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Rogelio Soplente vs. People of the Philippines.

ROGELIO SOPLENTE, Petitioner, versus PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Respondent.

G.R. No. 152715 | 2005-07-29

SECOND DIVISION

D E C I S I O N 

Tinga, J.: 

Self-preservation is the first law of nature. 
- Samuel Butler 

A person acting in self-defense is apt to unleash with lightning speed the terrible swift sword. It is perhaps the speed with which the relevant actions transpire that poses some difficulty in the adjudication of many self-defense claims. The events in this case involve several actors and a series of assaults, all occurring within the span of several blinks of the eye. The totality of the picture convinces us that the accused was enmeshed in a web of danger which convulsed him into a reasonable fear for his life....