This case has been cited 2 times or more.
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2014-08-20 |
REYES, J. |
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| "The eloquent testimony of the victim, coupled with the medical findings attesting to her non-virgin state, should be enough to confirm the truth of her charges."[29] This is especially true in the case of AAA, a girl of tender age, who is not likely to fabricate a story of her own defloration which may expose her and her family to humiliation. The accused-appellant denied the charges and in his defense posited that AAA filed the complaints in anger after the former drove BBB and the children away from the house. The RTC declared this ascribed motive as too flimsy and insignificant, and we find no reason to depart from the said finding. | |||||
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2014-08-13 |
REYES, J. |
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| In People of the Philippines v. Hermenigildo Delen y Esco Billa,[49] the court emphatically stated that: It is a fundamental rule that the trial court's factual findings, especially its assessment of the credibility of witnesses, are accorded great weight and respect and binding upon this Court, particularly when affirmed by the Court of Appeals. This Court has repeatedly recognized that the trial court is in the best position to assess the credibility of witnesses and their testimonies because of its unique position of having observed that elusive and incommunicable evidence of the witnesses' deportment on the stand while testifying, which opportunity is denied to the appellate courts. Only the trial judge can observe the furtive glance, blush of conscious shame, hesitation, flippant or sneering tone, calmness, sigh, or the scant or full realization of an oath. These are significant factors in evaluating the sincerity of witnesses, in the process of unearthing the truth. The appellate courts will generally not disturb such findings unless it plainly overlooked certain facts of substance and value that, if considered, might affect the result of the case. | |||||