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APPELLANTS’ BRIEF People of the Philippines vs. Fortuna, et. al. S. C. G. R. No. 141660-64 fact, the police investigators never bothered to clarify whether there were more than four persons who perpetrated the killing because the other witnesses who were investigated also referred to four men. In the sworn statement of security guard Merlito Herbas executed at 11:40 of the same day that the incident happened, question 11 reads: 11. T – Sino naman ang bumaril sa taong ito, kung kilala mo? S – Apat po na hindi kilalang lalaki na armado ng tipong cal. 45 pistol. Also, in the sworn statement of witness Cesar Espiritu given at 12:10 noon of the same day that the incident happened, question 06 reads: 06. T : Sino naman ang bumaril sa biktimang ito, kung kilala mo? S : Sa mga suspect ay apat na hindi kilalang mga lalaki, pero ang isa ay nakita ko na siyang bumabaril sa biktima sa loob ng kotse nito. It is clear, then, that several witnesses in the shooting incident were one in saying that there were four men who perpetrated the crime. This was even confirmed by P/Insp. Rogelio Castillo who was presented by the prosecution and who testified, among others, as to the contents of their referral letter when they forwarded the spent shells and slugs to the Crime Lab, saying, “The first paragraph of our referral letter are (sic) as follows: “This refers to the shooting incident under your investigation by your division committed on June 13, 1996 along Katipunan, Proj. 4, Quezon City wherein the deceased victim is one Rolando Abadilla and the suspect (sic) were about 4 unidentified male persons armed with firearm.” (TSN, Testimony of P/Insp. Rogelio Castillo, August 7, 1996, pp. 108-109). What is clearly stated in Freddie Alejo’s statement is that it was one of the four suspects whom he saw surrounding the victim’s car, and not another man as the court erroneously construed, who pointed a gun towards him and commanded him to come Page 58 of 127 58
APPELLANTS’ BRIEF People of the Philippines vs. Fortuna, et. al. S. C. G. R. No. 141660-64 down from the guard house and that this very same suspect had to repeat the command after he did not move the first time it was given. It was thus an error for the trial court to have appreciated Alejo’s sworn statement as saying “that he saw four (4) men armed with handguns shoot at a car while he was on guard duty at No. 211 Katipunan Avenue, Blue Ridge, Q.C. and that one (1) other male person poked his gun near where he was stationed, asked him to come down and ordered that no one must interfere” as this would, in effect, increase the number of suspects to five. IV. THE TRIAL COURT ERRED WHEN IT RULED THAT “IT DOES APPEAR FROM THE RECORD THAT BOTH SECURITY GUARDS, WHOSE PRESENCE IN THE VICINITY OF THE CRIME SCENE CANNOT BE DOUBTED, CONFIRMED THAT JOEL DE JESUS WAS ONE OF THE PERPETRATORS OF THE KILLING OF ROLANDO ABADILLA,” AND FAILED TO PROPERLY APPRECIATE THE TESTIMONY OF THE OTHER SECURITY GUARD EYEWITNESS, MERLITO HERBAS, WHICH BELIES THAT OF ALEJO. While it appears on the record that the presence of the two security guards in the vicinity of the crime scene cannot be doubted, the presence of Joel de Jesus and the confirmation of the two security guards about Joel de Jesus’ participation in the killing of Rolando Abadilla are highly doubtful. The court should not have only ascertained whether the confirmation of the two guards that Joel de Jesus was one of the perpetrators of the crime appear on the record, but, more importantly, it should have ascertained whether such confirmations are reliable, free from any doubt, and whether it establishes with moral certainty that Joel de Jesus was indeed present at the crime scene. For if Joel de Jesus was indeed at the crime scene, how come he is not among those whom the witness identified in open court as the four persons shooting at the victim Page 59 of 127 59
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Republic of the Philippines - Campaign

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