[No. 5749. October 21, 1910.

] field to let out the water in order that they could plant rice in the said field. In
THE UNITED STATES, plaintiff and appellee, vs. PONCIANO ESMEDIA and compliance with these instructions of his father, Santiago proceeded to the place
MENA ESMEDIA, defendants and appellants. designated, and while at work doing what he had been ordered by his father to do,
Gregorio Esmedia appeared on the scene and started a quarrel with Santiago. Soon
1. HOMICIDE IN DEFENSE OF AN IMMEDIATE RELATIVE.—Any person who, in thereafter Gregorio drew a dagger and stabbed Santiago in the back. Santiago f ell to
defending his father against an unlawful attack, while he still honestly the ground, but arose immediately and attacked Gregorio with his bolo, inflicting
believes him to be in great danger, causes the death of the attacking party, several wounds on the said Gregorio in consequence of which he fell to the ground.
is exempt from criminal responsibility. (Art. 8, par. 5, Penal Code.) Before this trouble finally terminated the two accused and Ciriaco Abando appeared
in that immediate vicinity.
2. HOMICIDE; AGGRAVATING CIRCUMSTANCE.—When the victim of homicide
is a man 80 years of age, and arrives upon the scene of an altercation after These two accused contend-that they were working in their rice field near by, and on
it has terminated. and is thereupon attacked and killed, the aggravating seeing Ciriaco Abando and Santiago Abando attacking their father, Gregorio, they started
circumstance No. 20 of article 10 of the Penal Code must be considered in to the place to render their father assistance, Ponciano starting first; that when Ponciano
fixing the penalty, because of the disregard of and lack of respect for age. got near the place of the trouble he was met by Ciriaco and Santiago who attacked him
with bolos and clubs and that he, Ponciano, in self-defense, knocked them both down, and
3. ID.; MlTIGATING ClRCUMSTANCE OF LOSS OF REASON AND after they had fallen the other accused, Mena Esmedia, arrived. Ponciano further contends
SELFCONTROL.—In order to justify the application of the mitigating that he did not use a bolo in this fight, but used a club only.
circumstance of loss of reason and self-control during a dispute, the acts of
the person injured must have been the immediate cause of such loss of The prosecution in the court below contended that when these two accused saw the
reason and self-control on the part of the person making the attack. When fight between their father and Santiago they rushed to the place and proceeded to
the victim arrives on the scene after the trouble has terminated, and is then kill, as they thought, Santiago, and on seeing Ciriaco approaching they met him and
attacked by the contestants, the aforesaid circumstance cannot be applied in killed him outright.
mitigation of the penalty.
As a result of this fight Ciriaco was left dead on the scene, Gregorio received fatal
APPEAL from a judgment of the Court of First Instance of Antique. McCabe, J. wounds from which he died within about four hours, and Santiago also received fatal
wounds from which he died five days later.
The facts are stated in the opinion of the court.
W.L. Wright, for appellants. Ciriaco Abando received two wounds on the top of his head, one 8 centimeters and the
Attorney-General Villamor, for appellee. other 3 centimeters in length, caused by some cutting instrument, and also sustained a
fracture of the skull, apparently caused by means of a blow. He also had a wound on the
head 3 centimeters in depth; another on the neck below the left ear 31 centimeters in
TRENT, J.: depth and 3 centimeters in length; the left eye was bruised and he also had a wound on
the palm of the right hand 3 centimeters in length .and 2 millimeters in depth.
This is an appeal from a sentence rendered by the Court of First Instance of the
Province of Antique, condemning Ponciano Esmedia and Mena Esmedia to twelve Santiago Abando received in all seven wounds, one crosswise of the head, back of the left
years and one day of reclusion temporal, to jointly and severally pay to the heirs of ear, 8 centimeters in length and 1 centimeter in depth, another on top of the head, just
Ciriaco Abando the sum of P1,000, to the heirs of Santiago Abando the sum of above the first wound, 5 centimeters in length and a half centimeter in depth, a third
P1,000, and to pay the costs of the cause, for the crime of double homicide. wound on the left part of the neck 4 centimeters in length, all of these three wounds
having been caused by a cutting instrument; a fourth wound, also caused by some sharp
Ciriaco Abando, his wife, and their son, Santiago,. lived in the jurisdiction of the instrument, 1 centimeter in depth and 8 centimeters in length, on the top of the head; a
municipality of Sibalom, in the barrio of Bongbongan, Province of Antique. Gregorio fifth wound, 2½ centimeters in length and 5 millimeters in depth, which was in the nature
Esmedia, father of these two accused, son-in-law of Ciriaco Abando and brother-in-law of of a contusion, appeared on the frontal region of the head; a sixth wound, 2 centimeters
Santiago Abando, lived in the same barrio. These two families lived very near to each in length and 3½ centimeters deep, in the back; and a seventh wound on the left hand, 4
other and owned adjoining rice lands. Before this trouble occurred there had been a centimeters in length, 2½ centimeters wide, and 2 millimeters in depth, which had
dispute between these two families relative to the ownership of the rice land then apparently been caused by some cutting instrument.
occupied by Ciriaco Abando. About 2 o’clock on the afternoon of the 24th of June, 1909,
Ciriaco Abando instructed his son, Santiago, to go to a certain place in his rice
The body of Gregorio Esmedia showed four wounds; a wound or bruise on the front their father. They are, however, guilty of having caused the death of the old man,
of the head, 5 by 6 centimeters in dimension; another wound, caused by a cutting Ciriaco Abando. When they attacked and killed him the other trouble had terminated
instrument, running across the head, 6 centimeters in length; another wound, and they were not in danger of bodily harm from him.
apparently caused by a blow with some blunt instrument, on the breast; and another
wound 1 centimeter in depth, apparently caused by a cutting instrument, and also a In the commission of this crime of homicide, we must take into consideration No. 20
bruise on the left arm. of article 10 of the Penal Code which provides, as an aggravating circumstance, that
“when the act is committed with insult or in disregard for the respect which may be
The accused, Ponciano Esmedia, received one wound on the head, but it was not of a due the aggrieved party on account of his rank, age, * * *” inasmuch as the
serious nature; the other accused, Mena Esmedia, escaped uninjured. deceased, Ciriaco, was a man 80 years of age and did not arrive on the scene until
after the trouble between the two accused and Santiago had terminated.
The prosecution presented Andrea Lactoson, 60 years of age, wife of the deceased
Ciriaco, and Julian Alagos, a young boy about 16 years of age, a grandson of Ciriaco. As we have said, these two accused killed this old man, Ciriaco, while laboring under
These two witnesses saw the fight and gave a detailed account of the same. While it is great excitement and in the heat of passion, and it might be insisted that under these
true that these two witnesses contradicted themselves to some extent on cross- circumstances they should be given the benefit of No. 7 of article 9 of the Penal
examination, they having testified on direct examination that Ciriaco never did reach the Code, as an extenuating circumstance. This provision should be applied to reduce the
scene of the fight but was killed by the two accused while on his way there, whereas on penalty in cases where the provocation which caused the heated passion was made
crossexamination they testified that Ciriaco was there when the accused arrived, yet it is by the injured party. In the case at bar the provocation was made by Santiago and
clear that they intended to say that when the two accused arrived Ciriaco was in that not Ciriaco, as Ciriaco arrived after the fight had terminated and there was then no
vicinity but they did not mean to say that he was at the Very side of his son. provocation running from the old man, Ciriaco, to these accused. He was entirely
unarmed and made no demonstration and said no word prior to the assault upon him
The theory of the defense that Ponciano was attacked by Ciriaco and Santiago is by the two accused. So the state of mind into which these two accused were thrown
untenable, as the nature and character of the wounds on the bodies of these two by the provocation induced by Santiago cannot modify the extent of their punishment
persons show clearly that at least some of them were inflicted by bolos, and Ponciano for killing the old man. In other words, before this provision can be applied as an
must have used a bolo in the fight, though he contends that he only made use of a extenuating circumstance it is necessary, as we have said, that the person injured
club. The bolo wounds on the heads of Gregorio and Santiago were of such a serious should have executed the act producing arrebato y obcecación. It cannot be applied
nature that it would have been impossible for them to have gone any distance after when an assault is made upon a person who had taken no part in the quarrel and
having been wounded. So they could not have rushed toward Ponciano and attacked had not in any manner provoked the accused. (Decision of the supreme court of
him after having received these wounds. Santiago was stabbed in the back by Spain dated October 17, 1904, published in the Official Gazette on December 23
Gregorio, but this wound of itself was not necessarily fatal. following; decision of the supreme court of Spain dated January 12, 1894; White vs.
State, 44 Tex. Cr. Rep., 346; State vs. Jackson, 45 La. Ann., 1031; State vs. Vinso,
After a careful consideration of this entire record we are thoroughly satisfied that the 171 Mo., 576.)
following facts, aside from those we have already related, have been established:
In view of the fact that these two accused are ignorant the aggavating circumstance
The two accused arrived on the scene about the time the fight between Santiago and is compensated by the provisions of article 11 of the Penal Code which we applied in
Gregorio was terminating, and on seeing their father, Gregorio, lying in the mud and this case.
water, fatally wounded and dying, and honestly believing that Santiago, who was standing
at the time, would inflict other wounds upon their father, they, in his defense, immediately The sentence appealed from is, therefore, affirmed; provided, however, that these
killed Santiago. Ciriaco was near the scene at this time and on seeing him the two two accused, Ponciano Esmedia and Mena Esmedia, be condemned to fourteen years
accused, under this great excitement, proceeded to attack him, and as a direct result of eight months and one day of reclusión temporal, and to the accessory penalties; and,
the blows inflicted by them he fell to the ground, dying immediately. Ciriaco was an old provided further, that they be declared exempt from criminal responsibility for
man, about 80 years of age, and used a cane to assist him in walking about. causing the death of Santiago Abando, which exemption- relieves them from paying
any indemnity to the heirs of the said Santiago Abando.
Under the provisions of No. 5, article 8 of the Penal Code, the two accused are exempt
from criminal responsibility f or having caused the death of Santiago Abando, inasmuch as Arellano, C.J., Torres, Johnson, and Moreland, JJ., concur.
it has been shown that they inflicted these wounds upon him in defense of their father
who was fatally wounded at the time. They honestly believed, and had good grounds upon Judgment affirmed; penalty increased.
which to found their belief, that Santiago would continue his attack upon