Republic of the Philippines - Campaign

APPELLANTS’ BRIEF
People of the Philippines vs. Fortuna, et. al.
S. C. G. R. No. 141660-64
[…]
Q: Did you confront these 2 men?
A: No sir.
Q: And since you consider it unusual and you are a security
guard, why did you not confront these 2 men?
[…]
A: I can’t do that sir because according to the law of
security guards you cannot ask passers by or any person
for that matter who haven’t done anything unlawful.
Q: So, you were watching these 2 persons or 2 men all the
time?
A: No sir, because they would pass my post and then the
next time they would be in my sight.
[…]
Q: Alright, so you said that… about what time when you
saw these 2 men?
A: From past 7:00 o’clock up to past 8:00 o’clock.
Q: So these 2 men were there for about an hour?
A: More than 1 hour sir. (TSN, August 21, 1996, pp. 19-25)
When asked on that same day “Ano ang itsura ng mga suspect?” he started with
“Iyong tumutok sa akin ay naka-asul na t-shirt…” which means that among the persons
he saw, he first recalled the one who pointed a gun at him. If indeed this person who
pointed the gun at him was among the two persons he mentioned in open court as those
who were walking to and fro in front of his guardhouse prior to the shooting incident, he
would have easily recalled and related to the police officer that prior to the shooting
incident he already noticed two men walking to and fro in front of his guardhouse. But he
did not.
In his testimony in open court, he declared that the two men who were walking to
and fro in front of his guardhouse prior to the shooting incident were the ones who
pointed their guns at him after he saw four other suspects shoot at the victim.
Atty Buted:
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