G.R. No. 42425 ; January 25, 1935
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, plaintiff-appellee, vs. ALIPIO RAGSAC, defendant-appellant.

FACTS

The accused, Alipio Ragsac, was charged with the murder of Bartolome Macaso. The prosecution’s evidence, primarily from the victim’s widow Romana Lorenzo, showed that on the evening of May 24, 1934, the deceased was asleep on a bamboo bed under his house. She heard blows, saw the accused standing beside the bed with a bolo, and screamed, after which the accused fled. The victim was found dead with multiple severe wounds. The accused surrendered to the police, admitting the killing but claiming he acted in self-defense. He alleged that the deceased had stolen his trunk, and that when he pursued him, the deceased attacked him with a bolo, leading to a fight. The trial court convicted him of murder, appreciating the mitigating circumstance of voluntary surrender.

ISSUE

Whether the accused is guilty of murder, qualified by alevosia (treachery), or whether his claim of self-defense is valid.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction for murder. The accused’s claim of self-defense was rejected as a fabrication. The Court found the prosecution’s circumstantial evidence credible and consistent: the widow’s testimony, the location and nature of the wounds indicating the victim was attacked while asleep and defenseless, the lack of evidence of a struggle, the accused’s clean clothing inconsistent with a fight, and the improbability of the deceased (an older man) swiftly carrying a heavy trunk. The lack of proven motive did not exonerate the accused. The qualifying circumstance of alevosia was present as the attack was made on a sleeping victim. The penalty was modified to an indeterminate sentence of 12 years of prision mayor to 17 years, 4 months, and 1 day of reclusion temporal, and the indemnity was increased to P1,000.

AI Generated by Armztrong.