Case Digest (G.R. No. L-40233)
Facts:
Romulo Natividad y San Diego v. The Honorable Court of Appeals and People of the Philippines, G.R. No. L-40233. June 25, 1980. Supreme Court First Division; Teehankee, J., writing for the Court.Petitioner Romulo Natividad y San Diego was charged by information dated January 26, 1972 with robbery in an inhabited house committed on January 3, 1972 at the Manila Christian Guesthouse; the victim was Nellie Primavera y Givera, who alleged that P900 in cash was taken from her bedroom at gunpoint. The Circuit Criminal Court of Manila convicted Natividad and sentenced him to imprisonment (minimum prision correccional to maximum reclusion temporal), indemnity of P943 and costs. The Court of Appeals affirmed, correcting a misdesignation of the maximum penalty; petitioner then sought relief before the Supreme Court by a petition for review (recorded here as G.R. No. L-40233).
The factual narrative: on January 3, 1972, Primavera discovered a man in her bedroom who claimed he had killed someone and wanted to hide; she was ordered into a closet and later into a bathroom, and during the episode the man rifled drawers and took money. Primavera reported the incident to police the same evening; an alarm report the same date recorded her description of the robber as about 40–42 years, 5'5"–5'6", oblong face, crew-cut hair, dark complexion, wearing a light T-shirt and armed, and having one upper gold tooth.
Ten days later (January 13, 1972) Primavera saw a man at the United Missionary Office whom she allegedly recognized; she learned his name (Romulo Natividad) from office personnel. On January 21, 1972 Primavera had her laundrywoman (Anicia Galvadores) look at him; on January 25, 1972 police fetched Primavera, Galvadores and a houseboy (Fernando Solimen) and brought them to the Allied Brokerage office and thereafter to MMP Headquarters. A ten-man line-up was conducted and all three identified petitioner as the robber; he was arrested, charged, tried (witnesses for prosecution: Primavera, Galvadores, Det. Sgt. Extremadura; for defense: Natividad, MMP photographer de la Cruz, Allied credit manager Edith Castro), convicted by the trial court on October 23, 1972, and affirmed by the Court of Appeals on November 14, 1974.
On appeal to the Supreme Court, the Court evaluated (a) the discrepancies between Primavera’s original description and Natividad’s actual appearance (notably the number/location of "gold teeth" and hair style), (b) the circumstances of the subsequent sightings and identifications (including whether Galvadores’ verification was independent), (c) the propriety and suggestiveness of the police “line-up” and the police conduct in “fetching” witnesses and paradi...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Was petitioner’s identity as the perpetrator proven beyond reasonable doubt?
- Did the manner of police conduct and the line-up procedure render the identifications of petitioner unreliable?
- Did petitioner’s alibi and surrounding circumstances create reasonable doubt ...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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