G.R. Nos.

130634-35

March 12, 2001

PEOPLE vs. OYANIB

PARDO, J.:
Accused Manolito Oyanib y Mendoza appeals from the joint
decision1 of the Regional Trial Court, Branch 02, Iligan City
finding him guilty beyond reasonable doubt of homicide and
parricide and sentencing him to an indeterminate penalty2 of six
(6) months one day (1) to six (6) years of prision correccional as
minimum to six (6) years one (1) day to eight (8) years of prision
mayor as maximum,3 and to pay P50,000.00 civil indemnity and
the costs for the death of Jesus Esquierdo, and to reclusion
perpetua, to pay P50,000.00 and the costs for the death of his
wife, Tita T. Oyanib.4
On September 11, 1995, Iligan City Prosecutor Ulysses V.
Lagcao filed with the Regional Trial Court, Iligan City two (2)
separate informations charging accused Manolito Oyanib y
Mendoza with murder and parricide, as follows:
Criminal Case No. 6012</P>
"That on or about September 4, 1995, in the City of
Iligan, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this
Honorable Court, the said accused, armed with a deadly
weapon to wit: a hunting knife about six inches long and
with intent to kill and evident premeditation and by
means of treachery, did then and there willfully,
unlawfully and feloniously attack, assault, stab and
wound one Jesus Esquierdo, thereby inflicting upon him
the following physical injuries, to wit:
Cardiorespiratory arrest
Hypovolemic shock irreversible
Multiple organ injury
Multiple stab wound chest & abdomen
and as a result thereof the said Jesus Esquierdo died.
"Contrary to and in violation of Article 248 of the Revised
Penal Code with the aggravating circumstances (sic) of
evident premeditation."5
Criminal Case No. 6018
"That on or about September 4, 1995, in the City of
Iligan, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this
Honorable Court, the said accused, having conceived
and (sic) deliberate intent to kill his wife Tita Oyanib, did
then and there willfully, unlawfully and feloniously and
with evident premeditation, attack, assault, stab and
wound his wife, as a result of said attack, the said Tita
Oyanib died.
"Contrary to and in violation of Article 246 of the Revised
Penal Code."6

On January 17, 1996, the trial court arraigned accused Manolito

Oyanib y Mendoza by reading the informations against him and
translating them into the Visayan dialect.9 He pleaded not guilty
to both charges.
As the two (2) cases arose from the same set of facts, the trial
court conducted a joint trial.
Accused Manolito Oyanib y Mendoza (hereafter Manolito) and
Tita T. Oyanib (hereafter Tita) were married on February 3, 1979
10 and had two (2) children, Desilor and Julius. They lived in
Purok 1, Tambacan, Iligan City.
In 1994, due to marital differences, Manolito and Tita separated,
with Manolito keeping custody of their two (2) children. Tita
rented a room at the second floor of the house of Edgardo Lladas
(hereafter Edgardo), not far from the place where her family lived.
At about 9:30 in the evening of September 4, 1995, while
Edgardo and his family were watching TV at the salalocated at
the ground floor of their house at Purok 3-A, Tambacan, Iligan
City, they heard a commotion coming from the second floor
rented by Tita. The commotion and the noise lasted for quite
some time. When it died down, Edgardo went upstairs to check.11
Upstairs, Edgardo saw Tita wearing a duster, bloodied and
sprawled on the floor. He saw Manolito stabbing Jesus Esquierdo
(hereafter Jesus) while sitting on the latter's stomach. Jesus was
wearing a pair of long black pants. When Edgardo asked
Manolito what he was doing, accused told Edgardo not to
interfere.
Thereafter, Edgardo left the house and called the police.
Meanwhile, the neighbors brought Tita to the hospital. She died
on the way to the hospital.12
SPO3 Eduard Tubil, police investigator, General Investigation
Office, Iligan City Police Command, Precinct I, Poblacion, Iligan
City said that at about 9:00 in the evening of September 4, 1995,
while he was on duty, he received an information regarding a
stabbing incident at the Llagas residence at Purok 3-A,
Tambacan, Iligan City.13
At the crime scene, SPO3 Tubil saw the lifeless body of Jesus
lying face up with several stab wounds in different parts of the
body. Jesus was clad in t-shirt and long pants. From the crime
scene, he recovered a knife. Afterwards, he went to Dr. Uy
Hospital to check on Tita; he was informed that she was dead.
Manolito was the suspect in the killing of Jesus and Tita.14 The
incident was recorded in the police blotter as Entry No. 137138.15
On September 5, 1995, Dr. Leonardo A. Labanon, Medico-Legal
Officer, Iligan City examined the bodies of Jesus and Tita.16 Jesus
sustained multiple stab wounds, and those inflicted in the right
and left chests and stomach were fatal.17 The cause of death was
"cardiorespiratory arrest, hypovolemic shock irreversible, multiple
organ injury and multiple stab wound chest and abdomen."18

The prosecutor recommended no bail for the temporary liberty of

accused Manolito Oyanib y Mendoza in both cases.

Likewise, Tita sustained several stab wounds, with the fatal

wounds inflicted in the left chest and right side of the abdomen.
The cause of death was "cardiorespiratory arrest, hypovolemic
shock and multiple stab wound."19

On September 11, 1995, accused voluntarily surrendered to the

police authorities7 and was immediately detained at the Iligan
City Jail.8

As heretofore stated, in 1994, following a series of arguments,

Manolito and Tita decided to live separately. Manolito retained
custody of their two (2) children. Immediately after the

separation, Tita stayed at her friend Merlyn's house for two (2)
months. Afterwards, she transferred to the Lladas residence,
located at Purok 3, G. Tambacan, Iligan City, and rented the
second floor.20 The rented space consisted mainly of a sala with
one adjoining room. It was arranged in a manner that if one
enters the main entrance door, one is immediately led to
the sala and from the sala, directly to the door of the adjoining
room.
Despite their separation, Manolito tried to win Tita back and
exerted all efforts towards reconciliation for the sake of the
children. However, Tita was very reluctant to reconcile with
Manolito.21 In fact, she was very open about her relationship with
other men and would flaunt it in front of Manolito. One time, he
chanced upon his wife and her paramour, Jesus, in a very
intimate situation by the hanging bridge at Brgy. Tambacan, Iligan
City.22 Manolito confronted Tita and Jesus about this. He
censured his wife and reminded her that she was still his wife.
They just ignored him; they even threatened to kill him.23
In the evening of September 4, 1995, after supper, his daughter
Desilor handed Manolito a letter from the Iligan City National
High School. The letter mentioned that his son Julius failed in two
(2) subjects and invited his parents to a meeting at the school.
Because he had work from 8:00 in the morning until 5:00 in the
afternoon the next day, Manolito went to Tita's house to ask her
to attend the school meeting in his behalf.24
Upon reaching Tita's rented place, he heard "sounds of romance"
(kissing) coming from the inside. He pried open the door lock
using a hunting knife. He caught his wife Tita and Jesus having
sexual intercourse. Jesus was on top of Tita and his pants were
down to his knees.

After trial, on May 26, 1997, the trial court promulgated a joint
decision finding accused guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the
crimes charged. The dispositive portion reads:
"WHEREFORE, in the light of the foregoing findings and
pronouncements and having carefully observed the
demeanor of witnesses, this Court hereby declares
accused MANOLITO OYANIB y Mendoza GUILTY
beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of Homicide
(Crim. Case No. II-6012) and Parricide (Crim. Case No.
II-6018) and and appreciating the two (2) mitigating
circumstances of passion or obfuscation and voluntary
surrender without any aggravating circumstances to
consider, this Court sentences accused Manolito Oyanib
y Mendoza to suffer an imprisonment as follows:
"1) In Criminal Case No. II-6012:
To an Indeterminate Penalty ranging from SIX
(6) MONTHS ONE (1) DAY to SIX (6) YEARS
as Minimum to Six (6) YEARS ONE (1) DAY to
EIGHT (8) YEARS as Maximum; to indemnify
heirs of Jesus Esquierdo the sum of
P50,000.00 as civil indemnity, and to pay the
costs.
2.) In Criminal Case No. II-6018:
To RECLUSION PERPETUA pursuant to
Republic Act No. 7659; to indemnify heirs of his
wife P50,000.00 as civil indemnity and to pay
the costs.

Upon seeing him, Jesus kicked Manolito in the cheek. Manolito

immediately stabbed Jesus. Though Jesus was 5'9" in height and
weighed about 70 kg., the suddenness of the assault caused him
to lose his balance and fall down. Manolito took advantage of this
opportunity and stabbed Jesus in the stomach. Tita left the room
upon seeing Manolito, only to come back armed with a Tanduay
bottle. She hit Manolito in the head, while at the same time
shouting "kill him Jake, kill him Jake."25

"It is likewise ordered that the aforesaid imprisonment is

subject to the forty (40) years limitation prescribed in
Article 70 of the Revised Penal Code.

In the commotion, Manolito stabbed Jesus, hitting him in the

abdomen. Jesus fell down and Manolito stabbed him again.
Meanwhile, Tita stabbed Manolito in the arm with the broken
Tanduay bottle. This angered Manolito and he stabbed Tita in the
left breast. He stabbed her three (3) more times in different parts
of her body. Tita fell near the lifeless body of her paramour. It was
at this point that Edgardo, the owner of the house Tita was
renting, appeared from the ground floor and inquired about what
had happened. Manolito told Edgardo not to interfere because he
had nothing to do with it.

"Iligan City, Philippines, May 26, 1997.

Thereafter, Manolito left the house of Edgardo and went to

Kilumco, Camague, Iligan City and stayed at the wake of his
friend's neighbor. He threw away the knife he used in stabbing
his wife and her paramour. At around 4:00 in the morning of the
following day, he went to Camague Highway to catch a bus for
Lentogan, Aurora, Zamboanga. While in Lentogan, he heard over
radio DXIC that there was a call for him to surrender. He heeded
the call and gave himself up to the police authorities in Precinct
2, Nonocan, Iligan City.26
When asked why he was carrying a knife when he went to his
wife's place, Manolito said that he brought it for self-defense.
Prior to the incident, he received threats from his wife and her
paramour, Jesus, that they would kill him so they could live
together.27

"Accused is likewise entitled to full credit of his

preventive imprisonment.
"SO ORDERED.

"MAXIMO B. RATUNIL
Presiding Judge"28

On June 17, 1997, accused Manolito Oyanib y Mendoza

interposed an appeal from the joint decision of the trial court to
the Supreme Court.29
Accused admitted the killings. He argued that he killed them both
under the exceptional circumstances provided in Article 247 of
the Revised Penal Code. He raised several errors allegedly
committed by the trial court, which boiled down to the basic issue
of whether accused is entitled to the exceptional privilege under
Article 247 of the Revised Penal Code. 30 He questioned the trial
court's appreciation of the facts and the evidence, contending
that it ignored and overlooked vital pieces of physical evidence
material to the defense of the accused, like the photograph of the
lifeless body of Jesus. Accused contends that the photograph
graphically showed that Jesus' pants were wide open, unzipped
and unbuttoned, revealing that he was not wearing any

underwear, lending credence to his defense that he caught his

wife and her paramour in the act of sexual intercourse. On the
other hand, the Solicitor General submitted that accusedappellant failed to discharge the burden of proving, by clear and
convincing evidence, that he killed the victims under the
exceptional circumstances contemplated in Article 247 of the
Revised Penal Code. Hence, the trial court did not err in denying
him the exempting privilege under the Article. 31

WHEREFORE, the Court REVERSES the appealed decision of

the Regional Trial Court, Branch 02, Iligan City in Criminal Cases
Nos. II-6012 and II-6018. The Court sentences accused Manolito
Oyanib y Mendoza to two (2) years and four (4) months of
destierro.36 He shall not be permitted to enter Iligan City, nor
within a radius of one hundred (100) kilometers from Iligan city.37

We find the appeal meritorious.

SO ORDERED.

At the outset, accused admitted killing his wife and her paramour.
He invoked Article 247 of the Revised Penal Code as an
absolutory and an exempting cause. "An absolutory cause is
present 'where the act committed is a crime but for reasons of
public policy and sentiment there is no penalty imposed."'32
Having admitted the killing, it is incumbent upon accused to
prove the exempting circumstances to the satisfaction of the
court in order to be relieved of any criminal liability. Article 247 of
the Revised Penal Code prescribes the following essential
elements for such a defense: (1) that a legally married person
surprises his spouse in the act of committing sexual intercourse
with another person; (2) that he kills any of them or both of them
in the act or immediately thereafter; and (3) that he has not
promoted or facilitated the prostitution of his wife (or daughter) or
that he or she has not consented to the infidelity of the other
spouse.33 Accused must prove these elements by clear and
convincing evidence, otherwise his defense would be untenable.
"The death caused must be the proximate result of the outrage
overwhelming the accused after chancing upon his spouse in the
act of infidelity. Simply put, the killing by the husband of his wife
must concur with her flagrant adultery."34
There is no question that the first element is present in the case
at bar. The crucial fact that accused must convincingly prove to
the court is that he killed his wife and her paramour in the act of
sexual intercourse or immediately thereafter.
After an assiduous analysis of the evidence presented and the
testimonies of the witnesses, we find accused to have acted
within the circumstances contemplated in Article 247 of the
Revised Penal Code. Admittedly, accused-appellant surprised his
wife and her lover in the act of sexual intercourse.
To the mind of the court, what actually happened was that
accused chanced upon Jesus at the place of his wife. He saw his
wife and Jesus in the act of having sexual intercourse. Blinded by
jealousy and outrage, accused stabbed Jesus who fought off and
kicked the accused. He vented his anger on his wife when she
reacted, not in defense of him, but in support of Jesus. Hence, he
stabbed his wife as well several times. Accused Manolito Oyanib
y Mendoza surrendered to the police when a call for him to
surrender was made.
The law imposes very stringent requirements before affording the
offended spouse the opportunity to avail himself of Article 247,
Revised Penal Code. As the Court put it in People v. Wagas:35
"The vindication of a Man's honor is justified because of
the scandal an unfaithful wife creates; the law is strict on
this, authorizing as it does, a man to chastise her, even
with death. But killing the errant spouse as a purification
is so severe as that it can only be justified when the
unfaithful spouse is caught in flagrante delicto; and it
must be resorted to only with great caution so much so
that the law requires that it be inflicted only during the
sexual intercourse or immediately thereafter."

Costs de oficio.

Tanduay bottle and hit Manolita with it in the head. Tital then
stabbed Manolito in the arm with the broken Tanduay bottle. This
angered Manolito and he stabbed Tita as well.
?
Thereupon, Edgardo, owner of the house where Tita was
staying entered the room. Manolito hid but later gave himself up.
?
He was found guilty of homicide and parricide and was
sentenced to an indeterminate penalty of 6 month, 1 day to 6 yrs
of prision correccional as minimum to 6 yrs 1 day to 8 yrs of
prision mayor as maximum and to pay P50K civil indemnity and
costs for the death of Jesus and to reclusion perpetua, to pay
P50K and costs for the death of his wife Tita.
?
He appealed, admitting the killings but arguing that he
killed them both under the exceptional circumstance provided in
A247 RPC
ISSUE: WON HES ENTITLED TO THE EXCEPTIONAL
PRIVILEGE UNDER RPC ART. 247

HELD:
?
YES. He invoked Art. 247, RPC as an absolutory and an
exempting cause. An absolutory cause is present where the act
committed is a crime but for reasons of public policy and
sentiment there is no penalty imposed.
?
Having admitted the killing, it is inucumbent upon
accused to prove the exempting circumstanbces to the
satisfaction of the court in order to be relived of any criminal
liability.
?
RPC A247 prescribes the ff essential elements for such
defense:

PEOPLE VS. OYANIB

o
That a legally married person surprises his spouse in the
act of committing sexual intercourse with another person;

FACTS:

o
That he kills any of them or both of them in the act or
immediately thereafter; and

?
Manolito Oyanib & Tita Oyanib were legally married.
Years thereafter they separated. Tita had affairs w/ other men.
Manolito reminded her that they were still legally married, but Tita
still continued with her affairs.

o
That he has not promoted or facilitated the prostitution of
his wife (or daughter) or that he or she has not consented to the
infidelity of the other spouse.

?
One day, Manolito came to see Tita to inform her of a
meeting w/ their sons school regarding their sons failed subject.
He then came upon Tita and his paramour, Jesus Esquierdo,
having sex w/ the latter on top of the other w/ his pants down to
his knees.
?
Upon seeing him, Jesus kicked Manolito in the check and
Manolito immediately stabbed Jesus. Tita left the room, got a

?
Accused must prove these elements by clear and
convincing evidence, otherwise, his defense would be untenable.
?
The death caused must be the proximate result of the
outrage overwhelming the accused after chancing upon his
spouse in the act of infideltity. Simply put, the killing of the
husband of his ide must concur with her flagrant adultery

?
The Court finds the accused to have acted within the
circumstances contempleated in Art. 247, RPC
?
The law imposes very stringent requirements before
affording offended spouse the opportunity to avail himself of RPC
A247.
?
The vindication of a Mans honor is justified because of
the scandal an unfaithful wife creates; the law is strict on this,
authorizing as it does, a man to chastise her, even with death.
But killing the errant spouse as a purification is so sever that it

can only be justified when the unfaithful spouse is caught in

flagrante delicto, & it must be resorted to only w/ great caution so
much so that the law requires that it be inflicted only during the
sexual intercourse or immediately thereafter (People v. Wagas)
?
Court thus sentenced Manolito to 2 yrs & 4 mos of
destierro and shall not be permitted to enter or be w/in a 100 km
radius from Iligan City.