Incomplete self-defense reduces penalty

Pursuant to Article 69 of the Revised Penal Code, the privileged mitigating circumstance of incomplete self-defense reduces the penalty by one or two degrees than that prescribed by law. For this purpose, the accused must prove the existence of the majority of the elements for self-defense, but unlawful aggression, being an indispensable element, must be present. Either or both of the other requisites may be absent, namely: reasonable necessity of the means employed to prevent or repel it, or the lack of sufficient provocation on the part of the person defending himself. (Mendoza v. People, G.R. No. 139759, January 14, 2005, 448 SCRA 158, 161-162)