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Mitigating Case Digest
Mitigating Case Digest
vs.
MARCELINO OLOVERIO, Accused-appellant.
Oloverio was arraigned on January 25, 2005, where he pleaded not guilty. Trial on the
merits ensued.
4
According to the prosecution, on October 2, 2003, at around 3:00 p.m., Rudipico Pogay
(Pogay) and Dominador Panday (Panday) saw Rodulfo Gulane walking about five (5)
meters away from them with Oloverio trailing behind him. Oloverio allegedly tapped
Gulanes right shoulder and hacked him on the chest and extremities with a bolo until
Gulane collapsed on the ground. Oloverio then allegedly took Gulanes money from his
pocket.
5
Pogay heard Oloverio shouting the words, "Patay na ang datu sa Brgy. San Pablo!" ("The
rich man in San Pablo is already dead!") Gulane managed to tell Oloverio, "Man luba ka
man, Ling?" ("Ling, why did you stab me?") After, Gulane died. Panday proceeded to inform
Gulanes family of the incident.
6
In his defense, Oloverio alleged that at the time and day of the incident, Gulane had been
accusing him of having an incestuous relationship with his mother. He allegedly kept his
cool and told Gulane to go home, but the latter continued to mock him by asking in a loud
voice, "How many times did you have sexual intercourse with your mother?" He allegedly
asked Gulane to go home again but the latter angrily replied, "Who are you to tell me to go
home?"
7
Gulane allegedly attempted to draw his bolo but Oloverio stopped him by drawing his
own bolo. They grappled with it, and eventually, Oloverio ended up stabbing Gulane, which
resulted in the latters death. Accompanied by a barangay tanod, Oloverio went to the
municipal hall to surrender to the authorities. He admitted that he stabbed Gulane because
he could no longer bear the insulting remarks against him.
8
Romulo Lamoste (Lamoste), then Barangay Captain of Barangay Belen, Palompon, Leyte,
alleged that Gulane and Oloverio had an altercation before the incident. He alleged that
Oloverios daughter had once confided to Oloverio that Gulane wanted to touch her private
parts. About a month later, he allegedly heard Gulane ask Oloverio "in a joking manner
about his incestuous relationship with his mother." Oloverio allegedly got mad and they
ended up fighting, but Lamoste was able to subdue them. He, however, admitted that he
was not present during the incident.
9
10
On January 29, 2010, Branch 17 of the Regional Trial Court of Palompon, Leyte rendered
its Decision finding Oloverio guilty beyond reasonable doubt of murder.
11
To be able to successfully plead the mitigating circumstance of passion and obfuscation, the
accused must be able to prove the following elements:
1. that there be an act, both unlawful and sufficient to produce such condition of mind; and
2. that said act which produced the obfuscation was not far removed from the commission
of the crime by a considerable length of time, during which the perpetrator might recover his
normal equanimity.
To appreciate passion and obfuscation as a mitigating circumstance, the facts must be
examined on a case-to-case basis.
In People v. Mojica, Aurelio Mojica was accused of murder for stabbing Diosdado Tormon
to death. He attempted to mitigate his liability by alleging that the victim humiliated him a
month before the incident. The trial court convicted him of murder without appreciating the
mitigating circumstance of passion and obfuscation.
46
However, a fight between the accused and the victim prior to the crime is not always
enough to be able to successfully prove that passion and obfuscation attended it.
The circumstances of both victim and accused-appellant were also not taken into account
by the trial court and the Court of Appeals.
Accused-appellant referred to Gulane as the "datu" or rich man of Barangay San Pablo.
Gulane enjoyed an economic ascendancy over accused-appellant, a mere barangay tanod.
Gulane not only threatened to molest accused-appellants daughter but also accused him in
public of having incestuous relations with his mother. Gulane was said to have insulted
accused-appelant in full view of his immediate superior, the barangay captain.
Both victim and accused-appellant lived in the small locality of Palompon, Leyte. As with
any small town, it was a place where a persons degrading remarks against another could
be made the measure of the latters character. Gulanes insults would have been taken into
serious consideration by the towns residents because of his wealth and stature in the
community.
There was neither a reason given why Gulane acted that way towards accused-appellant
nor any evidence to show that accused-appellant had previously wronged him.
The prosecution did not deny that Gulane insulted accused-appellant on various occasions.
The witnesses could not state with reasonable certainty that Gulane did not provoke
accused-appellant a few minutes before the incident; they could only testify to the incident
itself and the seconds which preceded it.
In view of these considerations, we find that the mitigating circumstance of passion and
obfuscation is present in this case.