CASE NO. 20 : People v.

Decena

PLAINTIFF-APPELLE  DEFENDANT-APPELLANT 
   
People  Decena 

 
FACTS:  
 
Decena was convicted guilty of murder for stabbing Jaime Ballesteros. Two 
stories were demonstrated in the testimonies of both camps. The case was 
anchored mainly on the testimony of Luzviminda Ballesteros, daughter of the 
victim who alleged that she saw her father killed by a stab at the chest by the 
Decena. 
 
The defense however argued that Jaime, while respondent was watching 
basketball, held Decena by the neck while poking a fork against him and that it 
was Jaime who followed him after the fact and attacked him again. Appellant 
invokes self-defense. 

ISSUE: ​Whether or not appellant acted in self-defense. 

 

 
RULING of the lower Courts: 
 

RULING of the Supreme Court: 

 
Appealed judgment of the court is MODIFIED by finding accused-appellant 
guilty of the crime of homicide. 
 
In criminal cases, the burden of proof is on the prosecution which must rely on 
the strength of its evidence and not the weakness of the defense. With the 
invocation of self-defense as a justifying circumstance, the burden shifts to the 
accused. With the inconsistencies in the defense's testimonies, the courts 
determined the balance of probabilities who of the participants in such a fight 
had, in the natural order of things, the reason to commence the aggression. 
According to the court, the incident prior to the stabbing, appellant must have 
had the strong desire to get even with the deceased that eventually resulted to 
the crime. 

Additional notes