This case has been cited 3 times or more.
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2013-07-17 |
VILLARAMA, JR., J. |
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| Jurisprudence further provides that minor inconsistencies in immaterial details do not destroy the probative value of the testimony of a witness regarding the very act of the accused. The case of Madali v. People[28] elucidates thus: Given the natural frailties of the human mind and its incapacity to assimilate all material details of a given incident, slight inconsistencies and variances in the declarations of a witness hardly weaken their probative value. It is well settled that immaterial and insignificant details do not discredit a testimony on the very material and significant point bearing on the very act of accused-appellants. As long as the testimonies of the witnesses corroborate one another on material points, minor inconsistencies therein cannot destroy their credibility. Inconsistencies on minor details do not undermine the integrity of a prosecution witness. (Emphasis and underscoring supplied.) | |||||
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2011-12-14 |
LEONARDO-DE CASTRO, J. |
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| For the second and third counts of rape that were committed in the year 1999, the accused-appellant was already 17 years old. We likewise find that in the said instances, the accused-appellant acted with discernment. In Madali v. People,[77] the Court had the occasion to reiterate that "[d]iscernment is that mental capacity of a minor to fully appreciate the consequences of his unlawful act. Such capacity may be known and should be determined by taking into consideration all the facts and circumstances afforded by the records in each case." In this case, the fact that the accused-appellant acted with discernment was satisfactorily established by the testimony of AAA, which we had already found to be credible. Verily, AAA testified that she at first did not tell anybody about the sexual assault she suffered at the hands of the accused-appellant because the latter told her that he would kill her mother if she did so. That the accused-appellant had to threaten AAA in an effort to conceal his dastardly acts only proved that he knew full well that what he did was wrong and that he was aware of the consequences thereof. | |||||
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2011-03-16 |
PEREZ, J. |
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| Discernment is that mental capacity of a minor to fully appreciate the consequences of his unlawful act.[135] Such capacity may be known and should be determined by taking into consideration all the facts and circumstances afforded by the records in each case.[136] | |||||