G.R. No. 222337. July 23, 2018.
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Plaintiff-Appellee, vs. SHERNEL UNGRIANO ASCARRAGA a.k.a. SERGIO ONGRIANO ASCARRAGA, Accused-Appellant.

FACTS

Accused-appellant Sherniel Ungriano Ascarraga was charged with murder for the killing of Barangay Chairman Rodrigo Borgonia. The prosecution established that on October 13, 2003, during a flag ceremony in Quezon City, the victim was shot by an assailant. Prosecution witnesses, including Barangay Security Development Office Executive Officer Lope Abendano and Editha Dictado, identified Ascarraga as the gunman from a police lineup approximately twenty days after the incident. The medical report confirmed the victim sustained three gunshot wounds, with a fatal shot to the head.
The defense interposed alibi, claiming Ascarraga was in General Nakar, Quezon, at the time of the crime, cooking for a tribal group. He asserted he only traveled to Metro Manila days later and was subsequently arrested on an unrelated illegal firearms charge. He challenged the credibility of the eyewitness identification, particularly of Dictado, arguing the conditions during the shooting were chaotic and the identification procedure was suggestive.

ISSUE

The core issue is whether the prosecution proved Ascarraga’s guilt as the perpetrator of the murder beyond reasonable doubt, specifically concerning the reliability of the eyewitness identification.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction. The Court upheld the factual findings of the trial court and the Court of Appeals, emphasizing the well-settled doctrine that the assessment of witness credibility is best left to the trial court, which had the direct opportunity to observe the witnesses’ demeanor and conduct on the stand. The Court found no reason to deviate from these concurrent findings.
On the specific challenge to the identification, the Court ruled that the eyewitness accounts were credible and reliable. The witnesses were present at the scene, had a clear view of the assailant, and consistently identified Ascarraga in a properly conducted police lineup without any improper suggestion. The defense of alibi was inherently weak and could not prevail over the positive identification by credible witnesses. The qualifying circumstance of treachery was correctly appreciated, as the attack was sudden and unexpected, leaving the victim defenseless. The Court modified the damages awarded, increasing moral and exemplary damages to Seventy-Five Thousand Pesos (Php75,000.00) each, in accordance with prevailing jurisprudence, and affirmed the imposition of legal interest on all monetary awards.