Case Digest (G.R. No. 211721)
Facts:
People of the Philippines v. Willington Rodriguez y Hermosa, G.R. No. 211721, September 20, 2017, Supreme Court Third Division, Martires, J., writing for the Court. The prosecution below was the People of the Philippines and the accused-appellant before the Supreme Court was Willington Rodriguez y Hermosa.Rodriguez was charged by information with qualified trafficking in persons for allegedly recruiting, transporting, harboring, providing or matching three women for the purpose of prostitution on or about 8 August 2006 in Quezon City, the offense alleged to have been committed in large scale (against three or more persons). At arraignment he pleaded not guilty.
The prosecution presented the testimony of Police Officer 1 Raymond Escober (PO1 Escober), a joint sworn affidavit of the arresting officers dated 9 August 2006, and a photocopy of a pre‑marked P500 bill. PO1 Escober testified that during an Oplan Bugaw operation at around 11:00 P.M. on 8 August 2006 he and his companions were flagged down by Rodriguez, who offered the services of three pickup girls; Escober gave Rodriguez the pre‑marked bill, which he later retrieved after the arrest. Rodriguez claimed he was selling cigarettes and denied offering any woman for sexual purposes.
The Regional Trial Court (RTC), Branch 81, Quezon City, in a decision dated 18 October 2011, convicted Rodriguez of trafficking committed in large scale and sentenced him to life imprisonment and a P2,000,000 fine. The Court of Appeals (CA) in CA‑G.R. CR‑HC No. 05335 affirmed the RTC in a 5 December 2013 decision, giving weight to PO1 Escober’s positive identif...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Was Rodriguez’s conviction for qualified trafficking in persons supported by proof beyond reasonable doubt of the elements of trafficking under R.A. No. 9208 (procedural/substantive sufficiency of evidence)?
- Did the testimony of a lone police witness, together with the joint affidavit and photocopy of the marked bill, suffice to establish the elements of trafficking where the alleged victims and other arresting officers were not produced (corrobor...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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