G.R. No. 103292 January 27, 1993
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. MODESTO CABUANG y FLORES, NARDO MATABANG y SALVADOR, JOHN DOE and RICHARD DOE, defendants-appellants.

FACTS

On the night of October 14, 1988, Evelyn De Vera and her cousin Maria Victoria Parana were walking home in Barangay Buenlag I, Bayambang, Pangasinan. Accused Modesto Cabuang emerged from rice paddies, questioned them, and then grabbed Maria Victoria and covered her mouth. Accused Nardo Matabang, who also appeared, pursued Evelyn, who managed to hide in a yard. From her hiding place, Evelyn later saw a tricycle pass by carrying Maria Victoria, Cabuang, Matabang, the driver, and another person. She heard her cousin crying and pleading for help. The next morning, Maria Victoria was found dead, naked, with multiple stab wounds. An autopsy revealed she had been raped and mutilated, and died from hypovolemic shock. Personal belongings, including a laboratory manual and underwear, were found scattered, and P400.00 in cash was missing from the victim. Evelyn De Vera, after initially being in shock, later gave a sworn statement identifying Cabuang and Matabang as the assailants, and positively identified them in a police line-up. The Regional Trial Court convicted Cabuang and Matabang of robbery with rape and homicide and sentenced them to reclusion perpetua, with orders to pay indemnity and damages.

ISSUE

Whether the trial court erred in finding that prosecution witness Evelyn De Vera positively identified appellants Modesto Cabuang and Nardo Matabang as the assailants, considering an initial police blotter entry stating the assailants were “still unidentified.”

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s decision, with the modification of increasing the civil indemnity from P50,000.00 to P100,000.00. The Court held that the delay in Evelyn De Vera’s identification, as reflected in the police blotter entry, did not impair her credibility. The initial entry was made when she was in a state of shock, and her subsequent sworn statement given later the same day, where she identified the appellants, was credible and reliable. The Court ruled that entries in a police blotter are only prima facie evidence and can be incomplete or inaccurate, and that testimony in open court carries more weight. The Court found the combination of circumstantial evidence—including Evelyn’s eyewitness account, the autopsy findings, the discovery of the victim’s scattered belongings, and the weak alibis of the appellants—sufficient to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The alibis were not credible as Cabuang was in the same barangay and Matabang was in Dagupan City, which was not far, and neither presented reliable corroboration.