Case Digest (G.R. No. 183830)
Facts:
People of the Philippines v. Delfin Caliso, G.R. No. 183830, October 19, 2011, First Division, Bersamin, J., writing for the Court. The prosecution was the People of the Philippines; the accused-appellant was Delfin Caliso.On June 5, 1997, 16‑year‑old AAA (a mentally‑retarded girl whose name the Court withheld) was found drowned in a river in Barangay Tiacongan, Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte. The lone eyewitness, 34‑year‑old Soledad Amegable, testified she heard the victim cry and went to observe from behind vegetation; she said she saw a man in gray short pants marked with the number “11” drag the limp body into knee‑high muddy water, submerge it and later toss it into deeper water, and that the man jumped to the other side of the river. Amegable admitted she never saw the man’s face because his back had been turned toward her, but she insisted she recognized him as Caliso because she had seen him pass through the barangay several times.
Police investigation followed: an investigating officer prepared an affidavit recounting Amegable’s identification and stating that Caliso made an extrajudicial admission regarding ownership of the short pants, but the officer did not testify at trial and the pants were not offered in evidence. The municipal health officer who performed the post‑mortem found drowning/asphyxia as cause of death and described multiple injuries on the victim; he also recorded superficial scratch‑type injuries on Caliso, but did not link those injuries to the crime. Caliso denied the charges and offered an alibi that he plowed a rice field from morning until late afternoon on the date in question; a farmowner corroborated that Caliso worked in his field that day but could not say where Caliso was at the exact time of the killing.
Caliso was arraigned (plea of not guilty entered November 12, 1997) and tried before the Regional Trial Court (RTC), Branch 21, Kapatagan. In a decision dated August 19, 2002, the RTC found him not guilty of the complex crime of rape with homicide (the court found no proof of rape) but convicted him of murder, applying the qualifying circumstance of abuse of superior strength, and sentenced him to death with civil and exemplary damages. The appeal from the RTC was brought to the Supreme Court but, pursuant to People v. Mateo, the records were transferred to the Court of Appeals (CA) for intermediate review on June 28, 2005.
On October 26, 2007, the CA (Elbinias, J., concurring Justices Flores and Lim) affirmed the conviction but reduced the penalty from death to reclusion perpetua and adjusted the civil and exemplary damages; the CA applied the same factual findings, credited Amegable’s identification despite her inability to see the ass...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Was Amegable’s identification of Delfin Caliso as the perpetrator positive and reliable enough to establish his identity beyond reasonable do...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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