This case has been cited 1 times or more.
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2015-03-23 |
PEREZ, J. |
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| Applying the aforesaid legal precept, Emilio's act of pulling "something" out from his jacket while he was three (3) to four (4) meters away from accused-appellant Antonio cannot amount to unlawful aggression. Neither can the act of pulling "something" out amount to physical force or actual use of weapon, or even threat or intimidating attitude. Even if accused-appellant Antonio's account of the incident is truthful, that Emilio had motive to kill accused-appellant Antonio, giving accused-appellant reasonable grounds to believe that his life and limb was in danger, and that the "something" was indeed a "sumpak", it can hardly be recognized as unlawful aggression to justify self-defense.[17] There is no showing that accused-appellant Antonio's life was in peril by the act of pulling "something" out. As correctly observed by the Court of Appeals, "it must be noted that appellant never said that Emilio aimed or pointed the "sumpak" at him or at least made an attempt to shoot him".[18] The threat on accused-appellant Antonio's life is more imagined than real. As we already held in a catena of cases, the act of pulling "something" out cannot constitute unlawful aggression.[19] | |||||