"3. The trial court gravely erred finding the cause of death to be by beating with a pipe. "4. The trial court gravely erred in ignoring and disregarding evidence adduced from impartial and unbiased witnesses that Ben Genosa was a drunk, a gambler, a womanizer and wifebeater; and further gravely erred in concluding that Ben Genosa was a battered husband. "5. The trial court gravely erred in not requiring testimony from the children of Marivic Genosa. "6. The trial court gravely erred in concluding that Marivic's flight to Manila and her subsequent apologies were indicia of guilt, instead of a clear attempt to save the life of her unborn child. "7. The trial court gravely erred in concluding that there was an aggravating circumstance of treachery. "8. The trial court gravely erred in refusing to re-evaluate the traditional elements in determining the existence of self-defense and defense of foetus in this case, thereby erroneously convicting Marivic Genosa of the crime of parricide and condemning her to the ultimate penalty of death."13 In the main, the following are the essential legal issues: (1) whether appellant acted in self-defense and in defense of her fetus; and (2) whether treachery attended the killing of Ben Genosa. The Court's Ruling The appeal is partly meritorious. Collateral Factual Issues The first six assigned errors raised by appellant are factual in nature, if not collateral to the resolution of the principal issues. As consistently held by this Court, the findings of the trial court on the credibility of witnesses and their testimonies are entitled to a high degree of respect and will not be disturbed on appeal in the absence of any showing that the trial judge gravely abused his discretion or overlooked, misunderstood or misapplied material facts or circumstances of weight and substance that could affect the outcome of the case.14 In appellant's first six assigned items, we find no grave abuse of discretion, reversible error or misappreciation of material facts that would reverse or modify the trial court's disposition of the case. In any event, we will now briefly dispose of these alleged errors of the trial court. First, we do not agree that the lower court promulgated "an obviously hasty decision without reflecting on the evidence adduced as to self-defense." We note that in his 17-page Decision, Judge Fortunito L. Madrona summarized the testimonies of both the prosecution and the defense witnesses and -- on the basis of those and of the documentary evidence on record -- made his evaluation, findings and conclusions. He wrote a 3-page discourse assessing the testimony and the self-defense theory of the accused. While she, or even this Court, may not agree with the trial judge's conclusions, we cannot peremptorily conclude, absent substantial evidence, that he failed to reflect on the evidence presented.