This case has been cited 2 times or more.
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2010-02-01 |
DEL CASTILLO, J. |
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| The fact that the prosecution witnesses are related to the victim will not necessarily taint their testimonies. The weight of testimony of witnesses is neither impaired nor in any way affected by their relationship to the victim when there is no showing of improper motive on their part.[19] Relationship per se of a witness with the victim of the crime does not necessarily mean that the witness is biased.[20] These prosecution witnesses are the most aggrieved parties, being the victim's widow and sister. Thus, their motive of putting the killers behind bars cannot be considered improper.[21] It would be unnatural for a relative who is interested in avenging the crime to implicate persons other than the real culprit lest the guilty go unpunished.[22] | |||||
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2007-01-23 |
TINGA, J. |
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| Plata's alibi is patently weak, considering that the alibi is corroborated by his wife, and a wife is generally perceived to be partial to her husband. Likewise, the testimony of Esther Guevarra is unavailing. To establish alibi, the accused must not only show that he was in a place other than the situs of the crime at the time it was committed, such that it was physically impossible for him to have committed the same.[44] Granting that Plata had religiously fetched the children of Ester at 11:30 a.m. every weekday, still it is highly probable for him to have been physically present at the scene of the crime at the time of the abduction. The distance between Malolos and Bulacan, Bulacan can be negotiated with a 15-minute ride.[45] At all events, appellant's alibi cannot prevail over the positive identification of the kidnap victim himself, who has no motive to falsely testify.[46] | |||||