G.R. No. 245422 - Ador vs. Jamila and Company Security Services, Inc.

Feliciano de la Pasion owned a young carabao valued at P110; the animal was about 3 years old, largely white, approximately three and one-half feet tall, without brands, with slightly curved horns.
On the night of May 22, 1909, the carabao was tied with a rope near the owner’s house in Poponto, Bautista, Pangasinan.

The carabao was stolen during the night or in the early hours of the morning, with evidence showing that the rope had been cut in two and the enclosure gate forcibly opened.
Despite the owner and several neighbors searching various barrios, the carabao was not immediately recovered.

On or about June 5, 1909, witnesses Irineo Daquigan and Teofilo Bautista observed the accused, Mariano Caralipio and Cipriano Fernando, driving the carabao towards San Manuel; Mariano Caralipio was even riding on the animal.
The witnesses promptly informed Feliciano de la Pasion, who, along with the witnesses, located the carabao in the possession of the municipal treasurer in San Manuel.
A dispute arose at the recovery site as both Pasion and Cipriano Fernando claimed ownership of the carabao; following an investigation into its ownership, the treasurer turned the animal over to Cipriano Fernando.
On June 25, 1909, Cipriano Fernando transported the carabao to Moncada where he had it branded by local authorities and received a corresponding certificate of ownership.

A preliminary investigation was conducted by Justice of the Peace Marciano de Guzman in Bautista, who found sufficient evidence that indicated the commission of theft by the accused.
To resolve the dispute over ownership, the justice of the peace conducted a practical test:

Cipriano Fernando was required to produce the alleged mother (caraballa) of the young carabao, as was Feliciano de la Pasion with his own caraballa.
The young carabao was placed at one end of an enclosure while the two caraballas were driven into the enclosure from the opposite end.
The animal ignored the caraballa of the accused and instead approached Feliciano de la Pasion’s caraballa, demonstrating its natural recognition of its true mother.

Similar tests were later repeated before the municipal treasurer of San Manuel with substantially the same results, thus substantiating Pasion’s claim.

Cipriano Fernando had previously branded two young carabaos, one in November 1908 and the other in February 1909, claiming them as his own; both were asserted to have the same mother he presented.
The unusual phenomenon of a single caraballa giving birth to three calves in less than two years raised serious doubts about the legitimacy of his claim over the carabao in dispute.

Whether the evidence presented was sufficient to establish the accused’s guilt in the theft of the young carabao.
Whether the tests involving the alleged mothers (caraballas) provided conclusive proof of the true ownership of the carabao.
The reliability and credibility of the victim’s and witnesses’ testimonies in light of the accused’s claims.
Whether the prior branding and certification of other young carabaos by Cipriano Fernando undermined his claim over the stolen carabao.