o the postraumatic stress disorder, Dr. 1aarilloG

A +he severity is the most severe continuously to trigBger thispostBtraumatic stress disorder is inury to the head, banging o the headlike that. It is usually the very very severe stimulus that precipitate thispostBtraumatic stress disorder. Others are suocating the victim likeholding a pillo$ on the ace, strangulating the individual, suocating theindividual, and bo*ing the individual. In this situation thereore, thevictim is heightened to painul stimulus, like or e*ample she ispregnant, she is very susceptible because the $oman $ill not onlyprotect hersel, she is also to protect the etus. So the an*iety isheightened to the end Bsic degree.

L &ut in terms o the gravity o the disorder, 9r. 'itness, ho$ do you

classiyG

Page 24 of 35























A 'e classiy the disorder as Bacute, or chronic or delayed or Batypical.

L Can you please describe this preB"classiication you called delayed or BatypicalG

A +he acute is the one that usually re!uire only one battering and theindividual $ill maniest no$ a severe emotional instability, higherirritability remorse, restlessness, and ear and probably in most Bacutecases the irst thing $ill be happened to the individual $ill be thinking osuicide.

L And in chronic cases, 9r. 'itnessG

A +he chronic cases is this repetitious battering, repetitiousmaltreatment, any prolonged, it is longer than si* %8( months. +heBacute is only the irst day to si* %8( months. Ater this si* %8( monthsyou become chronic. It is stated in the book speciically that ater si* %8(

months is chronic. +he Batypical one is the repetitious battering but theindividual $ho is abnormal and then become normal. +his is ho$ youget neurosis rom neurotic personality o these cases o postBtraumaticstress disorder.# ?5

Ans$ering the !uestions propounded by the trial udge, the e*pert $itnessclariied urther;

#L &ut ust the sameB, neurosis especially on battered $omansyndrome * * * aects * * * his or her mental capacityG

A =es, your <onor.

L As you $ere sayingB, it * * * obuscated her rationalityG

A O course obuscated.#?/

In sum, the cyclical nature and the severity o the violence inlicted uponappellant resulted in #cumulative provocation $hich broke do$n herpsychological resistance and natural sel"control,# #psychological paralysis,# and#diiculty in concentrating or impairment o memory.#

Based on the e#planations of the e#pert witnesses, such manifestations wereanalogous to an illness that diminished the e#ercise by appellant of her will

power without, however, depriving her of consciousness of her acts. +here $as,thus, a resulting diminution o her reedom o action, intelligence or intent.1ursuant to paragraphs ?> and -?6 o Article -/ o the 0evised 1enal Code,this circumstance should be taken in her avor and considered as a mitigatingactor. ?8

In addition, $e also ind in avor o appellant the e*tenuating circumstance ohaving acted upon an impulse so po$erul as to have naturally producedpassion and obuscation. It has been held that this state o mind is present $hena crime is committed as a result o an uncontrollable burst o passion provokedby prior unust or improper acts or by a legitimate stimulus so po$erul as toovercome reason.?? +o appreciate this circumstance, the ollo$ing re!uisitesshould concur; %-( there is an act, both unla$ul and suicient to produce such acondition o mindJ and %5( this act is not ar removed rom the commission o thecrime by a considerable length o time, during $hich the accused might recoverher normal e!uanimity.?7

<ere, an acute battering incident, $herein &en :enosa $as the unla$ulaggressor, preceded his being killed by 9arivic. <e had urther threatened to killher $hile dragging her by the neck to$ards a cabinet in $hich he had kept agun. It should also be recalled that she $as eight months pregnant at the time.+he attempt on her lie $as like$ise on that o her etus.? <is abusive andviolent acts, an aggression $hich $as directed at the lives o both 9arivic andher unborn child, naturally produced passion and obuscation overcoming herreason. Even though she $as able to retreat to a separate room, her emotionaland mental state continued. According to her, she elt her blood pressure riseJshe $as illed $ith eelings o sel"pity and o ear that she and her baby $ereabout to die. In a it o indignation, she pried open the cabinet dra$er $here &enkept a gun, then she took the $eapon and used it to shoot him.

+he conluence o these events brings us to the conclusion that there $as noconsiderable period o time $ithin $hich 9arivic could have recovered hernormal e!uanimity. <elpul is Dr. 1aarillo2s testimony7 that $ith #neurotican*iety# "" a psychological eect on a victim o #over$helming brutality Bortrauma# "" the victim relives the beating or trauma as i it $ere real, although sheis not actually being beaten at the time. She cannot control #re"e*periencing the$hole thing, the most vicious and the trauma that she suered.# She thinks #onothing but the suering.# Such reliving $hich is beyond the control o a personunder similar circumstances, must have been $hat 9arivic e*perienced duringthe brie time interval and prevented her rom recovering her normal e!uanimity.

Accordingly, she should urther be credited $ith the mitigating circumstance o

passion and obuscation.

Page 25 of 35

























It should be clariied that these t$o circumstances "" psychological paralysis as$ell as passion and obuscation "" did not arise rom the same set o acts.

On the one hand, the irst circumstance arose rom the cyclical nature and theseverity o the battery inlicted by the batterer"spouse upon appellant. +hat is,

the repeated beatings over a period o time resulted in her psychologicalparalysis, $hich $as analogous to an illness diminishing the e*ercise o her $illpo$er $ithout depriving her o consciousness o her acts.

+he second circumstance, on the other hand, resulted rom the violentaggression he had inlicted on her prior to the killing. +hat the incident occurred$hen she $as eight months pregnant $ith their child $as deemed by her as anattempt not only on her lie, but like$ise on that o their unborn child. Suchperception naturally produced passion and obuscation on her part.

"e*on- Lea !ssue(

Treachery

+here is treachery $hen one commits any o the crimes against persons byemploying means, methods or orms in the e*ecution thereo $ithout risk toonesel arising rom the deense that the oended party might make.7- In orderto !ualiy an act as treacherous, the circumstances invoked must be proven asindubitably as the killing itselJ they cannot be deduced rom mere inerences, or conectures, $hich have no place in the appreciation o evidence.75 &ecause othe gravity o the resulting oense, treachery must be proved as conclusively asthe killing itsel.7/

0uling that treachery $as present in the instant case, the trial court imposed thepenalty o death upon appellant. It inerred this !ualiying circumstances merelyrom the act that the lieless body o &en had been ound lying in bed $ith an#open, depressed, circular# racture located at the back o his head. As toe*actly ho$ and $hen he had been atally attacked, ho$ever, the prosecutionailed to establish indubitably. Only the ollo$ing testimony o appellant leads usto the events surrounding his death;

#L =ou said that $hen &en came back to your house, he dragged youG<o$ did he drag youG

CO)0+;

+he $itness demonstrated to the Court by using her right handle*ed orcibly in her ront neck(

A And he dragged me to$ards the door back$ard.

A++=. +A&)CANON;


A Outside the bedroom and he $anted to get something and then hekept on shouting at me that 2you might as $ell be killed so there $ill benobody to nag me2


A =es, sir.



CO)0+ IN+E010E+E0

%At this uncture the $itness started crying(

A++=. +A&)CANON;

L 'ere you actually brought to the dra$erG

A =es, sir.

L 'hat happened $hen you $ere brought to that dra$erG

A <e dragged me to$ards the dra$er and he $as about to open thedra$er but he could not open it because he did not have the key thenhe pulled his $allet $hich contained a blade about / inches long and I$as a$are that he $as going to kill me and I smashed his arm and thenthe $allet and the blade ell. +he one he used to open the dra$er I sa$,it $as a pipe about that long, and $hen he $as about to pick"up the$allet and the blade, I smashed him then I ran to the other room, and on

Page 26 of 35










that very moment everything on my mind $as to pity on mysel, then theeeling I had on that very moment $as the same $hen I $as admitted in1<I31<OS Clinic, I $as about to vomit.

CO)0+ IN+E010E+E0

%+he $itness at this uncture is crying intensely(.

* * * * * * * * *

L =ou said that he dropped the blade, or the record $ill you pleasedescribe this blade about / inches long, ho$ does it look likeG

A +hree %/( inches long and Q inch $ide.

L It is a le*ible bladeG

A It2s a cutter.



L <o$ did he do itG



A =es, sir, that $as the obect used $hen he intimidate me.

* * * * * * * * *

A++=. +A&)CANON;

L =ou said that this blade ell rom his grip, is it correctG

A =es, because I smashed him.

L 'hat happenedG

A &en tried to pick"up the $allet and the blade, I pick"up the pipe and Ismashed him and I ran to the other room.

L 'hat else happenedG

A 'hen I $as in the other room, I elt the same thing like $hathappened beore $hen I $as admitted in 1<I31<OS Clinic, I $as aboutto vomit. I kno$ my blood pressure $as raised. I $as rightened I $asabout to die because o my blood pressure.

CO)0+ IN+E010E+E0;

%)pon the ans$er o the $itness getting the pipe and smashedhim, the $itness at the same time pointed at the back o herneck or the nape(.

A++=. +A&)CANON;

L =ou said you $ent to the room, $hat else happenedG

A Considering all the physical suerings that I2ve been through $ith him,I took pity on mysel and I elt I $as about to die also because o myblood pressure and the baby, so I got that gun and I shot him.

CO)0+

to Atty. +abucanon

L =ou shot himG

A =es, I distorted the dra$er.#7>

+he above testimony is insuicient to establish the presence o treachery. +hereis no sho$ing o the victim2s position relative to appellant2s at the time o theshooting. &esides, e!ually a*iomatic is the rule that $hen a killing is precededby an argument or a !uarrel, treachery cannot be appreciated as a !ualiyingcircumstance, because the deceased may be said to have been ore$arned and

to have anticipated aggression rom the assailant.76

Page 27 of 35







9oreover, in order to appreciate alevosia, the method o assault adopted by theaggressor must have been consciously and deliberately chosen or the speciicpurpose o accomplishing the unla$ul act $ithout risk rom any deense thatmight be put up by the party attacked.78 +here is no sho$ing, though, that thepresent appellant intentionally chose a speciic means o successully attackingher husband $ithout any risk to hersel rom any retaliatory act that he might

make. +o the contrary, it appears that the thought o using the gun occurred toher only at about the same moment $hen she decided to kill her batterer"spouse. In the absence o any convincing proo that she consciously anddeliberately employed the method by $hich she committed the crime in order toensure its e*ecution, this Court resolves the doubt in her avor.7?

Proper Penalty

+he penalty or parricide imposed by Article 5>8 o the 0evised 1enal Code isreclusion perpetua to death. Since t$o mitigating circumstances and noaggravating circumstance have been ound to have attended the commission o

the oense, the penalty shall be lo$ered by one %-( degree, pursuant to Article8> o paragraph 677 o the same Code.7 +he penalty o reclusion temporal in itsmedium period is imposable, considering that t$o mitigating circumstances areto be taken into account in reducing the penalty by one degree, and no othermodiying circumstances $ere sho$n to have attended the commission o theoense. )nder the Indeterminate Sentence 3a$, the minimum o the penaltyshall be $ithin the range o that $hich is ne*t lo$er in degree "" prision mayor ""and the ma*imum shall be $ithin the range o the medium period o reclusiontemporal .

Considering all the circumstances o the instant case, $e deem it ust andproper to impose the penalty o prision mayor in its minimum period, or si* %8(

years and one %-( day in prison as minimumJ to reclusion temporal in its mediumperiod, or -> years 7 months and - day as ma*imum. Noting that appellant hasalready served the minimum period, she may no$ apply or and be releasedrom detention on parole.-

#pilogue

&eing a novel concept in our urisprudence, the battered $oman syndrome $asneither easy nor simple to analy@e and recogni@e vis"R"vis the given set o actsin the present case. +he Court agoni@ed on ho$ to apply the theory as amodern"day reality. It took great eort beyond the normal manner in $hichdecisions are made "" on the basis o e*isting la$ and urisprudence applicable

to the proven acts. +o give a ust and proper resolution o the case, it

endeavored to take a good look at studies conducted here and abroad in orderto understand the intricacies o the syndrome and the distinct personality o thechronically abused person. Certainly, the Court has learned much. Anddeinitely, the solicitor general and appellant2s counsel, Atty. Patrina 3egarda,have helped it in such learning process.

'hile our hearts empathi@e $ith recurrently battered persons, $e can only $ork$ithin the limits o la$, urisprudence and given acts. 'e cannot make or inventthem. Neither can $e amend the 0evised 1enal Code. Only Congress, in its$isdom, may do so.

+he Court, ho$ever, is not discounting the possibility o sel"deense arisingrom the battered $oman syndrome. 'e no$ sum up our main points. First ,each o the phases o the cycle o violence must be proven to havecharacteri@ed at least t$o battering episodes bet$een the appellant and herintimate partner. Second , the inal acute battering episode preceding the killingo the batterer must have produced in the battered person2s mind an actual ear

o an imminent harm rom her batterer and an honest belie that she needed touse orce in order to save her lie. hird , at the time o the killing, the batterermust have posed probable "" not necessarily immediate and actual "" graveharm to the accused, based on the history o violence perpetrated by the ormeragainst the latter. +aken altogether, these circumstances could satisy there!uisites o sel"deense. )nder the e*isting acts o the present case, ho$ever,not all o these elements $ere duly established.

7EREFORE, the conviction o Appellant 9arivic :enosa or parricide ishereby AFF()M*+. <o$ever, there being t$o %5( mitigating circumstances andno aggravating circumstance attending her commission o the oense, herpenalty is )*+-*+ to si* %8( years and one %-( day o prision mayor as

minimumJ to -> years, 7 months and - day o reclusion temporal as ma*imum.

Inasmuch as appellant has been detained or more than the minimum penaltyhereby imposed upon her, the director o the &ureau o Corrections mayimmediately )**AS* her rom custody upon due determination that she iseligible or parole, unless she is being held or some other la$ul cause. Costsde oficio.

"O ORERE.

Puno, -arpio, -orona, -arpio%Morales, -alle/o, Sr., A0cuna and inga, ''., concur.+avide, 'r., -.'., Sandoval%1utierre0, and Austria%Martine0, ''., oin Fustice

Page 28 of 35

















Santiago in her dissent.2itug and 3uisumbing ''., in the result.4nares%Santiago '., see dissenting opinion.

!""ENT!NG OP!N!ON

N$RE""$NT!$GO, J .(

In convicting 9arivic :enosa o the crime o parricide, our esteemed colleague9r. Fustice Artemio H. 1anganiban ound that there $as no actual basis toconclude that 9arivic $as suering rom #&attered 'oman Syndrome# %&'S( atthe time she took the lie o her husband. 'ith due respect, I register mydissent.

+he novel theory o #&attered 'oman Syndrome# is recogni@ed in oreign

urisprudence as a orm o sel"deense. It operates upon the premise that a$oman $ho has been cyclically abused and controlled over a period o timedevelops a earul state o mind. 3iving in constant danger o harm or death, shekno$s that uture beatings are almost certain to occur and $ill escalate overtime. <er intimate kno$ledge o the violent nature o her batterer makes heralert to $hen a particular attack is orthcoming, and $hen it $ill seriouslythreaten her survival. +rapped in a cycle o violence and constant ear, it is notunlikely that she $ould succumb to her helplessness and ail to perceivepossible solutions to the problem other than to inure or kill her batterer. She issei@ed by ear o an e*isting or impending lethal aggression and thus $ouldhave no opportunity beorehand to deliberate on her acts and to choose a lessatal means o eliminating her suerings.-

As e*haustively discussed in the ponencia, the #&attered 'oman Syndrome#has three phases, to $it; %-( the tension"building phase, $here minor batteringsin the orm o verbal or slight physical abuse occurs. <ere, the $oman tries topaciy the batterer through a sho$ o kind, nurturing behaviorJ or by simplystaying out o his $ayJ %5( the acute battering incident phase $hich ischaracteri@ed by brutality, destructiveness and sometimes, death. +he battered$oman usually reali@es that she cannot reason $ith him and that resistance$ould only e*acerbate her conditionJ and %/( the tran!uil period, $here thecouple e*perience a compound relie and the batterer may sho$ a tender andnurturing behavior to$ards his partner.

Contrary to the indings in the ponencia, the deense $as able to establish theoccurrence on more than one occasion o the #tension"building phase# o thecycle. +he various testimonies o appellant2s $itnesses clearly reveal that shekne$ e*actly $hen she $ould once again be subected to acute battery. <ercousin, Ecel Arano, testiied that she oten asked the latter to sleep in her houseas she $as araid every time her husband came home drunk. Clearly, $henever

appellant re!uested or Arano2s company, she $as e*periencing a tension"building phase. +he barangay captain, 1anilo +ero, also testiied that appellantsought his help t$o months beore she killed her husband, again demonstratingthat she $as in the tension"building phase and $as attempting to preventanother incident o acute battery. Appellant presented evidence to prove that thetension"building phase $ould occur $henever her husband $ould go out lookingor other $omen, $ould lose at cockights or $ould come home drunk. She otentried to ignore her husband2s attitude or, as testiied to by some $itnesses orthe prosecution, even shouted back, ought o or even inured her husbandduring the tension"building phase, i only to prevent the onset o acute battery.

Appellant $as able to perectly describe the tension"building phase o the cycleimmediately prior to the death o her husband, i.e., $hen she kne$ or elt thatshe $as going to be killed by the deceased. She could not possibly havetestiied $ith clarity as to prior tension"building phases in the cycle as she hadnever tried to kill her husband beore this time.

It $as sho$n by the testimonies o appellant and even $itnesses or theprosecution that appellant $ould seek shelter in her mother2s or her ather2shouse ater an acute battering incident, ater $hich $ould begin the process obegging or orgiveness, promises o change in behavior and return to theconugal home, only or the same cycle to begin all over again.

+o re!uire appellant to prove the state o mind o the deceased, as seems to bere!uired in the ponencia, $ould mean that no person $ould ever be able toprove sel"deense in a battered $oman case. Appellant could not possiblyprove $hether the deceased elt provoked into battering by any act or omissiono appellant. She cannot possibly prove that she elt hersel to be the solesupport o the deceased2s emotional stability and $ell"being. Nevertheless,appellant elt trapped and helpless in the relationship as, in the end, sheresorted to killing her husband as no one could or did help her, $hether out oear or insensitivity, during the violent marriage she endured.

+he #acute battering incident stage# $as $ell demonstrated by the severebeatings suered by 9arivic in the hands o the deceased as $ell as the threats

to kill her using a bolo or a cutter.5

+he physical abuses occurred at least / times

Page 29 of 35

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a $eek in the -- miserable years o their marriage,/ si* incidents o $hich $eredocumented by the -"-6 medical records o 9arivic. +hey included,among others, hematoma, contusion, and pain on the breastsJ multiplecontusions and trauma on the dierent parts o her body even during herpregnancy in -6.> +he tran!uil period under$ent by 9arivic $as sho$n by therepeated #kiss and make"up# episodes o their relationship. On more than 6

occasions, 9arivic ran to her parents2 house ater violent ights $ith thedeceased only to orgive the latter every time he $ould etch her and promise tochange.6

All these recurring phases o cycle o violence, repentance and orgivenessdeveloped a trauma in the mind o 9arivic making her believe that a orthcomingattack rom the deceased $ould cause her death. +his state o mind o 9arivic$as revealed in her testimony given $ay back in -7, beore she $ase*amined by e*perts on &'S. )na$are o the signiicance o her declarations,she candidly narrated ho$ she elt immediately beore she killed the deceased,thus "

A++=. +A&)CANON


A =es, sir.



*** *** ***

L 'hat happened $hen you $ere brought to the dra$erG

A <e dragged me to$ards the dra$er and he $as about to open thedra$er but he could not open it because he did not have the key. B+henhe pulled his $allet $hich contained a blade about / inches long and I$as a$are that he $as going to kill me and I smashed his arm and thenthe $allet and the blade ell. +he one he used to open the dra$er I sa$,it $as a pipe about that long, and $hen he $as about to pick"up the$allet and the blade, I smashed him then I ran to the room, and on thatvery moment everything on my mind $as pity on mysel, then the eeling

I had on that very moment $as the same $hen I $as admitted in1<I31<OS Clinic, I $as about to vomit.

*** *** ***8

L 'hat else happenedG

A 'hen I $as in the room, I elt the same thing like $hat happenedbeore I $as admitted in 1<I31<OS Clinic, I $as about to vomit. I kno$my blood pressure has raised. I $as rightened I $as about to diebecause o my blood pressure.

*** *** ***

A Considering all the physical suerings that I2ve been through him, Itook pity on mysel and I elt I $as about to die also because o myblood pressure and the baby, so I got the gun and shot him.?

It must be stressed that the deense o #&attered 'oman Syndrome# $as notraised by 9arivic beore the lo$er court but only here on automatic revie$. +hismakes the oregoing testimony more $orthy o great $eight and credenceconsidering that the same could not have been cunningly given to suit orconorm to the proile o a battered $oman.

9oreover, there $as indeed basis or 9arivic to ear death because o hermedical history. Dr. Dino Caing testiied that he treated 9arivic or hypertensiondue to domestically related emotional stress on 5/ separate occasions. +helatest one $as on November 8, -6 $hen she suered rom severe

hypertension and had a blood pressure o -7-5 on the 7

th

month o herpregnancy.7

4urthermore, Dr. Natividad A. Dayan, a clinical psychologist and an e*pert on&'S $ho e*amined 9arivic, assessed the eects o the repeated violence onthe latter as ollo$s;

A 'hat I remember ... $as it $as more than ten years that she $assuering rom emotional anguish. +here $ere a lot o instance oabuses, ... emotional abuse...verbal abuse and... physical abuse. +hehusband had very meager income, she $as the one $ho $as practicallythe bread earner o the amily. +he husband $as involved in a lot o

vices, going out $ith bar"adas, drinking, even $omani@ing, being

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involved in cockighting and in going home very angry $hich... triggereda lot o physical abuse. She also had the e*perience o taunting romthe husband or the reason that the husband even accused her oinidelity, the husband $as saying that the child she $as carrying $asnot his o$n. So she $as very angry, she $as at the same time verydepressed because she .. .Belt almost like living in purgatory or even in

hell $hen it $as happening day in and day out.

*** *** ***

L And $hat $as it that triggered ... that tragedy in your opinionG

A I think or several $eeks, she $as already having all those tensions,all those an*ieties, they $ere not enough, that the husband $as evengoing to cockighting * * *

A She $as angry $ith him, he $as angry $ith her and I think he dragged

her and even spun her around. She tried to ight him so there $as a loto ight and $hen she $as able to escape, she $ent to another roomand she locked hersel $ith the children. And $hen the husband $as or a $hile very angry he calms do$n then and then %sic(. &ut I rememberbeore that the husband $as looking or the gun and I think he $as notable to open the cabinet because she had the key. So during that time, Iremember, that she $as very much araid o him, so $hen the husbandcalmed do$n and he $as asleep, all she $as concerned $as to end upher misery, to save her child $hich she $as carrying and to save hert$o children. I believe that someho$ she2s not rational.

*** *** ***

10OS. +0)=A

L 9rs. 'itness, being an e*pert $itness, giving more the acts andcircumstances on this case that the books you studied in the e*pertisein line and in the ?? hour contact $ith appellant 9rs. :enosa, could yousay that this is not ordinary sel"deense but a survival on her partG

A =es, sir.

L +o $hat she did to her husband %sic(G

A =es, sir this is not an ordinary sel"deense, but this Bis a need tosurvive, a need to survive $ith her t$o sons and Bthe child she2sbringing.

L <ad she not able to kill her husband, $ould she still be in the veryshort moment $ith the victim %sic(G

A I she did not do that she believes that she $ill be the one $ho $ouldbe killed.-

+here is no doubt thereore that 9arivic $as alicted $ith the #&attered 'omanSyndrome# and that it $as an apprehension o death and the instinct to deendher and her unborn child2s lie that drove her to kill her husband.

+he ponente urther reused to sustain the sel"deense proered by 9arivicbecause there $as allegedly no aggression or danger posed on her lie by thevictim at the time she attacked the latter. Again, I beg to disagree.

+raditionally, in order that sel"deense may be appreciated, the unla$ulaggression or the attack must be imminent and actually in e*istence. +hisinterpretation must, ho$ever, be re"evaluated vis%a%vis the recogni@ed inherentcharacteristic o the psyche o a person alicted $ith the #&attered 'omanSyndrome.# As previously discussed, $omen alicted by this syndrome live inconstant ear or their lie and thus respond in sel"deense. Once &'S and animpending danger based on the conduct o the deceased in previous batteringepisodes are established, actual occurrence o an assault is no longer acondition sine qua non beore sel deense may be upheld. hreateningbehavior or communication can satisfy the required imminence of danger. Asstated in the ponencia, to re!uire the battered person to a$ait an obvious

deadly attack beore she can deend her lie $ould amount to sentencing her tomurder by installment.

In the case at bar, the cycle o violence perpetrated by the deceased, $hichculminated in the physical assaults and an attempt to shoot 9arivic $hen she$as 7 months pregnant, took the place o unla$ul aggression, thus entitling her to a complete sel deense even i there $as no actual employment o violenceby the deceased at the time o the killing. 9arivic had every reason to believethat the deceased $ould kill her that night not only because the latter $asverbally threatening to kill her $hile attempting to get a gun rom the dra$er, butmore importantly because the deceased $ounded her on the $rist $ith a bolo,and because o the deceased2s previous conduct o threatening to cut her throat

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$ith a cutter $hich he kept in his $allet. Luoted hereunder are the relevanttestimonies o 9arivic "

A 'hen I arrived home, he $as already in his usual behavior.

*** *** ***

A <e $as drunk again, he $as yelling in his usual unruly behavior.

*** *** ***

A <e $as nagging ... me at that time and I ust ignoreBd him because I$ant to avoid trouble or ear that he $ill beat me again. 1erhaps he$as disappointed because I ust ignoreBd hiBs provocation and hes$itch o the light and I said to him, #$hy did you s$itch o the light$hen the children $ere there.# At that time I $as also attending to mychildren $ho $ere doing their assignments. <e $as angry $ith me or

not ans$ering his challenge, so he $ent to the kitchen and gBot a boloand cut the antenna $ire to stop me rom $atching television.

*** *** ***

A <e s$itchBed o the light and the children $ere shouting becausethey $ere scared and he $as already holding a bolo.

L <o$ do you describe this boloG

A - -5 eet.

*** *** ***

L =ou said the children $ere scared, $hat else happened as &en $ascarrying that boloG

A <e $as about to attack me so I ran to the room.

L 'hat do you mean that he $as about to attack youG

A 'hen I attempted to run he held my hands and he $hirled me and I

ell Bon the bedside.--

*** *** ***

CO)0+

+o the $itness

*** *** ***

L +he bolo that you said $hich &en $as holding at that time, B$as it abolo or a knieG

A &olo.

L 'ere you $ounded or $ere there inlictions on your body $hen he$as holding and trying to righten you B$ith that boloG

A No, only here.

CO)0+ IN+E010E+E0

%+he $itness pointed to her $rist(.

CO)0+

+o the $itness

L =ou $ere demonstrating a motion, $hirling, did your husband really

$hirl youG

A =es, your <onor.

L <o$ did he $hirl youG

A 'hirled around.

L Fust like spinning.

*** *** ***

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L 'here did he $hirl you, $as it inside the bedroom or outsideG

A In our bedroom.

L +hen ater the $hirling $hat happenedG

A <e kicked my ass and then I screamed.-5

*** *** ***

L =ou screamed or help and he let, do you kno$ $here he $as goingG

A Outside perhaps to drink more.

L 'hen he let $hat did you do...G

A I packed all his clothes.

L 'hat $as your reason in packing his clothesG

A I $anted him to leave us.-/

A I $as rightened that my husband $ould hurt me, so I packed all histhings then on the ollo$ing day I $ill leave, I $as araid and I $ant tomake sure I $ould deliver my baby saely.->

*** *** ***

A Ater a couple o hours, he $ent back again and got angry $ith me orpacking his clothes, then he dragged me again outside o the bedroomholding my neck.

A++=. +A&)CANON

L =ou said that $hen &en came back to your house, he dragged youG<o$ did he drag... youG

CO)0+ IN+E010E+E0

%+he $itness demonstrated to the Court by using her right handle*ed orcibly in her ront neck(

A And he dragged me to$ards the door back$ards.

A++=. +A&)CANON


A Outside the bedroom and he $anted to get something and then hekept shouting at me that #you might as $ell be killed so there $ill benobody to nag me.


A =es, sir.



*** *** ***

L 'hat happened $hen you $ere brought to the dra$erG

A <e dragged me to$ards the dra$er and he $as about to open thedra$er but he could not open it because he did not have the key. B+henhe pulled his $allet $hich contained a blade about / inches long and I$as a$are that he $as going to kill me and I smashed his arm and thenthe $allet and the blade ell. +he one he used to open the dra$er I sa$,it $as a pipe about that long, and $hen he $as about to pick"up the$allet and the blade, I smashed him then I ran to the room, and on thatvery moment everything on my mind $as pity on mysel, then the eelingI had on that very moment $as the same $hen I $as admitted in1<I31<OS Clinic, I $as about to vomit.

*** *** ***

L =ou said that he dropped the blade, or the record $ill you please

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describe this blade about / inches long, ho$ does it look likeG

A +hree %/( inches long and -5 inch $ide.

L Is it a le*ible bladeG

A It2s a cutter.



L <o$ did he do itG



A =es sir, that $as the obect used $hen he intimidate me.-6

0E"DI0EC+ &= A++=. +A&)CANON

L In other $ords, there $ere t$o %5( incidents, the irst incident and thenhe let and then t$o %5( hours ater he came backG

A =es, sir.

L And the $hirling happened in the irst incidentG

A =es, sir.

L And the dragging $ith arms le*ed in her neck and on that blade

happened on the second incident %sic(G

A =e, sir.

*** *** ***

CO)0+

+o the $itness

L 'hy, $hat is that blade aboutG

A A cutter about / inches long.

L 'ho used thatG

A &en.

L <e used that on youG

A <e scared me on that %sic(.

*** *** ***

L &ut he did not hit you $ith thatG

A =es, because I managed to run every time he scared %sic(.-8

+here are many things $hich cannot be proved by direct evidence. One o thisis state o mind. In the case at bar, there is more than suicient physicalevidence presented by the appellant rom $hich her mental state can beinerred. +he prosecution did not obect to the presentation o these physical andtestimonial pieces o evidence, namely, the medical records o 5/ instances odomestic violence"related inuries and the testimonies o neighbors, cousins andeven the barangay captain. Indeed, no person $ould endure 5/ reportedinstances o beatings i she $ere planning to kill her spouse in the irst place.+he maority need not $orry that $omen around the country $ill mastermind thekillings o their husbands and then use this Decision to bolster their attempts toemploy the &'S deense.

9oreover, as ound in the ponencia, appellant should be allo$ed the mitigatingcircumstance o passion and obuscation. +his, at the very least, supports ainding that the acts o violence and battery committed by the deceased $ereillegal and unla$ul and $ere committed immediately beore appellant couldrecover her natural e!uanimity. &ut $hat is the natural e!uanimity o a battered

$omanG Appellant $as not a normal married $oman. She can never be in a

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state o natural e!uanimity as she $as in a constant state o alertness andhypersensitivity to the ne*t phase o acute battery. +he esteemed ponente alsocorrectly ound that the appellant acted $ith diminished $ill"po$er. <o$ever, heailed to go urther. In the case o People v. 'avier ,-? it $as held;

Since accused"appellant has already admitted to the killing, it is incumbent uponhim to prove the claimed mitigating circumstance o illness. In this case,ho$ever, aside rom the testimony o the accused that his mind $ent blank$hen he killed his $ie due to loss o sleep, no medical inding $as presentedregarding his mental condition at the time o the killing. +his Court can hardlyrely on the bare allegations o accused"appellant, nor on mere presumptionsand conectures. No clear and convincing evidence $as sho$n that accused"appellant $as suering an illness $hich diminished his e*ercise o $ill"po$er atthe time o the killing.-7

In the case at bar, appellant $as allo$ed and did in act present clear andconvincing evidence that she $as a battered $oman or -/"-> years and that

she suered rom the #&attered 'oman Syndrome#. E*pert testimony $aspresented and admitted to this eect, such that the ponente ably discussed thecauses and eects o the syndrome. +o ignore the testimony and the evidencethus presented is to make impossible the proo o mental state. Evidence as tothe mental state need not be also #beyond reasonable doubt.#

Herily, the re!uirement o threatening behavioral pattern o the batterer inprevious violent episodes $as suiciently satisied in the present case. +his,

u*taposed to 9arivic2s aliction $ith &'S ustiied the killing o the deceased.+he danger posed or created in her mind by the latter2s threats using bladed$eapons, bred a state o ear, $here under the circumstances, the naturalresponse o the battered $oman $ould be to deend hersel even at the cost o

taking the lie o the batterer.

+he ponencia!s ackno$ledgement o #&attered 'oman Syndrome# as a validorm o sel"deense, is a noble recognition o the plight o, and a triumph orbattered $omen $ho are trapped in a culture o silence, shame, and ear. +his$ould ho$ever be an empty victory i $e deliberately close our eyes to theantecedents o this case. +he acts are simple. 9arivic $as suering rom the#&attered 'oman Syndrome# and $as deending hersel $hen she killed herhusband. <er ac!uittal o the charge o parricide is thereore in order.

!N %!E7 7EREOF, I vote to ACL)I+ 9arivic :enosa.

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Documents

001 G.R. No. 135981 January 15, 2004 Pp vs Genosa