Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
the Regional Trial Court (RTC), Branch 103, of Quezon City, finding
appellant Alex Watamama y Esil guilty of violating Section 5 of Republic
Act (R.A.) No. 9165.
At around 10 o clock in the morning of September 25, 2005, an
informant reported to SPO2 Dante Nagera in the Quezon City Anti-Drug
Action Center, PNP Central Police District, Quezon City Hall Compound,
that a certain "Alex" was selling drugs in Barangay Payatas, Quezon City.
SPO2 Nagera relayed the information to his superior P/Supt. Gerardo
Ratuita who then formed a team consisting of SPO2 Nagera, PO3
Leonardo Ramos, PO1 Teresita Reyes, PO1 Alexander Jimenez, and PO1
Peggy Lynne Vargas to conduct a buy-bust operation. PO1 Vargas was
designated as the poseur buyer and was given two P100 bills which she
marked with her initials "PV".
The RTC rendered a decision convicting appellant of illegal sale of 0.18
grams of shabu and sentenced him to suffer the penalty of life
imprisonment and to pay a fine of P500,000. The CA denied the appeal
and affirmed the RTC Decision. The CA found that the prosecution was
able to establish every link in the chain of custody of the shabu from the
moment of seizure to receipt for examination and safekeeping in the PNP
Crime Laboratory to safekeeping for presentation in court.
Issue: Whether there was chain of custody attendant in the case.
Ruling: The Supreme Court ruled granted the appeal filed by the
appellant. It ruled that in all prosecutions for the violation of the
Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, the existence of the
prohibited drug has to be proved.
The chain of custody rule requires that testimony be presented about every
link in the chain, from the moment the item was seized up to the time it is
offered in evidence. To this end, the prosecution must ensure that the
substance presented in court is the same substance seized from the
accused.
The prosecution failed to show how the seized evidence changed hands
from the time PO1 Vargas turned it over to the investigator up to the time
they were presented in court as evidence. The prosecution did not adduce
evidence on how the evidence was handled or stored before its
presentation at the trial. Since the failure to establish every link in the
chain of custody of the drug compromised its identity and integrity, which
is the corpus delicti of the crimes charged against appellant, his acquittal is
therefore in order.
The Court holds that the guilt of Belocura for the crime
proved beyond reasonable doubt. Mere suspicion of his
how strong, should not sway judgment against him.
favoring him must be duly considered. Indeed, the
innocence in his favor was not overcome. Hence, his
follow.
of shabu that was offered in evidence against Gerry as the same one she
seized from the latter and marked immediately thereafter in the presence of
the police investigator. The police investigator continued the chain when
he testified that he saw PO1 Vargas making the appropriate markings on
the sachet, as well as issuance of an inventory receipt as evidence of
transfer of custody.
Furthermore, this Court has consistently ruled that even in instances where
the arresting officers failed to take a photograph of the seized drugs as
required under Section 21 of R.A. No. 9165, such procedural lapse is
not fatal and will not render the items seized inadmissible in
evidence. What is of utmost importance is the preservation of the integrity
and evidentiary value of the seized items, as the same would be utilized in
the determination of the guilt or innocence of the accused.
required quantum of evidence. For only when there is proof beyond any
shadow of doubt that those responsible should be made answerable.
helping each other, with intent to kill, with evident premeditation and
treachery, and without any justifiable cause, did then and there willfully,
unlawfully and feloniously attack, assault and employ personal violence
upon the person of FELIPE SALES Y NACHOR by then and there
stab[b]ing him with a bladed weapon hitting the victim on different parts
of his body thereby inflicting upon him serious and mortal wounds which
were the direct and immediate cause of his death, to the damage and
prejudice of the [heirs] of the said FELIPE SALES Y NACHOR in such
amount as may be awarded under the provisions of the Civil Code.
Issue: Whether the accused is guilty of the crime of homicide.
Ruling: Physical evidence is a mute but eloquent manifestation of truth
and rates highly in the hierarchy of trustworthy evidence. It enjoys a far
more superior probative weight than corroborative testimonies. In the
instant case, the autopsy report negates the lone witnesss account of the
participation of petitioner in the stabbing of the victim.
The inconsistency between the positive testimony of Javier and the
physical evidence, particularly the autopsy report, further diminishes the
credibility of the lone eyewitness.
A conviction in a criminal case must be
reasonable doubt, which means a moral
guilty. The prosecution failed to establish
beyond reasonable doubt. Hence, we
conviction.
Investigation for a physical examination, which was conducted by medicolegal officer Dr. Floresto Arizala, Jr. The medico-legal officer later
testified that Nora's injury appeared to be a burn and that a droplight when
placed near the skin for about 10 minutes could cause such burn. On May
22, 1992, Nora's injury was referred to a plastic surgeon at the Dr. Jesus
Delgado Memorial Hospital for skin grafting. Unfortunately, Nora's arm
would never be the same. Aside from the unsightly mark, the pain in her
left arm remains. When sleeping, she has to cradle her wounded arm. Her
movements now are also restricted. Her children cannot play with the left
side of her body as they might accidentally bump the injured arm, which
aches at the slightest touch. Thus, on June 21, 1993, respondent spouses
filed a complaint for damages against petitioner, Dr. Abad, and the
hospital. Finding in favor of respondent spouses
Issue/s: (1) Whether the questioned additional exhibits admissible in
evidence? (2) Whether or not the petitioner is liable for the injury suffered
by respondent Nora Go?
Ruling: As to the first issue, we agree with the Court of Appeals that
said exhibits are admissible in evidence. We note that the questioned
exhibits consist mostly of Nora's medical records, which were produced
by the hospital during trial pursuant to a subpoena duces tecum.
Petitioner's counsel admitted the existence of the same when they were
formally offered for admission by the trial court. In any case, given the
particular circumstances of this case, a ruling on the negligence of
petitioner may be made based on the res ipsa loquitur doctrine even in the
absence of such additional exhibits.
The Hippocratic Oath mandates physicians to give primordial
consideration to the well-being of their patients. If a doctor fails to live up
to this precept, he is accountable for his acts. This notwithstanding, courts
face a unique restraint in adjudicating medical negligence cases because
physicians are not
guarantors of care and, they never set out to intentionally cause injury to
their patients. However, intent is immaterial in negligence cases because
where negligence exists and is proven, it automatically gives the injured a
right to reparation for the damage caused.
In cases involving medical negligence, the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur
allows the mere existence of an injury to justify a presumption of
negligence on the part of the person who controls the instrument
causing the injury, provided that the following requisites
concur: 1. The accident is of a kind which ordinarily does not
occur in the absence of someone's negligence; 2. It is caused
by an instrumentality within the exclusive control of the
defendant or defendants; and 3. The possibility of
would
make
the
plaintif
ONG v. CA
272 SCRA 725
Justice Mendoza
Facts: Petitioner Miguela Campos Ong is the surviving
spouse of Manuel Ong. The latter died on May 21, 1990,
while the case was pending appeal in the Court of Appeals.
On the other hand, private respondents Alfredo Ong, Jr. and
Robert Ong are children of Saturnina Caballes allegedly by
Manuel Ong. They brought this case to compel Manuel Ong
to recognize them as his illegitimate children and to give
them support. It was asserted that on December 20, 1953,
Manuel Ong, representing himself as Alfredo Go, was
RAMOS v. CA
321 SCRA 584
Justice Kapunan
State v. Hemphill
No. 9029SC791.
HEDRICK, Chief Judge.
Facts: Defendant charged with second degree murder for
the death of his baby daughter. When defendant
brought his baby to the pediatrician it was shown that
she had been dead for 3-4 hours. The autopsy showed
there was swelling of the brain, bleeding in the skull,
and bruises on the brain and hemorrhage in the lungs.
The testifying physician stated that he believed the
injuries were the result of shaken baby syndrome and
that the injury typically occurs when an infants head
is shaken violently while being held so that the skull
itself is maintained within the persons grasp and the
brain is shaken inside the head.
Defendant testified that after feeding his daughter she
vomited and was not breathing and then took her to the
hospital. Defendant later testified, upon learning that
the cause of death was declared as shaken baby
syndrome, that he had shaken the baby three or four
times because she was choking. He testified that he
did not intend to harm the child when shaking her.
Accused was adjudged guilty at trial hence this appeal.
Spencer v. Murray
5 F.3d 758, September 16, 1993
Circuit Judge Widener
Facts: This is a consolidated case. Spencer's first reported
victim was thirty-five-year-old Debbie Dudley Davis. Miss
Davis was murdered sometime between 9:00 p.m. on
September 18, 1987 and 9:30 a.m. on September 19,
1987. The victims body was found on her bed by officers of
the Richmond
Bureauof Police. She had been strangled by the use of a sock
and vacuum cleaner hose, which had been assembled into
what the Virginia Court called a ligature and ratchet-type
device. Two weeks later, Dr. Susan Hellams was found dead
and partially stripped in her bedroom wardrobe. The medical
examiner testified at trial that the cause of Dr. Hellams's
death was ligature strangulation, apparently caused by two
belts found around her neck. The medical examiner also
testified that Dr. Hellams sustained other injuries, including a
fractured nose, a blunt force injury to the lower lip, various
bruises and scrapes, and an injury consistent with one made
by a shoe on the back of her right leg. On the twenty-second
of November, another victim was found in her apartment
outside the city, this was Diane Cho, a teenage student.
Fifteen-year-old Diane Cho was murdered in her bedroom
while her brother and her parents slept nearby. Her hands
were tied. She was strangled with a rope. A piece of duct
tape across her mouth kept her from crying out. She was
raped, and there were semen stains on the sheets. Spencer's
final victim, Susan Tucker, age forty-four, was reported
missing in December. After a week her body was found in her
apartment. Her injuries left detectives certain that her death
was caused by the murderer now dubbed by the press as the
Thomas v. State
1999 WL 1267801, December 30, 1999
PER CURIAM
Facts: The victim and her husband, who lived in a duplex
apartment, had an argument about the former needing
money. Eventually, the husband left, apologized to his
neighbor Johnson about the noise during the argument, and
went to a party. The victim was left crying just outside her
apartment. She was comforted by Johnson along with his
mother and sister. During that time, Thomas walked into the
group and consoled the victim as well. When Johnsons
mother and his sister left, Thomas and the victim walked
across the street towards a telephone booth. After the
victim made the call, the victim came back to the duplex
alone, and Thomas walked down the street. During the
victims conversation with Johnson, she revealed that she
and
Thomas attended school together. In the meantime, Thomas
went to his friends place to get high. He drank and
smoked cocaine, and later on, he left. During the late night,
Johnson spotted Thomas walking towards the duplex.
Johnson greeted him, but Thomas didnt acknowledge him.
Then later on, Johnson heard loud noises and went around
investigating. When the noises stopped, Thomas appeared
out of nowhere and asked Johnson for a cigarette (though he
didnt have one at a time). He went in his apartment, armed
himself with a kitchen knife, and when he went back out,
Thomas was gone. Johnson didnt see the victims husbands
car at their apartment that night, nor did he see it there the
next morning. When morning came, the victims brother
arrived at the victims home to check on her but he found
her lying face down on her bed. When he touched her, she
was stif. A piece of a curtain and a cord were around her
neck. (Forensics collected a piece of cord from a Nintendo
videogame unit from the bed.) Her panties were pulled down
and were around her right leg. Her shirt was pulled up
around her neck. A moderate amount of blood was visible,
and a knife was on the bed. After noting that the baby was
asleep in her crib a few feet from her mother's body, the
victim's brother went to a telephone booth across the street
and summoned help by calling 911.
The victims husband, upon his return, was questioned by
the police, without being told that his wife was murdered.
The DNA profiles from the vaginal fluid matched the DNA
profiles from Thomas blood. During the trial, Thomas called
no witnesses in his defense, but he advanced his theory of
defense throughout the trial that the victims husband
caught him and the victim having consensual intercourse,
that he ran away to avoid an altercation with the husband,
and that the husband, in a jealous rage, killed the wife.
Issue: Whether the DNA
circumstantial evidence.
evidence
is
direct
or