GR L 50884; (March, 1988) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-50884 March 30, 1988
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. FILOMENO SALUFRANIA, defendant-appellant.
FACTS
The accused, Filomeno Salufrania, was charged with the complex crime of parricide with intentional abortion for killing his wife, Marciana Abuyo-Salufrania, who was eight months pregnant. The prosecution’s eyewitness was the couple’s 13-year-old son, Pedro, who testified that on December 3, 1974, he saw his father box his mother in the stomach and then strangle her, causing her immediate death. The post-mortem examination conducted by Dr. Juan Dyquiangco confirmed the victim’s death by strangulation and noted she was carrying a seven to eight-month-old fetus. The trial court convicted Salufrania of the complex crime as charged and imposed the death penalty, leading to an automatic review by the Supreme Court.
ISSUE
The central issue is whether the accused is guilty of the complex crime of parricide with intentional abortion, or if the evidence only supports a conviction for parricide with unintentional abortion.
RULING
The Supreme Court modified the conviction. It held that the prosecution failed to prove the specific intent to cause an abortion, which is a necessary element for intentional abortion under Article 256 of the Revised Penal Code. The evidence established that the accused intended to kill his wife, but the death of the fetus was a direct but unintentional consequence of the violent attack on the mother. The Court clarified that when an abortion results from an act primarily intended to kill a pregnant woman, without a separate, deliberate intent to terminate the pregnancy, the crime is parricide with unintentional abortion. Applying Article 48 of the Revised Penal Code on complex crimes, the penalty for the more serious crime (parricide) should be imposed in its maximum period. However, owing to the constitutional prohibition of the death penalty under the 1987 Constitution , the Court modified the penalty to reclusion perpetua. The indemnity to the victim’s heirs was also increased to Thirty Thousand Pesos (P30,000.00). The decision of the lower court was affirmed with these modifications.