G.R. No. L-5363 and 5364 May 27, 1953
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. DAWAN LUCAS, defendant-appellant.

FACTS

On December 26, 1946, at around 10:30 a.m., Baguilan Impol and Ali Baguilan were walking near the provincial building in Cotabato when the appellant, Daiwan Lucas, shot them with a pistol, causing both to fall. This was witnessed by Onsing Mangalem. Salik Hadji Abubakar, son-in-law of Baguilan Impol, arrived and found his father-in-law wounded. As Abubakar tried to lift him, appellant’s father, Moro Lucas, attempted to strike Abubakar with an iron bar but hit Baguilan Impol instead. Abubakar then stabbed Moro Lucas repeatedly, resulting in Moro Lucas’s death. Both shooting victims were taken to the hospital where they later died from their gunshot wounds. The appellant admitted to the shootings but claimed he acted in defense of his father, alleging he saw the victims stabbing his father. The prosecution presented eyewitness testimony and a dying declaration from Ali Baguilan. The trial court convicted the appellant of two separate murders and sentenced him to 20 years of reclusion temporal for each.

ISSUE

Whether the appellant’s claim of defense of his father is valid to justify or mitigate his criminal liability for the two killings.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction but modified the penalty. The appellant’s claim of defense of his father was not established by convincing proof and was overcome by the positive incriminating testimony of eyewitnesses, including Onsing Mangalem and Salik Hadji Abubakar, and the dying declaration of Ali Baguilan. The evidence showed the victims were shot while walking and were not attacking the appellant’s father. The court found the appellant’s flight and concealment indicative of guilt. As no modifying circumstances were proved, the proper penalty for each murder is reclusion perpetua. The appealed judgment was affirmed with the modification that the appellant is sentenced to reclusion perpetua for each murder.