Republic of the Philippines - Campaign

APPELLANTS’ BRIEF
People of the Philippines vs. Fortuna, et. al.
S. C. G. R. No. 141660-64
conjectures of the trial court that “it is usually the womenfolk who are expected to help
fetch a woman who has just delivered in a hospital,” could be accepted as a general
observation yet, this would not be true in all circumstances. For folks of simple means, a
man would be more helpful than a woman in carrying all the things that the mother and
child used while confined in the hospital. And especially when there are no other people
to help out, it no longer matters whether one is accompanied by a man or a woman for it
is not the gender of the helper that matters but the assistance he/she can render.
While the evidence is bereft of any explanation why it was Augusto who went
with Jonas to fetch the mother and daughter, this fact, alone, does not render untrue the
fact that Augusto was with Jonas on the exact hour and date that the complained crime
happened. Instead, this bolsters the fact that it was Augusto alone, himself and not
anybody else, who went with Jonas to fetch his wife and child from the hospital. This
effectively ruled out the possibility that there could have been another person who went
with Jonas and that Augusto was not needed in fetching Dorothy and the child from the
hospital.
Absent any strong proof to place Augusto Santos at the crime scene and to
attribute to him the acts complained of, the alibi presented by accused Augusto Santos
that he was at the Fabella Hospital together with his brother-in-law from about 7:00 in the
morning until about 2:00 in the afternoon to fetch his sister Dorothy and her new-born
baby who was discharged from the hospital on June 13, 1996, the same day that the
complained crime of murder happened, should have been given credence.
B. The trial court disregarded the alibi presented by Lenido Lumanog based on
mere conjectures.
(b) both claimed that they had to start the diggings
midnight of June 12, 1996 so no one will know or hear about it,
but at the same time they asserted that June 13, 1996 was a
partying day in the very household and compound where they
were supposed to be digging for gold secretly. In the province,
the bisperas of a grand celebration is a day and evening of
preparations for the next day – the party proper. The bisperas is
characterized by the presence of many people – old and young
alike – out to help in the preparations or to ogle around and
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