TOPIC: Article 246 of the RPC - PARRICIDE

(6) People VS. Ayuman

G.R. No. 133436 April 14, 2004

FACTS:
The case is on automatic review based on the decision of the RTC, imposing death penalty for finding the accused guilty
of parricide.
The accused maltreated his 5-year old son Ray, hitting him on the head and abdomen, even slapping him and tying him
to the bed. After being beaten up by his father, Ray felt nauseated and vomited blood, prompting his mother Ermita to
rush him to the hospital, where Ray was declared dead on arrival.

When interviewed at the hospital and by the police, Ermita positively pointed at the accused, her husband as the culprit.
This was later on included in her sworn statement. But, upon arraignment, she executed an affidavit retracting what she
said and even testified for her husband. The accused denied killing his son, stating that Ermita told him that the Ray died
because an unidentified person slapped and kicked him at the Cogon market. Desperate, accused even said that the
prosecution failed to prove that he is the father of the victim.

ISSUE:
Whether or not the accused is guilty of parricide.

RULING:
Yes, the accused is guilty of parricide.

Article 246 of the RPC penalizes parricide, and the elements of the crime are: (1) a person is killed; (2) the deceased is
killed by the accused; and (3) the deceased is the father, mother or child, whether legitimate or illegitimate, of the
accused or any of his ascendants or descendants, or his spouse. The key element here is the relationship of the offender
with the victim.

All the above elements were sufficiently proven by the prosecution, specifically on the basis of circumstantial evidence.
The accused-appellant testified that he disciplined the victim through “military approach”, inflicting serious corporal
punishment on him. At the hospital, Ermita admitted to the nurse that Ray was mauled by his father, which was then
entered into the emergency room record. The same admission was given by Ermita to the police and a newspaper
reporter.

During the interment, Ermita shouted, "Dong, forgive your father." On account that the victim was slapped and kicked
by an unidentified person at the Cogon market, contrary to a father's natural reaction, accused-appellant failed to take
any action to defend a loved one or report the incident to the police. He was not even present during the wake and
burial of his own son, conduct so unnatural for a father like him.

While the prosecution failed to present to the trial court the victim's Certificate of Live Birth, however, both appellant
and his wife Ermita admitted during the hearing that the victim is their son. In People vs. Malabago, we ruled that oral
evidence of the fact of filial relationship maybe considered.

Therefore, the assailed decision is affirmed with modification. Accused-appellant is sentenced to suffer the penalty of
RECLUSION PERPETUA.