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Murder Conviction Appeal: Marital Testimony Rule

This case involves an appeal of a murder conviction of Roberto Pansensoy. Analie Pansensoy, the wife of Roberto, testified that she was living with the victim Hilario Reyes. On the day of the incident, Hilario was in the house they rented when Roberto arrived with a gun. Roberto asked Hilario questions about his relationship with Analie, then shot Hilario in the forehead at close range, causing his death. The autopsy confirmed the cause of death was a single gunshot wound to the forehead. Normally, a spouse cannot testify against the other without consent due to marital privilege. However, Roberto did not object to Analie testifying so he waived the right to claim marital privilege. The court

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794 views1 page

Murder Conviction Appeal: Marital Testimony Rule

This case involves an appeal of a murder conviction of Roberto Pansensoy. Analie Pansensoy, the wife of Roberto, testified that she was living with the victim Hilario Reyes. On the day of the incident, Hilario was in the house they rented when Roberto arrived with a gun. Roberto asked Hilario questions about his relationship with Analie, then shot Hilario in the forehead at close range, causing his death. The autopsy confirmed the cause of death was a single gunshot wound to the forehead. Normally, a spouse cannot testify against the other without consent due to marital privilege. However, Roberto did not object to Analie testifying so he waived the right to claim marital privilege. The court

Uploaded by

Tootsie Guzma
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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[G. R. No. 140634.

September 12, 2002]

PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. ROBERTO PANSENSOY, Accused-Appellant.

CARPIO, J.:

Facts: This case is an appeal from RTC convicting appellant Roberto Pansensoy of the crime of murder.

Analie Pansensoy is the legitimate wife of appellant. She testified that she had been living-in with the
victim, Hilario Reyes, since February 1994. On May 8, 1994, she and Hilario were in the house they were
renting at Lumang Bayan, Antipolo, Rizal. Hilario was lying down inside the house. She stood up when
she heard a knocking on the door. As she opened the door, she saw appellant holding a gun. She
embraced appellant and tried to wrest the gun away from him but she failed. Hilario went out of the
house and sat on a bench. Appellant approached Hilario and asked him if he really loves his wife. Hilario
answered in the affirmative. Appellant next asked Hilario if he was still single. Hilario answered yes.
Appellant counted one to three and at the count of three shot Hilario. Hilario was hit on the forehead
and sprawled on the ground.

Dr. Emmanuel Aranas, physician, conducted the autopsy on the victim at the St. James Funeral Parlor at
past midnight on May 9, 1994. He found a single gunshot wound on the forehead which was the cause
of death. He opined that the entry shows the area of smudging which indicates that Hilario was shot at
close range. The distance of the muzzle of the gun from the forehead could be less than three inches. He
also opined that the person who fired the shot and Hilario were facing each other.

Issue: Whether Analie’s testimony violates the marital disqualification rule.

Held: As the legitimate wife of appellant, Analie’s testimony would have been disregarded had appellant
timely objected to her competency to testify under the marital disqualification rule. Under this rule,
neither the husband nor the wife may testify for or against the other without the consent of the affected
spouse, except in a civil case by one against the other, or in a criminal case for a crime committed by one
against the other or the latter’s direct descendants or ascendants. However, objections to the
competency of a husband and wife to testify in a criminal prosecution against the other may be waived
as in the case of other witnesses generally. The objection to the competency of the spouse must be
made when he or she is first offered as a witness. In this case, the incompetency was waived by
appellants failure to make a timely objection to the admission of Analie’s testimony.

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