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People vs. Cawaling [DECISION]

PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. ULYSSES M. CAWALING ERNESTO TUMBAGAHAN, RICARDO DE LOS SANTOS, and HILARIO CAJILO, accused-appellants.

G.R. No. 117970 | 1998-07-28

D E C I S I O N
 
PANGANIBAN, J.:
 
It is axiomatic that once an accused-appellant admits killing the victim, he bears the burden of establishing the presence of any circumstance like self-defense, performance of a lawful duty or, for that matter, double jeopardy, which may relieve him of responsibility, or which may mitigate his criminal liability.[1] If he fails to discharge this burden, his conviction becomes inevitable. In this Decision, we also reiterate the following doctrines: (1) the regional trial court, not the Sandiganbayan, has jurisdiction over informations for murder committed by public officers, including a town...