GR 41568; (August, 1934) (Digest)
G.R. No. 41568 ; August 2, 1934
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, plaintiff-appellee, vs. TRANQUILINO BALANSAG, defendant-appellant.
FACTS
The defendant-appellant, Tranquilino Balansag, was convicted for the death of Agapito Tandong. The incident arose from a trivial dispute following a cockfight. The agreement was that the losing cock would be given to Balansag to cook. When the loser, Leopoldo Cagbabanua (brother-in-law of the deceased), refused and instead challenged Balansag to a fight, a confrontation ensued. During the ensuing struggle, the deceased, Agapito Tandong, intervened and wounded Balansag on the left temporal region with a bolo. Balansag retreated to the kitchen, and when Tandong pursued and attempted to strike him again, Balansag grabbed a bolo and struck Tandong on the head, inflicting a fatal wound.
ISSUE
Whether the appellant acted in lawful self-defense.
RULING
Yes. The Supreme Court acquitted the appellant, finding that he acted in lawful self-defense. All requisites under Article 11 of the Revised Penal Code were present: (1) There was unlawful aggression by the deceased, who first attacked and wounded the appellant; (2) the means employed by the appellant to repel the aggression were reasonably necessary, as he used a weapon similar to that of the aggressor; and (3) there was no sufficient provocation on the part of the appellant, as the initial provocation came from Leopoldo Cagbabanua, not from the appellant against the deceased. The trial court’s judgment was reversed.
AI Generated by Armztrong.