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Ernesto Puno killed his neighbor Francisca Col by repeatedly striking her with a hammer. He had a history of schizophrenia but psychiatrists testified he was not legally insane at the time. The court convicted him of murder, finding abuse of superiority as Puno took advantage of his strength over the elderly, unarmed woman. While dwelling and disregard of age were aggravating, evident premeditation could not be proven. Puno's mental illness and surrender to authorities were mitigating factors. The court reduced the penalty from death to life imprisonment.
Ernesto Puno killed his neighbor Francisca Col by repeatedly striking her with a hammer. He had a history of schizophrenia but psychiatrists testified he was not legally insane at the time. The court convicted him of murder, finding abuse of superiority as Puno took advantage of his strength over the elderly, unarmed woman. While dwelling and disregard of age were aggravating, evident premeditation could not be proven. Puno's mental illness and surrender to authorities were mitigating factors. The court reduced the penalty from death to life imprisonment.
Ernesto Puno killed his neighbor Francisca Col by repeatedly striking her with a hammer. He had a history of schizophrenia but psychiatrists testified he was not legally insane at the time. The court convicted him of murder, finding abuse of superiority as Puno took advantage of his strength over the elderly, unarmed woman. While dwelling and disregard of age were aggravating, evident premeditation could not be proven. Puno's mental illness and surrender to authorities were mitigating factors. The court reduced the penalty from death to life imprisonment.
People v Puno committed the killing and that Puno could
distinguish between right and wrong.
Insanity and Imbecility | G.R. No. L-33211 | June 29, c. That Puno was not suffering from any 1981 | Aquino, J. | Agustin, A. delusion and that he was not mentally deficient; otherwise, he would not have FACTS: reached third year high school. 5. The trial court convicted Puno of Murder and 1. Ernesto Puno, 28yo, has been an out-patient of sentenced him to death. the National Mental Hospital and had undergone a. The court concluded that Puno was sane psychiatric treatments for schizophrenia since or knew that the killing of Francisca Col 1962. Although he recovered, he had a relapse of was wrong and that he would be the same mental illness and remained punished for it, as shown by the threats unimproved until 1966. which he made to Hilaria de la Cruz and a. He continued treatment at JRR Memorial Lina Pajes, the old woman's companions Hospital until July 1970 after which he who witnessed his dastardly deed. was relieved of his symptoms and did not b. It added that if Puno was a homicidal come back to the hospital for maniac who had gone berserk, he would medications. Doctors later testified that have killed also Hilaria and Lina. The fact he was quiet and usually manageable and that he singled out Aling Kikay signified was fairly clean in person and without that he really disposed of her because he undue display or emotion. thought that she was a witch. 2. In the afternoon of September 8, 1970, he entered bedroom in the house of Francisca Col, ISSUES: a.k.a. Aling Kikay,72 yo, and insulted her with words like “mangkukulam, mambabarang, Did the trial court err in convicting the accused of mambubuyog”, then repeatedly slapped her and murder with qualifying circumstance of abuse of struck her several times on the head with a superiority, evident premeditation, dwelling and hammer until she died. disregard of sex. a. That time, one Hilaria dela Cruz was in the bedroom with the old woman and RULING: another tenant named Lina Pajes was in the adjoining room. 1. The trial court correctly characterized the killing 3. After the killing, Puno warned and threatened the as murder. said two tenants against going to the police. Then a. The qualifying circumstance is abuse of Puno fled and subsequently went to his second superiority. cousin’s house in Bulacan. He later on b. In liquidating Francisca Col, Puno, who surrendered to the police but was shortly sent to was armed with a hammer, took the National Mental Hospital. advantage of his superior natural strength 4. During trial, the defense interposed the over that of the unarmed septuagenarian exempting circumstance of insanity and presented female victim who was unable to offer three psychiatrists. However, instead of proving any resistance and who could do nothing that Puno was insane when he killed Aling Kikay, but exclaim " Diyos ko ". the medical experts testified that Puno acted with 2. Thus, it was held that "an attack made by a man discernment. with a deadly weapon upon an unarmed and a. Their testimonies included statements defenseless woman constitutes the circumstance that Puno was an out-patient who could of abuse of that superiority which qqqs sex and very well live with society, although he the weapon used in the act afforded him, and was afflicted with "schizophrenic from which the woman was unable to defend reaction"; herself" (People vs. Guzman, 107 Phil. 1122, 1127 b. that Puno knew what he was doing and citing U.S. vs. Consuelo, 13 Phil. 612; U.S. vs. that he had psychosis, a slight destruction Camiloy 36 Phil. 757 and People vs. Quesada, 62 of the ego. Also, they said that suffering Phil. 446). from "schizophrenic reaction", his 3. Evident premeditation cannot be appreciated symptoms were "not socially because the evidence does not show (a) the time incapacitating" and that he could adjust when the offender determined to commit the himself to his environment and that Puno crime, (b) an act manifestly indicating that the acted with discernment when he culprit had clung to his determination and (c) a sufficient interval of time between the determination and the execution of the crime to allow him to reflect upon the consequences of his act (People vs. Ablates, L-33304, July 31, 1974, 58 SCRA 241, 247). 4. Dwelling and disregard of the respect due to the victim on account of her old age should be appreciated as generic aggravating circumstances. a. Disregard of sex is not aggravating because there is no evidence that the accused deliberately intended to offend or insult the sex of the victim or showed manifest disrespect to her womanhood (People vs. Mangsant, 65 Phil. 548; People vs. Mori, L-23511-2, January 31, 1974, 55 SCRA 382, 404, People vs, Jaula, 90 Phil. 379; U.S. vs. De Jesus, 14 Phil. 190). b. However, those two aggravating circumstances are off-set by the mitigating circumstances of voluntary surrender to the authorities and, as contended by counsel de oficio, the offender's mental illness (mild psychosis or schizophrenic reaction) which diminished his will-power without however depriving him of consciousness of his acts. (See People vs. Francisco, 78 Phil. 694, People vs. Amit, 82 Phil. 820 and People vs. Formigones, 87 Phil. 658.) 5. It results that the medium period of the penalty for murder should be imposed (Arts. 64[41 and 248, Revised Penal Code). 6. WHEREFORE, the death penalty is set aside. The accused is sentenced to reclusion perpetua The indemnity imposed by the trial court is affirmed. Costs de oficio.