On November 15, 1995, a toxic and violent marriage in Isabel, Leyte, came to a fatal end. Marivic Genosa, a young mother, ended the life of her husband, Ben Genosa. After a high-profile trial, she was found guilty of parricide and sentenced to the de@th penalty. To many, it seemed like a straightforward case. But beneath the surface was a harrowing story of years of relentless abuse, a revolutionary legal defense, and a final verdict that would forever change the course of justice for women in the Philippines. This is the landmark story of Marivic Genosa.

A Marriage That Began in Defiance

Marivic and Ben’s relationship was controversial from the start. They were third cousins, and their families strongly opposed their union due to the close blood ties and the social stigma in their small town. But they were young and in love, and they defied their families’ wishes, marrying in 1983. The early years of their marriage were fraught with financial and domestic stress. They lived in a crowded house with Ben’s parents and his brother’s family, a situation that Marivic found deeply uncomfortable.

Two Competing Narratives

In the courtroom, two starkly different portraits of their marriage emerged. Ben’s family, led by his mother, Illuminada, painted Marivic as the aggressor. They described her as a demanding and violent woman who would fly into rages if her requests were not met.

They testified about alleged incidents where she had stabbed Ben’s hand, struck him in the head, and even caused a fracture. They portrayed their son as a long-suffering husband trapped in a toxic cycle with an unstable wife.

Marivic’s testimony, however, told a much darker story. She claimed that the man she married was not the man her in-laws described. She alleged that Ben was a severe alcoholic and a gambling addict, obsessed with cockfighting. When he lost money, which was often, he would come home enraged and take his frustrations out on her, making her his “punching bag.”

She testified that instead of saving his earnings, he drank them away, which is why it took them over a decade to finally move into their own apartment. When she pleaded with her mother-in-law for help, she was rebuffed and accused of trying to control her son.

Marivic’s claims were not without support. Her cousin testified that she had witnessed the abuse and that Marivic, terrified of her husband’s drunken rages, would often beg her to sleep over for protection. A doctor testified that he had treated Marivic on multiple occasions for injuries consistent with domestic abuse.

Even a local barangay captain confirmed that Marivic had once come to his office late at night, desperate for help to escape her husband’s violence, though he was unable to assist at that hour.

The Final, Fatal Night

On the evening of November 15, 1995, the cycle of violence reached its tragic conclusion. Ben came home drunk and, as he had done so many times before, began to assault Marivic. She testified that the beating lasted for two hours. He punched her, kicked her, and dragged her around their apartment. At her breaking point, Marivic decided she had to leave. She grabbed a bag and started packing.

This act of defiance sent Ben into an even greater rage. He allegedly grabbed a bolo (a large Filipino blade) and attacked her, striking her hand. At that moment, Marivic, who was pregnant with their third child, was overcome with terror. Fearing for her life and the life of her unborn baby, she managed to get ahold of a gun that belonged to her husband. She fired a single shot, and the years of abuse came to a sudden, fatal end.

A Landmark Legal Battle

Marivic fled to Manila in a state of shock and fear, but eventually confessed to the authorities. At her initial trial, she was convicted of parricide. The court did not accept her plea of self-defense, and she was sentenced to be executed.

But her legal battle was far from over. Her defense team launched an appeal, introducing a concept that was, at the time, revolutionary in the Philippine legal system: “Battered Woman Syndrome” (BWS). They argued that years of sustained physical and psychological abuse had left Marivic in a state where she was psychologically incapable of acting any other way.

They brought in renowned experts to support their case. Dr. Raquel Fortun, a forensic pathologist, confirmed that Ben’s de@th was caused by a single gunshot wound, not by any other injury. More importantly, Dr. Natividad Dayan, a clinical psychologist, testified that Marivic’s psychological profile was a textbook case of BWS. She explained the cyclical nature of abuse and how victims often blame themselves, feel helpless, and are unable to leave their abusers.

The appellate court was faced with a difficult and historic decision. They acknowledged the horrific abuse Marivic had suffered. However, they ultimately upheld the guilty verdict, pointing to a detail in Marivic’s own testimony. She had stated that after the initial struggle, she had run to another room.

It was there, fearing for her life and the life of her unborn child, that she had the thought, “if I’m going to die, I might as well take him with me.” She then retrieved the gun and returned to confront him. The court interpreted this as a moment of conscious decision-making, separating the final act from the immediate, instinctual need for self-defense.

However, in a landmark move, the court recognized the profound mitigating circumstances of the abuse she had endured. While the guilty verdict stood, they made a historic decision to drastically reduce her sentence from the de@th penalty to a term of six years and one day. Since Marivic had already been imprisoned for longer than that during the lengthy appeals process, she was immediately set free.

The case of Marivic Genosa became one of the most significant legal battles in Philippine history. The intense public and legal debate it sparked was instrumental in the passage of Republic Act 9262, the “Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Act of 2004.” This groundbreaking law officially recognized Battered Woman Syndrome as a legitimate legal defense, giving countless victims of domestic abuse a powerful new tool in the fight for justice.

Marivic Genosa, a woman who had endured unspeakable trauma and was nearly executed by the state, had become an unwitting pioneer, and her suffering paved the way for a more just and compassionate legal system for all the women who would come after her.