PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES VS. LEONEL PASAOL PALAC G.R. No. 175600, April 23, 2008
Criminal Case Digest / Digested Case
Rape; Alibi as weak defense
Facts:
On or about the 14th day of May 1996 in Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused LEONEL PASAOL PALAC alias Joy Joy Talac, in conspiracy with his co-accused REY ARGENTILLO and JOJO VILARDE, by means of force and intimidation they employed upon the person of one [AAA], a minor, 15 years of age, feloniously lay with and have carnal knowledge of said complainant [AAA] against the latter's will, while the two other acc[u]sed watched and stood guard while waiting for [their] turn to have sexual intercourse with the aforesaid [AAA], to her damage and prejudice.
The RTC convicted all three. But PALAC appealed to the CA, pleading defense on the basis of 1) alibi and 2) inconsistencies in the statement of the victim, AAA. The CA however affirmed the conviction.
ISSUE:
Does PALAC’s appeal have merit?
HELD:
No. Appellant cites the inconsistencies allegedly committed by [AAA]. Allegedly, during her direct examination, [AAA] testified that it was at "6:00 p.m.," when VILARDE offered her a drink, while in paragraph 6 of her Affidavit, she stated it was at 9:00 p.m. [AAA] also contradicted herself on direct examination when she stated that she knocked at the door of the photo[shop] which was opened by ARGENTILLO, when in paragraph 7 of her [A]ffidavit, she alleged that it was VILARDE who knocked at the door and it was appellant who opened the same.A circumspect examination of the record shows that when confronted with the foregoing inconsistencies on cross-examination, [AAA] clarified that it was at 6:00 p.m., not 9:00 p.m., when she was offered a drink by VILARDE; and that it was not she but VILARDE who knocked at the door which appellant opened.
In any event, inconsistencies on matters that transpired prior to the actual commission of the crime and have no bearing to the elements of the crime charged are not treated as proof of a feigning witness but as hallmark of an unrehearsed testimony. Such minor inconsistencies even guarantee truthfulness and candor and serve to strengthen rather than destroy [AAA]'s credibility.
As for appellant's alibi, it does not prosper for he failed to prove, with clear and convincing evidence, that he was in a place other than the place of the crime such that it was physically impossible for him to have committed the crime. The photoshop where AAA was raped was only 15 meters away from the Aragon Compound where the house of CCC in which appellant spent the night on the same date of the incidents.