G.R. No. L-46530. April 10, 1939.
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. CATALINO RABAO, defendant-appellant.

FACTS

The appellant, Catalino Rabao, was convicted of parricide for killing his wife, Salvacion Agawa. On December 15, 1937, in Naga, Camarines Sur, a quarrel ensued when Rabao told his wife not to bathe their sick child. During the altercation, Rabao punched his wife in the abdomen. She fell and died shortly thereafter. An autopsy revealed the deceased had a hypertrophied spleen due to chronic malaria, and death was caused by a hemorrhage from the spleen’s rupture due to an external blow on the abdomen. The defense contended that the appellant should only be liable for parricide through reckless imprudence.

ISSUE

Whether the appellant is guilty of the crime of parricide or merely parricide through reckless imprudence.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction for parricide, not reckless imprudence. The Court found that the appellant intentionally punched his wife, an unlawful act that directly caused her death. The claim of reckless imprudence under Article 365 of the Revised Penal Code was untenable, as that provision applies to lawful acts done with negligence, not to intentional unlawful assaults. The proven facts constitute parricide under Article 246. Mitigating circumstances—lack of intent to commit so grave a wrong, passion or obfuscation, and voluntary surrender—were present, with no aggravating circumstances. Applying Article 63 of the Revised Penal Code, the proper penalty is reclusion perpetua, the lesser of the two indivisible penalties for parricide. The Court modified the trial court’s sentence accordingly and, invoking Article 5 of the Revised Penal Code, recommended executive clemency.

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