THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, PLAINTIFF AND APPELLEE, VS. MARCELO TURNO, DEFENDANT AND APPELLANT.

Appellant was convicted by the Court of
First Instance of Leyte of the crime of murder, and sentenced to suffer
seventeen years, four months and reclusion temporal, with the
accessory penalties prescribed by law, to indemnify the heirs of the
deceased in the sum of P1,000, and to pay the costs.

This appeal only raises questions of fact. Appellant admits having
caused the death of Mauricio Laus, but claims that he acted in
self-defense. The evidence for the prosecution clearly shows that the
deceased Mauricio Laus was suddenly and without any warning stabbed by
the appellant with a bolo. On the other hand, the defense tried to show
that it was Mauricio Laus who first struck appellant with a rattan
cane, and that the latter, in order to defend himself, had to make use
of his bolo.

After carefully examining the evidence presented in this case, we
have come to the conclusion that the trial court did not err in
convicting the appellant. One of the elements of self-defense is
unlawful aggression. That there was no unlawful aggression in this case
is fully established by the ante mortem statement of Mauricio
Laus and by the testimony of Santiago Conig. It is true that appellant
contends that the lower court erred in giving weight to the testimony
of Santiago Conig, but the evidence of record shows that this
contention is without merit.

The facts established by the evidence constitute the crime of murder, which is penalized with reclusion temporal in
its maximum degree to death (article 248 of the Revised Penal Code).
The lower court took into consideration the mitigating circumstance of
lack of education. In the absence of any aggravating circumstance, the
penalty prescribed by law should be imposed in its minimum degree, or
from seventeen years, four months and one day to twenty years of reclusion temporal.
The prison sentence imposed by the lower court of seventeen years, four
months and one day is therefore in accordance with the law. Pursuant,
however, to the provisions of Act No. 4103, the appellant is hereby
sentenced to suffer not less than twelve years of prision mayor and not more than seventeen years, four months and reclusion temporal.

Modified as above indicated, the judgment is affirmed with costs against the appellant. So ordered.

Street, Butte, and Diaz, JJ., concur.

I certify that Chief Justice Avancena, participated in
this decision and voted to affirm the judgment with modification as
above stated; that his name does not appear signed hereto for the
reason that he was on leave at the time of the promulgation of the
decision.—STREET, J.