This case has been cited 2 times or more.
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2012-02-15 |
DEL CASTILLO, J. |
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| The fact that Wilfredo and Jonalyn are related to the victim also does not diminish their credibility. While admittedly, Wilfredo is a relative of the husband of Julita, who is the daughter of Jesus, and Jonalyn is Jesus's granddaughter, relationship per se does not evince ulterior motive nor does it ipso facto tarnish the credibility of witnesses.[44] "Mere relationship to a party cannot militate against the credibility of witnesses or be taken as destructive of the witnesses' credibility."[45] What matters is that Wilfredo and Jonalyn positively identified Benny and Adriano as the assailants of Jesus and that they testified in a straightforward manner. These indicate that the two are telling the truth. | |||||
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2003-09-30 |
QUISUMBING, J. |
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| We have likewise closely scrutinized the testimony of Mona Barredo regarding the alleged admission by appellant to her that he killed the victim. We find nothing "flip-flopping" about her testimony. Instead, we find a witness who admitted she was "nervous" that she might not be able to answer all the questions.[91] Said nervousness was engendered by her erroneous belief that to be a credible witness, she must have personal knowledge of the crime.[92] Even the most candid witnesses make mistakes and may give some contradictory or inconsistent statements, but such honest lapses need not necessarily affect their credibility. Ample margin should be accorded a witness who is tension-filled with the novelty of testifying before a court.[93] | |||||