G.R. No. 127129 ; June 20, 2001
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. ROLANDO CABAYA, MAMERTO ORBASAYAN, accused, ROLANDO CABAYA, accused-appellant.

FACTS

An information for murder was filed against Mamerto Orbasayan, Romeo Samperoy, Remy Orbasayan, and appellant Rolando Cabaya for the death of Disan Dubria on January 26, 1993, in Barangay Colongolo, Surallah, South Cotabato. The accused, except Remy Orbasayan who remained at-large, pleaded not guilty. Prosecution witness Ulysis Calawigan, the victim’s brother-in-law, testified that he saw the accused and the victim drinking together earlier that evening. Later, while closing his gate, he saw Mamerto Orbasayan and appellant Rolando Cabaya holding the victim’s shoulders and pulling him towards the UCCP church. Another prosecution witness, Jelly Bahi-an, the victim’s sister-in-law, testified that she was at the UCCP parsonage when she heard a cry for help. She went out and saw the victim being held by two persons, after which appellant Cabaya stabbed him and Mamerto Orbasayan shot him. The accused denied the charges and invoked alibi, claiming they were drinking at Juan Orbasayan’s house the entire time. After trial, the Regional Trial Court found appellant Rolando Cabaya and Mamerto Orbasayan guilty of murder and sentenced them to reclusion perpetua, while acquitting Romeo Samperoy. Appellant Cabaya appealed, challenging the credibility of the prosecution witnesses and the existence of reasonable doubt.

ISSUE

1. Whether the trial court erred in giving credence to the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses.
2. Whether the trial court erred in convicting the accused-appellant despite the existence of reasonable doubt as to his guilt.

RULING

The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the trial court and acquitted appellant Rolando Cabaya. The Court found that the trial court overlooked significant facts and circumstances that cast serious doubt on the credibility of the prosecution’s eyewitness, Jelly Bahi-an. Her testimony was deemed physically impossible given the conditions at the scene: she claimed to have witnessed the stabbing and shooting from behind a fence with vertical bamboo slots, from a distance of three meters, relying on a single electric bulb placed 1½ meters from the ground and three meters from the crime scene. The Court concluded such lighting was insufficient for positive identification from her vantage point. Furthermore, Bahi-an failed to immediately report the identities of the assailants to authorities or her companions, which the Court found contrary to human experience. The positive identification was therefore unreliable. The defense of alibi, while generally weak, assumed significance in light of the prosecution’s failure to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The Court ruled that the evidence did not meet the required moral certainty for conviction. Appellant Rolando Cabaya was ordered released from custody unless held for another lawful cause.