Requisites of self-defense
Self-defense is a
time-worn excuse resorted to by
assailants in criminal cases.[1] The Supreme Court held in a host of
instances that for self-defense to prosper, the following requisites must be
met:
(1) unlawful aggression on the part of the victim;
(1) unlawful aggression on the part of the victim;
(2) reasonable necessity of the means employed to prevent or repel the attack;
and
(3) lack of sufficient provocation on the part of the person engaged in
self-defense.[2]
[1] People vs. Maalat, 341 Phil. 200 (1997).
[2] People vs. Angeles, G.R. No. 109660, 01 July 1997, 275 SCRA 19;
People vs. Maalat, 341 Phil. 200 (1997); People vs. Unarce, 339 Phil. 826
(1997); 337 Phil. 430 (1997); People vs. Nalangan, 336 Phil. 970 (1997);
People vs. Tobias, 334 Phil. 851 (1997); People vs. Cahindo, 334 Phil. 507
(1997); and People v. Supremo, G.R. No. 100915, 31 May 1995.