GR 35763; (March, 1932) (Digest)
G.R. No. 35763 ; March 18, 1932
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, plaintiff-appellee, vs. CANUTO TUZON, defendant-appellant.
FACTS
The defendant-appellant, Canuto Tuzon, was charged with and convicted of homicide by the Court of First Instance of Tayabas. He was sentenced to fourteen years, eight months, and one day of reclusion temporal, with accessory penalties, indemnity, and costs. On appeal, he argued that the trial court erred in crediting the sole testimony of eyewitness Eulalio Rutaquio and in not drawing an adverse presumption from the prosecution’s failure to present all witnesses listed in the information.
ISSUE
Whether the trial court erred in convicting the accused based on the testimony of a single eyewitness and in not applying an adverse presumption for the prosecution’s failure to present all listed witnesses.
RULING
No. The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction. The defense of alibi was insufficient to overcome the convincing testimony of the eyewitness. The failure to present all witnesses listed in the information does not automatically give rise to an adverse presumption under Section 334, No. 5 of the Code of Civil Procedure, especially where the omitted witnesses would provide merely corroborative, not essential, testimony. The crime and the defendant’s guilt were sufficiently proved beyond reasonable doubt.
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