GR 109578; (August, 1997) (Digest)
G.R. No. 109578. August 27, 1997.
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. RONALDO FABRO y SERVAÑES, JOVEL CASTRO y EUGENIO alias JOEL CASTRO and HERNANDO MORALES y DE CASTRO, accused-appellants.
FACTS
Accused-appellants Ronaldo Fabro, Jovel Castro, and Hernando Morales were charged with Murder for the killing of Victor Ramirez in Galas Market, Quezon City, on September 22, 1991. The prosecution alleged that they, with another unidentified assailant, conspired and attacked the victim with bolos, inflicting 28 wounds. During trial, Fabro and Castro admitted participation but exonerated Morales, claiming he was falsely implicated due to a prior grudge. The trial court convicted all three, sentencing them to reclusion perpetua. Fabro and Castro later withdrew their appeals, leaving only Morales’s conviction under review.
ISSUE
Whether the prosecution proved the guilt of accused-appellant Hernando Morales beyond reasonable doubt for the crime of Murder.
RULING
Yes, the Supreme Court affirmed the conviction. The Court found the alleged inconsistencies in the testimonies of prosecution witnesses—Remigio Nitura, Rosendo Pusilero, and Angelina Olegenio—to be minor and collateral, pertaining only to details like whether the victim was talking to his stepfather before the attack or the exact manner Morales initiated the assault. Such variances do not undermine their core, consistent narrative that Morales was the first assailant who stabbed the victim in the chest, lifted his shirt to cover his face, and stabbed him again, after which other assailants joined. The trial court’s assessment of witness credibility is accorded great respect.
Morales’s defense of alibi, corroborated by a co-worker claiming he was at a construction site in Lagro Subdivision, Quezon City, at the time of the crime, cannot prevail against this positive identification. For alibi to succeed, the accused must prove not only his presence elsewhere but also the physical impossibility of being at the crime scene. The Court noted that Lagro Subdivision and Galas Market are both in Quezon City and accessible by public transport, making it possible for Morales to have been present. Furthermore, the qualifying circumstance of treachery was correctly appreciated. The attack was sudden, deliberate, and employed means to ensure the victim could not defend himself, as Morales initiated the assault and covered the victim’s face, eliminating any risk to the attackers.