People v Jaurigue (C.A. No. 384; February 21.

1946)

Facts:
 Avelina Jaurigue and Nicolas Jaurigue, her father, were prosecuted for the crime
of murder for which Nicolas was acquitted while Avelina was found guilty of
homicide. She appealed to the Court of Appeals for Southern Luzon on June 10,
1944 to completely absolve her of all criminal responsibility for having acted in
defense of her honor, to find in her favour additional mitigating circumstances
and omit aggravating circumstance.
 At about 8:00 PM of September 20, 1942, Amado Capina, deceased victim, went
to the chapel of Seventh Day Adventists to attend religious services and sat at the
front bench facing the altar. Avelina Jaurigue entered the chapel shortly after the
arrival of her father for the same purpose and sat on the bench next to the last one
nearest the door. Upon seeing Avelina, Amado went and sat by Avelina’s right
side from his seat on the other side of the chapel, and without saying a word,
placed his hand on the upper part of her right thigh.
 Avelina Jaurigue, therafter, pulled out with her right hand the fan knife which she
had in a pocket of her dress with the intention of punishing Amado’s offending
hand. Amado seized her right hand but she quickly grabbed the knife on her left
hand and stabbed Amado once at the base of the left side of the neck inflicting
upon him a wound about 4 ½ inches deep, which is mortal.
 Nicolas saw Capina bleeding and staggering towards the altar, and upon seeing
his daughter approached her and asked her the reason for her action to which
Avelina replied, “Father, I could not endure anymore”.
 Amado Capina died a few minutes after. Barrio lieutenant, Casimiro Lozada was
there and Avelina surrendered herself. Lozada advised the Jaurigues to go home
immediately for fear of retaliation of Capina’s relatives.

EVENTS PRIOR:
 One month before that fatal night, Amado Capina snatched Avelina’s
handkerchief bearing her nickname while it was washed by her cousin, Josefa
Tapay.
 7 days prior to incident (September 13, 1942), Amado approached her and
professed his love for her which was refused, and thereupon suddenly embraced
and kissed her and touched her breasts. She then slapped him, gave him fist blows
and kicked him. She informed her matter about it and since then, she armed
herself with a long fan knife whenever she went out.
 2 days after (September 15, 1942), Amado climbed up the house of Avelina and
entered the room where she was sleeping. She felt her forehead and she
immediately screamed for help which awakened her parents and brought them to
her side. Amado came out from where he had hidden and kissed the hand of
Avelina’s father, Nicolas.
 Avelina received information in the morning and again at 5:00 PM on the day of
the incident (September 20, 1942) that Amado had been falsely boasting in the
neighbourhood of having taken liberties with her person. In the evening, Amado
had been courting the latter in vain.
ISSUES:
 Whether or not the defendant should be completely absolved of all criminal
responsibility because she is justified in having acted in the legitimate defense of
her honor.

HELD:
 Conviction of defendant is sustained and cannot be declared completely exempt
from criminal liability. To be entitled to a complete self-defense of honor, there
must be an attempt to rape. To provide for a justifying circumstance of self-
defense, there must be a) Unlawful aggression, b) Reasonable necessity of the
means employed to prevent or repel it, c) Lack of sufficient provocation on the
part of the person defending himself. Attempt to rape is an unlawful aggression.
However, under the circumstances of the offense, there was no possibility of the
defendant to be raped as they were inside the chapel lighted with electric lights
and contained several people. Thrusting at the base of Capino’s neck as her means
to repel aggression is not reasonable but is instead, excessive.
 Mitigating circumstances are considered in her favour. Circumstances include her
voluntary and unconditional surrender to the barrio lieutenant, provocation from
the deceased which produced temporary loss of reason and self-control of the
defendant and lack of intent to kill the deceased evidenced by infliction of only
one single wound.
 Penalty: For homicide, penalty is reclusion temporal. However, with 3 mitigating
circumstances and no aggravating circumstance, it is reduced by two degrees, in
this case, prision correccional. Indeterminate Sentence Law provides the penalty
ranging from arresto mayor in its medium degree to prision correccional in its
medium degree.
 Avelina is sentenced to 2mos and 1 day of arresto mayor as minimum to 2 years,
4 months, and 1 day of prision correccional as maximum; to indemnify heirs of
Capina in the sum of 2,000; with corresponding subsidiary imprisonment not to
exceed 1/3 of principal penalty and to pay costs. She is given the benefit of ½ of
her preventive imprisonment