VALID CLAIM OF SELF-DEFENSE

Dear PAO,

My brother and our neighbor have not been in good terms for about a year now. They frequently quarrel
when they see each other. One day, our neighbor barged into our house and tried to punch him, so my
brother was forced to push him back. As a result, our neighbor tripped over and injured his arms.
Because of this, he filed a case of physical injury against my brother. May I know if my brother has a
defense under the circumstances?

Tina

Dear Tina,

Your brother may invoke self-defense to justify his actions. Article 11 of the Revised Penal Code
authorizes a person to act in defense of his person or rights. It states:

Justifying circumstances. The following do not incur any criminal liability:

1. Anyone who acts in defense of his person or rights, provided that the following circumstances concur;

First. Unlawful aggression.

Second. Reasonable necessity of the means employed to prevent or repel it.

Third. Lack of sufficient provocation on the part of the person defending himself. xxx

Such self-defense is not limited to cases where a person acts to defend himself against harm. The
provision also allows a person to act in defense of his rights, including property rights. However, this
does not mean that a person can take the law into his hands. In order to claim complete self-defense,
the person depending himself must show compliance with the requirements set by law.

First, there must be unlawful aggression on the part of the alleged victim. The test for the presence of
unlawful aggression under the circumstances is whether the aggression from the victim put in real peril
the life or personal safety of the person defending himself; the peril must not be an imagined or
imaginary threat (People vs. Dulin,G.R. No. 171284, June 29, 2015, Ponente: Honorable Associate Justice
Lucas P. Bersamin). Second, the means employed to prevent or repel the attack must be reasonably
necessary. This means that the force used by the person defending himself must be commensurate to
the force used by his attacker. If his resistance is disproportionate to the attack/aggression, then he
becomes criminally liable (People vs. Narvaez,G.R. Nos. L-33466-67 April 20, 1983, Ponente: Honorable
former Chief JusticeFelix V. Makasiar). Finally, there must be a lack of sufficient provocation on the part
of the defending person, which means the defending party must not have incited the aggressor to attack
him.

In the case of your brother, it appears to us that all the elements of self-defense are present. First, the
act of your neighbor, that is, barging into your house and trying to inflict harm on your brother, clearly
constitutes unlawful aggression absent any clear and valid reason to do so. Second, the act of pushing
away a person who barged into ones house uninvited and who even tried to inflict harm could arguably
be considered reasonable under the circumstances. Lastly, there appears to be no provocation on the
part of your brother based on your narration. As such, we believe that he may validly claim self-defense
in the physical injury case that your neighbor filed against him.