No.

L-3246
November 29, 1950

The People of the Philippines, plaintiff and appellee

Vs.
Abelardo Formigones, defendant and appellant

ISSUE
Formigones is an imbecile and therefore exempted from criminal liability under Article 12 of the
RPC.

Appeal from judgement of the Court of First Instance. (Alberto is guilty of parricide)

RULING
Appellant (Formigones) guilty of parricide and SC affirms the judgement of lower court with the
modification that Formigones will be credited with one-half of any preventive imprisonment he
has undergone reduced penalty from reclusion perpetua to death. Appellant will pay cost.

FACTS
- Nov. 1946, Alberto Formigones (appellant) with his wife, Julia Agricola, and five children
moved to live in the house of this half-brother, Zacarias Formigones.
- Formigones moves his family to Sipocot, to find employment as harvester of palay.
- Dec. 28, 1946, late afternoon, took his bolo and stabbed his wife Julia in the back wife
died.
- The wife fell in the stairs where she was sitting before she was stabbed.
- Alberto Fomigones carried his wife up the house and laid her on the living room floor and
lay down beside her. (This is how people found them)
- Irene Formigones, witness the stabbing and shouted for help.
- Alberto signed a written statement wherein he admitted of killing his wife (during
constabulary investigation).
- Albertos motive for killing his wife was due to jealousy. Alberto suspected his wife and
brother (Zacarias) are having an affair.
- Zacarias was living in hes grandmother but he frequently visits Alberto and his family.
Zacarias would also spend the night there. This aroused the suspicions of Alberto.
- Preliminary investigation conducted by justice of peace of Sipocot, Alberto pleaded guilty.
- Trial case in the court of first instance, Alberto entered a plea of not guilty.
o Counsel of Alberto presented a testimony of two jail guard that Alberto behaved
like an insane person he removes his clothes and goes naked in the prison;
sometimes he would remain silent and indifferent in his surroundings; he refuses
to take a bath and wash his clothes until forced by the guards; he would sing with
his fellow prisoners or alone.
 o Dr. Francisco Gomez, examined Alberto and in his opinion, Alberto is suffering
from feeblemindedness and is not an imbecile and that he knows what is right and
wrong.
o Trial court rejected that Alberto is an imbecile and is excepted from criminal
liability under Article 12 of the RPC.
o Trial courts ruling the same as the lower court.

- Article 12 of RPC to be excepted from criminal liability, Alberto must be deprived

completely of reason or discernment and freedom of the will when he committed the
crime. Imbecility or insanity at the time of the commission of act should be absolutely
deprived as a person of intelligence or freedom of will. Mere abnormality of his mental
faculties is not excepted.
- Deaf-mute does not equal to imbecility or insanity.
- Allegation of insanity or imbecility must be clearly proven.
- Strange behavior of Alberto is attributed to him being feebleminded or his remorse for
having killed his wife.
- A man who could feel the pangs of jealousy and take violent measures of killing his wife,
whom her suspected of being unfaithful, could hardly be regarded as an imbecile.
- However, the court sympathizes Alberto for being feebleminded (lack of mental powers).
- Paragraph 2, rule 3 of Article 63 of RPC provides that when the commission to act is
attended by some mitigating circumstances, the lesser penalty shall be applied.
- Mitigating circumstances
o The fact that Alberto is feebleminded warrants the finding in his favor of the
mitigating circumstances provided in either paragraph 8 or 9 of article 13 of RPC.
- suffering some physical defect which thus restricts his means of action, defense
or communication with his fellow being, or such illness as would diminish the
exercise of his will power
o additional mitigating circumstance, paragraph 6 or article 13 that of having
acted upon an impulse so powerful as naturally to have produced passion or
obfuscation. Alberto killed his wife due to jealousy.