Republic of the Philippines - Campaign
Republic of the Philippines - Campaign
Republic of the Philippines - Campaign
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APPELLANTS’ BRIEF<br />
People <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Philippines</strong> vs. Fortuna, et. al.<br />
S. C. G. R. No. 141660-64<br />
Such hesitation is a possible result <strong>of</strong> fear after what <strong>the</strong>y have gone through in <strong>the</strong> hands<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> police. It is also evident that <strong>the</strong> accused were made to understand that <strong>the</strong> CHR<br />
personnel were <strong>the</strong>re to investigate <strong>the</strong> possible human rights violations against <strong>the</strong><br />
accused. Given this premise, how <strong>the</strong>n can <strong>the</strong>se accused be expected to relate <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
stories constituting <strong>the</strong>ir defense in <strong>the</strong> murder case when <strong>the</strong> same were not called for at<br />
that time?<br />
Thus, <strong>the</strong> trial court’s appreciation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> failure <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> accused to relate <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
defenses to <strong>the</strong> CHR lawyers as basis for disregarding such defense is misplaced.<br />
C. The defense <strong>of</strong> alibi presented by <strong>the</strong> accused in this case gains significance<br />
with <strong>the</strong> weakness <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> prosecution’s evidence that does not concretely pin<br />
down <strong>the</strong> suspects as <strong>the</strong> ones who committed <strong>the</strong> crime.<br />
There are a lot <strong>of</strong> instances, as in this case, that alibi and denial are <strong>the</strong> only<br />
defenses available to <strong>the</strong> accused. For how else would <strong>the</strong> accused counter <strong>the</strong><br />
accusations that <strong>the</strong>y were <strong>the</strong> ones who committed <strong>the</strong> crime than by denying <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
participation in it and by presenting in court <strong>the</strong>ir whereabouts to prove that <strong>the</strong>y were not<br />
at <strong>the</strong> crime scene.<br />
The defense <strong>of</strong> alibi cannot be given credence and is greatly weakened when <strong>the</strong>re<br />
is a strong evidence <strong>of</strong> positive identification that establishes with moral certainty <strong>the</strong><br />
presence <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> accused at <strong>the</strong> crime scene and evidence establishing <strong>the</strong> culpability <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
accused to <strong>the</strong> crime complained <strong>of</strong>.<br />
Positive identification gains more credibility when <strong>the</strong> witness has all along<br />
known <strong>the</strong> suspects personally and he saw <strong>the</strong>m commit a crime. In such situations, <strong>the</strong>re<br />
is less likelihood that <strong>the</strong> witness would be mistaken in ascertaining <strong>the</strong> identity <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
suspects. However, when <strong>the</strong> witness does not have any previous association with <strong>the</strong><br />
suspects and more so when <strong>the</strong> witness only saw <strong>the</strong> suspects for <strong>the</strong> very first time at<br />
that moment when <strong>the</strong>y were committing a crime, <strong>the</strong>re is always a possibility that <strong>the</strong><br />
witness might not be able to accurately ascertain <strong>the</strong> identity <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> suspects. Especially<br />
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