Burden of proof when accident is used as defense

Dear PAO,

My uncle was deeply asleep on his swing chair outside his house when a creditor arrived to demand payment. Startled and awakened by the victim's hands that touched him, my uncle, who was a former soldier, instinctively but unconsciously threw a punch to the creditor, which caused the latter to fall to his death. During arraignment, my uncle raised «accident» as a defense. Isn't it right that the prosecution must establish my uncle's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt before he sets up his defense?

Brixton

Dear Brixton,

When an accused invokes the affirmative defense of an accident, the burden of proof shifts to him to prove his defense. It then becomes incumbent upon him to rely on the strength of his own evidence and not on the weakness of the evidence of the prosecution. Even if the evidence of the prosecution is weak, it can no longer be disbelieved after the accused admitted to the commission of the crime. Corollary, the accused can no longer be acquitted unless he or she successfully proves, by clear and convincing evidence, the existence of the essential requisites of accident as an exempting circumstance.

This opinion finds support in the recent decision of the Supreme Court in the case of People v. Leocadio, GR 227396, Feb. 22, 2023, penned by Associate Justice Mario Lopez, where it held:

«Notably, Milo conceded during trial that he killed AAA227396 but disavowed criminal liability since it was supposedly accidental. Milo alleged that he unconsciously boxed AAA227396 on the chest after she abruptly awakened him. The argument is specious. The Revised Penal Code (RPC) is explicit that 'any person who, while performing a lawful act with due care, causes an injury by mere accident without fault or intention of causing it' is exempted from criminal liability. The exempting circumstance of 'accident' is anchored on the complete absence of intent or negligence on the part of the accused. In other words, the accused does not commit either an intentional or culpable felony. The accused commits a crime, but there is no criminal liability because of the complete absence of any of the conditions which constitute free will or voluntariness of the act. Moreover,