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settlement of the case."[36] Again, sometime in August or September 1996,
Bangcado's wife and parents, along with Banisa's mother Magdalena, visited him at
Pico, La Trinidad.[37]
The defense claims that the only reason the relatives of accused-appellant went to
visit and talk to Miguel Adawan was to prevent him from avenging his son's death on
the families of accused-appellant, in keeping with the tradition of the Igorot
indigenous people. Therefore, this cannot be interpreted as an implied admission of
guilt. Moreover, Sec. 27 of Rule 130[38] contemplates an offer of compromise from
the accused himself. There is no showing that the visits were made with the
knowledge or upon the instructions of accused-appellants. Thus, even if the purpose
of the visit was to negotiate a settlement, accused-appellants had nothing to do with
it, since they were neither participants nor initiators.[39]
The trial court believed in the testimony of Adawan, compared to that of the
relatives of accused-appellants who could be biased, partial and, of course, hoping
to save the two (2) accused from the serious predicament they were in.[40] It
posited this question:
But why is it that during the first time that they approached the 77-year old man
Adawan in Besao, Mountain Province, they were already assured that the family of
the deceased Adawan would not take revenge and for the last three years, nothing
happened to the families of the accused, still they again went to the residence of
Miguel Adawan at Pico, La Trinidad, Benguet. This would only show that they tried
to amicably settle the cases, but they were rebuffed.[41]
But an offer of compromise from an unauthorized person cannot amount to an
admission of the party himself.[42] Although the Court has held in some cases that
an attempt of the parents of the accused to settle the case is an implied admission
of guilt,[43] we believe that the better rule is that for a compromise to amount to an
implied admission of guilt, the accused should be present or at least had authorized
the compromise.
In People v. Macatana[44] it was held: "No implied admission can be drawn from the
efforts to arrive at a settlement outside the courts, primarily because appellant did
not take part in any of the negotiations. The efforts to settle the case x x x in
accordance with the established Muslim practices, customs and traditions were
initiated by acknowledged leaders x x x in an effort to prevent further deterioration
of the relations between the tribes."[45]
The general rule is that claims for actual damages should be supported by actual
receipts. However, it is undisputed that the victims are members of the indigenous
community and were buried according to their customs and traditions. The relatives
of the victims attested that they incurred expenses for the cañao, the traditional
gathering of Igorots. The Court is not unaware that the informal market system still
governs the economic transactions of indigenous communities. Thus, receipts and
other documents do not play a large role in their daily commercial transactions. In
this case, wherein it is clearly established that the claimants were indeed members
of indigenous communities, then the court should allow reasonable claims for
expenses incurred in relation to traditional burial practices.
elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/37955
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