GR 3070; (February, 1907) (Digest)
G.R. No. 3070
February 11, 1907
FACTS
Juan Cabiling, a student at the government school in Ormoc, was charged with murdering his principal, Clarence T. Allen, on 22 November 1905. The prosecution’s witnessesMrs. Levina F. Allen (the widow), Wilbur Chamberlain, and James F. Godwardtestified that Cabiling, after being rebuked for insubordination, rushed at Allen and stabbed him twice in the stomach, leading to Allen’s death. The defense claimed that Allen had first assaulted Cabiling (grabbing his ear, kicking him, shaking him against a table, and attempting to throw him), that Cabiling only possessed a knife for sharpening a pencil, and that he never struck Allen. Cabiling denied all participation in the killing. The trial court convicted Cabiling of murder and sentenced him to life imprisonment; he appealed.
ISSUE
1. Whether the evidence proved that Cabiling, and not Allen, initiated the attack and inflicted the fatal wounds.
2. Whether the crime was murder or homicide under Article 403 of the Penal Code.
3. What penalty, if any, should be imposed, considering the presence of aggravating or mitigating circumstances under Articles 9, 10, and 11 of the Penal Code.
RULING
1. The Supreme Court held that the prosecution witnesses were more credible; their testimony established that Cabiling was the sole aggressor who stabbed Allen, and that Allen offered no resistance that could justify self‑defense. The defendant’s denial was deemed a deliberate falsehood.
2. No element of murder (treachery, evident premeditation, etc.) under Article 403 was proven; thus the appropriate crime is homicide, not murder.
3. No mitigating circumstance under Article 11 (native, mestizo, or Chinese) applied, and an aggravating circumstance under Article 10(20) “the act committed with insult or disregard for the respect due to the aggrieved party on account of his rank” was found, since a pupil attacked his teacher. Consequently, the penalty was set at the maximum degree of homicide: 14 years, 8 months, and 1 day of cadena temporal, plus a ₱1,000 indemnity to the heirs of the deceased.
The judgment of the lower court was modified accordingly, affirming the conviction but substituting the life sentence with the term above, and ordering costs against the appellant.