This case has been cited 8 times or more.
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2003-04-30 |
QUISUMBING, J. |
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| Appellant's reliance on the police blotter deserves nothing more than the scantest consideration. In the first place, "[t]he entry in the police blotter is not necessarily entitled to full credit for it could be incomplete and inaccurate, sometimes from either partial suggestions or for want of suggestion or inquiries, without the aid of which the witness may be unable to recall the connected collateral circumstances necessary for the correction of the first suggestion of his memory and for his accurate recollection of all that pertain to the subject.[31] According to appellant, Shirley's failure to seek police assistance for the immediate arrest of the assailants, and the fact that two years had elapsed before she was able to execute a sworn statement impaired her credibility as a witness. This matter, however, was adequately explained by the prosecution. Reluctance to get involved in a criminal investigation is not an unnatural reaction of some individuals, especially when there is fear of reprisal. Such initial reluctance is insufficient to affect credibility.[32] Moreover, the eyewitness had given reasons why she did not return to the police station: she was in the last stages of her pregnancy, and she feared the Cabreras who are notorious troublemakers in their neighborhood.[33] | |||||
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2000-02-17 |
DAVIDE JR., C.J. |
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| The constitutional right of an accused against self-incrimination[26] proscribes the use of physical or moral compulsion to extort communications from the accused and not the inclusion of his body in evidence when it may be material. Purely mechanical acts are not included in the prohibition as the accused does not thereby speak his guilt, hence the assistance and guiding hand of counsel is not required.[27] The essence of the right against self-incrimination is testimonial compulsion, that is, the giving of evidence against himself through a testimonial act.[28] Hence, it has been held that a woman charged with adultery may be compelled to submit to physical examination to determine her pregnancy;[29] and an accused may be compelled to submit to physical examination and to have a substance taken from his body for medical determination as to whether he was suffering from gonorrhea which was contracted by his victim;[30] to expel morphine from his mouth;[31] to have the outline of his foot traced to determine its identity with bloody footprints;[32] and to be photographed or measured, or his garments or shoes removed or replaced, or to move his body to enable the foregoing things to be done.[33] | |||||