Facts: After a drinking spree with his friends, Pablito Tambis, armed with two bolos, hacked and beheaded the victim Leonardo Tagsa who had a limp right arm, a crippled right leg and was suffering from a mental disorder. The accused then went around displaying the Tagsa’s severed head in the neighborhood. Tambis voluntarily surrendered the following day and pleaded guilty during the arraignment. The trial court meted death as penalty for the crime of murder and attended by the aggravating circumstance of abuse of superior strength.
Issue: Whether the court should have appreciated the mitigating circumstances of voluntary surrender and plea of guilt.
Held: Resting in a vacant house for the night in the same barrio where the crime was committed was not tantamount to flight. Although he did not surrender on the same day, he spontaneously and voluntarily did so on the following day without waiting for his arrest. He surrendered not only his person but also his weapons. For voluntary surrender to be considered, it is sufficient that it be spontaneous and made in a manner clearly indicating the intent of the accused to surrender unconditionally, either because he acknowledges his guilt or he wishes to save the authorities the time and expenses that will be incurred for his capture. It was established that (1) he had not been actually arrested; (2) he surrendered himself to a person in authority; and (3) his surrender was voluntary.
Plea of guilt should also be considered since this is how he pleaded during the arraignment and admitted killing the victim during cross-examination.
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