GR L 29181; (July, 1984) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-29181. July 9, 1984.
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. ANDRES CANUMAY, ET AL., defendants, VICTOR BATERNA, NELSON POTESTAS, JAVIER FERNANDEZ, AGAPITO BAUTISTA, ANTONIO ABATAYO, RICARDO PATIHAN, EGLECERIO DURANO, and BUENAVENTURA TAGBACAOLA, defendants-appellants.
FACTS
On the evening of October 31, 1966, armed men forcibly entered the house of Guillermo Rudines in Tangub, Misamis Occidental. They shot and killed his wife, Gliceria, inflicted injuries on Guillermo, and robbed the family of cash and jewelry. Initially, the victims could not identify the perpetrators. Investigation led to Victoriano Rosario, who confessed and implicated sixteen co-conspirators, including appellants Nelson Potestas, Agapito Bautista, Buenaventura Tagbacaola, and Javier Fernandez. Rosario and another accused were discharged to become state witnesses. Several accused, including Potestas and Bautista, executed sworn confessions before a municipal judge. At trial, appellants Potestas and Bautista repudiated their confessions, claiming they were extracted through force and coercion by the police.
ISSUE
Whether the constitutional presumption of innocence was successfully overturned by the prosecution, specifically regarding the credibility of the state witness and the voluntariness of the extrajudicial confessions.
RULING
Yes, the presumption of innocence was overcome. The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction for robbery with homicide and serious physical injuries. The testimony of state witness Victoriano Rosario was deemed credible. The Court dismissed the minor inconsistency regarding the date he left for Tubod (October 28 vs. October 30) as immaterial, applying the rule that a witness may only be impeached on matters material and relevant to the real issue. His positive identification of the appellants’ individual participation in the crime remained intact.
Regarding the confessions of Potestas and Bautista, the Court found them voluntary and admissible. Their claims of torture were negated by several circumstances: (1) They affirmed the truth of their statements before the administering municipal judge without complaint; (2) A medical examination of all accused days later revealed no signs of physical injury; and (3) The fact that five other co-accused, including appellants Tagbacaola and Fernandez, were not coerced into giving confessions disproved the allegation of systematic police maltreatment. The appellants failed to discharge their burden of proving their confessions were involuntary. The judgment was affirmed with modification increasing the indemnity.