Letter Of Opinion - Ms. Genosa.docx

February 10, 2019 MS. MARIVIC I. GENOSA Barangay Bilwang, Isabel, Leyte Re: Possible defenses against the killing of husband Dear Ms. Genosa: Based on your legal problem that we have discussed before, here are your possible defenses: 1. Battered Woman Syndrome (BWS) as Self-Defense To use this as our defense, we need to establish through presentation of an expert testimony that you are afflicted with BWS at the time that you have killed your husband. As you have told me before when we had our first meeting that it was more than ten years that you are suffering with emotional anguish; that there were a lot of instances of abuses -- from emotional abuse to verbal abuse and physical abuse; that for all the years that you have been married, you were battered and maltreated relentlessly and mercilessly by your husband whenever he was drunk; that it was a painful experience you had to anticipate whenever you suspected that your husband went for a drinking spree and that you are almost like living in purgatory or even in hell. We can use this history of violence and the effects of the violence to support our claim that you have acted only in self-defense because you honestly believed that there was an actual danger of death or serious bodily harm and that killing your husband was necessary to save your life. However, to use BWS as a strong defense, we must establish through presentation of factual experiences and other pieces of evidence the presence of the three phases of the cycle of violence constituting BWS. 2. Self-Defense Another defense that we could use is that you acted only in self-defense at the time that you killed your husband. To be able to use this as a defense, we need to establish the following: 

That there was an actual danger or a sudden and unexpected attack during the time you killed your husband; However, the attack or danger must be continuous, because if the danger or attack has already stopped, any action made will not be considered as a self-defense but a form of retaliation which will not exempt you from killing your husband.

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That the means or method that you used is necessary to prevent the actual danger; this would depend on the nature and quality of the weapon used, physical condition, character, size, and other factors.

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That there is a lack of sufficient provocation on your part; it means that you did not start the confrontation or even if that there is a provocation on your part, that it is not the cause of the aggression of your husband.

All of these must be present for us to use self-defense in our case. The absence of the last two requisites and the presence only of the first requisite may result to an incomplete self-defense which will not exempt you from killing your husband but may reduce the penalty imposed, depending on the facts of the case and other modifying circumstances, if any. I have relied upon information, both oral and written, that you have given me and have assumed that all such information is true and correct. This opinion is limited to the matters expressly stated in this letter and no opinion may be implied beyond what has been stated.

Sincerely yours, PRINCESS AILEEN B. ESPLANA Legal Counsel