PEOPLE V. AGACER
Genesis then reached
GR No. 177751; December 14, 2011
FACTS:
This case involves a man who was killed by his
own relatives. All the appellants were related to
Cesario. Florencio was Cesario’s nephew and
is the father of Franklin while the brothers
Elynor, Eric and Eddie are his nephews.
According to the prosecution, Cesario was a
55-year old farmer and owner of a ricefield
situated in Dungeg, Santa Ana, Cagayan.
On April 2, 1998, at around 9:00 a.m., he was
clearing a section of his farm and preparing the
beddings for the rice seedlings intended for the
coming planting season. Farm laborers
Genesis Delantar, his brother Andy, Rafael
Morgado and brothers Roden and Ric Vallejo
were nearby in a separate section of the same
ricefield harvesting Cesario’s palay.
According to prosecution witnesses Genesis
and Roden, it was at that moment while
Cesario was tending to his farm when
appellants suddenly emerged from a nearby
banana plantation and surrounded Cesario.
Visibly intimidated, Cesario moved backwards
and retreated to where the other farm laborers
were working. However, Franklin set afire the
rice straws that covered Cesario’s rice
seedlings. This prompted Cesario to return to
put out the fire and save his rice seedlings. At
this point, Franklin and Eric started throwing
stones at Cesario which forced the latter to
retreat again. Thereafter, Florencio, while
standing side by side with Eric, signaled
Cesario to come closer. Cesario obliged but
when he was just around five meters away
from the group, Eddie suddenly pulled out a
gun concealed inside a sack and, without
warning, shot Cesario hitting him in the left
portion of his chest.
Almost simultaneously, Elynor took aim at
Cesario with his bow and arrow but missed his
mark. As Cesario fell, appellants fled towards
the irrigation canal, where another gunshot
rang. Thereafter, a short firearm was thrown
from where the appellants ran towards the
direction of Cesario’s fallen body. Appellants
then immediately left the scene of the crime
onboard a hand tractor and a tricycle.
After these events unfolded, Genesis and the
other farm laborers scampered away in
different directions.
Barangay Capanikian and informed Cesario’s
son, Neldison Agacer, of the death of his
father. At around 3:00 p.m., Cesario’s friends in
said barangay went to the scene of the crime
and retrieved his corpse. During the autopsy, a
total of eight entrance wounds were found,
mostly on the chest of Cesario’s cadaver.
According to the Medico-Legal Officer, the fatal
gunshot wounds were inflicted by the use of a
firearm capable of discharging several slugs
simultaneously. On the other hand, the
appellants denied the accusations against
them and claimed that Florencio only acted in
self-defense and in defense of relatives.
Thereafter, the trial court found the
prosecution’s evidence sufficient to prove
appellants’ guilt beyond reasonable doubt of
the crime of murder qualified by treachery. It
held that appellants acted in conspiracy in
inflicting upon Cesario, in a treacherous
manner, multiple gunshot wounds.
However, the trial court did not appreciate
evident premeditation as a qualifying
aggravating circumstance for failure to
establish its elements as clearly as the criminal
act itself. It also did not consider as
aggravating circumstance the use of an
unlicensed firearm since the firearm used in
the killing was not presented in evidence. The
CA affirmed the ruling of the trial court in all
respects.
ISSUE: Whether or not Florencio can invoke
the justifying circumstance of defense of
relatives.
HELD: No, Florencio cannot invoke the
justifying circumstance of defense of relatives.
Florencio also invokes the justifying
circumstance of defense of relatives, which has
three elements, to wit, (1) there was unlawful
aggression on the part of the victim; (2) there
was reasonable necessity of the means
employed to prevent or repel it; and (3) in case
of provocation given by the person being
attacked, the person making defense had no
part therein. Like in the case of self-defense,
unlawful aggression is also an indispensable
element in defense of relative. As discussed,
there is no unlawful aggression on the part of
Cesario. Hence, Florencio’s reliance on this
justifying circumstance is likewise unavailing.