Title
Viernes vs. People
Case
G.R. No. 161970
Decision Date
Jun 30, 2006
Josefina’s inconsistent statements on stolen items and robbery details led to Viernes’ acquittal due to reasonable doubt, as prosecution failed to prove guilt beyond certainty.
robbery
murder
inconsistencies
A

Case Summary (G.R. No. 161970)

Factual Background

On the evening of November 15, 1992, Josefina and Lopango were inside a passenger jeepney when four of eight co-passengers announced a hold-up. Lopango resisted by kicking one of the hold-uppers; however, another assailant stabbed him three times, after which Lopango fell from the jeepney. Josefina also fell from the jeepney. She brought Lopango to the Jose Reyes Memorial Hospital, where he died after a few minutes.

About three hours and twenty five minutes after the incident, Josefina went to the Caloocan Police Station and executed a sworn statement before PO3 Ricardo Concepcion. She described the incident as having occurred between 6:30 and 7:00 in the evening on November 15, 1992 at Avenida near the corner of Sta. Catalina, 1st Avenue, Caloocan City. When asked about the specific items taken, she stated that nothing was taken because her husband had resisted.

Three days later, or on November 18, 1992, Josefina went to the WPDC-PN, Manila, where she executed another sworn statement before SPO1 Rey Mira and SPO1 Ernesto Agustin. In that statement, she alleged that the robbers took her bag containing used clothes and P3,000 cash allegedly “inserted” therein.

Charging and Arraignment

On December 9, 1992, the Manila City Prosecutor’s Office filed an information before the RTC of Manila for violation of P.D. No. 532, alleging that petitioner and three unidentified persons, conspiring together and using force, violence, and intimidation, committed highway robbery. The information specifically alleged that petitioner pointed a knife at Josefina and grabbed her plastic bag containing P3,000, taken along R. Papa St., Tondo, Manila, a street used by persons or vehicles for movement and circulation.

Upon arraignment, petitioner pleaded not guilty.

Evidence Presented at Trial

Josefina testified as the lone prosecution witness. She narrated how the hold-up and Lopango’s stabbing occurred, and she stated that bystanders apprehended the petitioner. She also claimed that she recognized petitioner as one of the malefactors because the jeepney was lit. She asserted that petitioner was able to retrieve her belongings except the P3,000 cash.

On cross-examination, Josefina admitted she did not know what transpired after she fell off the jeepney. She also acknowledged that when she executed her sworn statement before the Caloocan police, she forgot to report the loss of her bag, claiming it “slipped from [her] mind already because of [her] husband.”

Petitioner testified in his defense, raising alibi. He claimed that at around 7:00 p.m. on November 15, 1992, he went to Tambunting Compound at Blumentritt to fetch his cousin Rudy Asio at the request of his mother celebrating a birthday. Since his cousin had already left, petitioner claimed he decided to walk home. When he passed along Lico Street, he stated that a Ford Fiera and a jeep bearing policemen stopped or pointed at him, and that the police arrested him after asking, “Ito ba? Ito ba?”

Petitioner alleged that he was brought to Precinct 7 of the Manila police, where he was told he was the “hold-upper,” and that he was tortured to make him confess. He further claimed that after two days of detention, Josefina arrived at his place of detention and told the police he was not the culprit, but that the police continued to maul him and continued detaining him for nine days. He also asserted that a separate case for attempted robbery with homicide filed against him before the Caloocan RTC was dismissed. Finally, petitioner presented a certification showing that his mother’s birthdate fell on November 15, 1937, purportedly corroborating his alibi.

Petitioner’s sister, Elizabeth Mones, corroborated portions of the alibi. She testified that petitioner was asked to fetch their cousin around 7:00 to 7:30 in the evening for their mother’s birthday, but did not return that night. She stated that she searched for him the following day and later found him detained as a suspect at Precinct 7 at Abad Santos, Manila, with injuries allegedly resulting from mauling for refusal to confess. She also recounted that, at the precinct, she saw Josefina who denied before the police petitioner’s participation, and she alleged the police asked for P2,000 to transfer petitioner but prohibited medical examination.

Trial Court Ruling

By decision dated October 12, 1995, the RTC found petitioner guilty beyond reasonable doubt of highway robbery under P.D. No. 532. It imposed twelve (12) years and ten (10) months of Reclusion Temporal, ordered indemnification of P3,000.00 with legal interest from the filing of the complaint until fully paid, and ordered the payment of costs.

Appellate Court Modification

On appeal, the Court of Appeals modified the conviction. It held petitioner guilty beyond reasonable doubt of simple robbery under Article 294 of the Revised Penal Code, and imposed the indeterminate penalty of two years, ten months and twenty days of prision correccional as minimum and eight years and twenty days of prision mayor as maximum, with accessory penalties.

Issues Raised on Appeal

Petitioner argued that his guilt was not established beyond reasonable doubt. He assailed the adequacy of the illumination in the jeepney, contending that it was insufficient for confident identification. He also emphasized that prosecution failed to present the police officers who apprehended and investigated him.

Petitioner further attacked Josefina’s credibility on the basis of alleged material inconsistencies, particularly: (a) Josefina’s sworn statement executed in Caloocan police more than three hours after the incident allegedly described the incident as occurring in Sta. Catalina, Caloocan City, and allegedly indicated that no valuables were taken; while (b) her subsequent sworn statement to the Manila police allegedly placed the incident at R. Papa Street in Manila and asserted loss of P3,000. Petitioner additionally claimed that Josefina conspired with the police to torture him into confessing.

Evaluation of Josefina’s Testimony and Sworn Statements

In assessing reasonable doubt, the Supreme Court examined the inconsistencies highlighted by petitioner and found them consequential. The Court focused on material variances between Josefina’s sworn statement and her testimony in court regarding what was taken and whether her bag and money were recovered.

It noted that in Josefina’s sworn statement before the Manila police on November 18, 1992, she narrated that the clothes and money taken from her were not recovered. Yet in court, Josefina testified that the items taken from her were returned “one by one.” The Court also considered the Caloocan sworn statement executed on November 15, 1992, where Josefina categorically stated that no hold-up occurred in the sense of items being taken, asserting that nothing was taken because Lopango resisted.

The Court reasoned that, while contradictions between testimony and sworn statements do not automatically destroy credibility because ex parte statements may be incomplete, the exception applies when omissions concern very important details that an eyewitness would not be expected to fail to mention, or when the narration in the sworn statement substantially contradicts the court testimony. Applying that principle, the Court held that Josefina’s explanation that her omission “slipped from [her] mind because of [her] husband” did not fully explain the categorical assertion in the Caloocan sworn statement that nothing was taken, especially because the sworn statement was executed only about three hours after the incident.

The Court further characterized Josefina’s account as uncorroborated and tainted with inconsistencies on material points. It emphasized that even if the conviction may rest on the testimony of a single witness if the testimony is positive and credible, the testimony may still be rejected when material contradictions undermine it. Because Josefina’s testimony was not found to be sufficiently credible in light of the inconsistencies, the Court invoked the constitutional presumption of inno

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