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Docslide - Us - People V Estonilo
Docslide - Us - People V Estonilo
HELD: AFFIRMATIVE. The age-old rule is that the task of assigning values
to the testimonies of witnesses on the witness stand and weighing their
credibility is best left to the trial court which forms its first-hand
impressions as a witness testifies before it. It is, thus, no surprise that
findings and conclusions of trial courts on the credibility of witnesses enjoy,
as a rule, a badge of respect, for trial courts have the advantage of
observing the demeanor of witnesses as they testify
Antipolos testimony did not suffer from any serious and material
inconsistency that could possibly detract from his credibility. He identified
the accused-appellant Nonoy and accused Negro as those who fired at Floro
about seven times, while accused-appellants Edel and Nonong were on
standby also holding their firearms. He also witnessed accused Gali
shouting to the gunmen to stop and escape. He narrated that after all the
accused left, Mayor Carlos, Sr., Rey and Materdam arrived aboard the
mayors vehicle. He also heard Mayor Carlos said leave it because its
already dead. From his direct and straightforward testimony, there is no
doubt as to the identity of the culprits.
In this case, the prosecution was able to clearly establish that (1)
Floro was killed; (2) Ex-Mayor Carlos, Sr., Rey, Edel, Nonong, and Calvin
were five of the nine perpetrators who killed him; (3) the killing was
attended by the qualifying circumstance of evident premeditation as
testified to by prosecution eyewitnesses, Servando and Antipolo, as well as
treachery as Nonoy and accused Negro successively fired at Floro about
seven times and the victim sustained 13 gunshot wounds all found to have
been inflicted at close range giving the latter no chance at all to evade the
attack and defend himself from the unexpected onslaught; and (4) the
killing of Floro was neither parricide nor infanticide.