G.R. No.

L-28129 October 31, 1969

ELIAS VALCORZA, petitioner,

vs.
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, respondent.

RULING
The petitioner is acquitted.

ART. 11. Justifying circumstances. - The following do not incur any criminal liability
Paragraph 5. Any person who acts in the fulfillment of a duty or in the lawful
exercise of a right or office.

The facts and circumstances constrain us to hold that the act thus performed by petitioner,
which unfortunately resulted in the death of the escaping detainee, was committed in the
performance of his official duty and was more or less necessary to prevent the escaping
prisoner from successfully eluding the officers of the law. To hold him guilty of homicide
may have the effect of demoralizing police officers discharging official functions
identical or similar to those in the performance of which petitioner was engaged at the
time he fired at the deceased Pimentel, with the result that thereafter We would have half-
hearted and dispirited efforts on their part to comply with such official duty. This of
course, would be to the great detriment of public interest.

FACTS:
The deceased, Roberto Pimentel was a detention prisoner who escaped. While in search
for the escaped prisoner, Sgt. Daiton saw a person approaching slowly under the bridge
and he ordered him to halt. The latter instead of doing so, jumped down into the creek
spanned by the bridge. Roberto Pimentel emerged suddenly from the bushes and lunged
at the appellant Valcorza, hitting him with a stone and causing him to fall to the ground.
Appellant Valcorza regained his composure and immediately chased the deceased, as the
deceased did not heed his order to stop, appellant fired four times into the air, and a fifth
shot at Pimentel as the latter was in an act of again jumping down into another part of the
creek. The members of the patrol team went down into the water to locate Pimentel and
they saw him floating, with a wound on his back. Elias Valcorza surrendered himself and
his firearm to the Chief of Police

ISSUE:
Whether or not peace officer Valcorza was justified in shooting the deceased