'Battered' defense may clear wife of husband's slay, lawyer says

The woman who shot dead her husband at the SM City North mall in Quezon City (QC) last Wednesday just might be let off the hook by using the “battered woman syndrome" defense. But that would not apply to the death of the mall security guard was killed in the melee, according to a legal expert. Interviewed on GMA News TV programs “News To Go" and “SONA," lawyer Rowena Guanzon explained that under Republic Act No. 9262 or the Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children (AVAWC) Law, women who suffer from “battered woman syndrome" are exempt from criminal liability for death or injury they inflict on their spouses or partners who had beforehand committed violence or “battered" them.
Parricide, murder charges QC Police District Homicide section chief P/Insp.Elmer Monsalve said that they have “strong evidence," including suicide notes and the caliber .38 pistol revolver used in the killings, to pin down suspect Sheila Macapugay who, he said, had planned all along to shoot her husband, Adel. Macapugay also shot dead a security guard, Ricardo Inamac III, who had tried to intervene to keep her from turning the gun on herself. Adel’s sister, Nelia Carpio, has filed a complaint at the Quezon City Prosecutors Office, charging the suspect with parricide — the killing of a spouse, child or parent. The father of the slain security guard, on the other hand, filed a murder complaint against the suspect. Macapugay had expressed regret for her actions, adding she was ready to face criminal charges for what she had committed. But later on, she said that she shot her husband because she could no longer stand the physical and emotional abuse she alleged he had heaped on her. She is now under custody of the QCPD Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (CIDU) in Camp Karingal. The remains of Macapugay’s husband lie in state in Bulacan with his relatives. Relatives of the victim blame the allegedly lax security at the mall. But the management of SM City North mall maintained that the shootings were an isolated incident which would be thoroughly investigated.
Battered woman syndrome Lawyer and women’s rights expert Rowena Guanzon said that someone suffering from the “battered woman syndrome" (BWS) exhibit several telltale symptoms. The usual traits of a battered woman are low self-esteem, traditional beliefs about the home, the family and the female sex role; emotional dependence upon the dominant male; the tendency to accept responsibility for the batterer’s actions; and false hopes that the relationship will improve. Specifically, the battered woman syndrome is characterized by the cycle of violence, which has three phases: (1) tension-building, (2) acute battering incident; and (3) tranquil, loving (or, at least, nonviolent) moments. Section 26 of the AVAWC Law provides that BWS is a “justifying circumstance," where the woman does not incur any criminal or civil liability; but to determine whether the accused woman is suffering from BWS, the courts need to be assisted by expert witnesses such as psychologists and psychiatrists. Before RA 9262 was passed, the Supreme Court had defined BWS in its decision in the 2004 case of People vs. Marivic Genosa, but BWS back then was only considered a mitigating circumstance — merely lowering the imposable penalty — and not a justifying circumstance. — With Marlon Anthony Tonson/ELR/VS/HS, GMA News