FACTS
That on or about May 8, 1988, in the City of Iligan, Philippines, the said accused, having conceived a deliberate intent to kill his wife Janita Sapio Talisic, did then and there willfully, unlawfully and feloniously and with evident premeditation, attack, assault, stab and wound his wife, resulting to death of Janita Sapio Talisic.
The accused-appellant admits having killed his wife but insists that he did so only after surprising her in the very act of sexual intercourse with another man. However, he fails to substantiate the stringent elements required by law to absolve him of criminal responsibility. His defense appears no more than an amalgam of confusion, contradiction, and concoction.
ISSUE
Does the the totality of the evidence presented before the trial court justify the application of Article 247 of the Revised Penal Code?
RULING
No. The appeal of the accused is Denied, and the Decision of the trial court convicting Jimmy Talisic y Villamor of parricide is hereby AFFIRMED. The foregoing demonstrate that Article 247 of the Revised Penal Code is inapplicable to this case because appellant failed to prove the essential requisite of having caught his wife and her alleged paramour in flagrante delicto.
The vindication of a man’s honor is justified because of the scandal an unfaithful wife creates; the law is strict on this, authorizing as it does, a man to chastise her, even with death. But killing the errant spouse as a purification is so severe that it can only be justified when the unfaithful spouse is caught in flagrante delicto; and it must be resorted to only with great caution so much so that the law requires that it be inflicted only during the sexual intercourse or immediately thereafter.
Art. 247. Death or physical injuries inflicted under exceptional circumstances. Any legally married person who, having surprised his spouse in the act of committing sexual intercourse with another person, shall kill any of them or both of them in the act or immediately thereafter, or shall inflict upon them any serious physical injury, shall suffer the penalty of destierro.
