GR No.

118942 / July 18, 2000

People v. Bernardo Daroy

Facts:
Philip Angelito, Sr., a policeman, was allegedly ganged up by Bernardo Daroy, Guillermo
VIllafania Jr., Gregorio Villafania, Bernardo Calacsa, and Mike and Roger Javillonar and Felipe
Villafania. According to the witnesses Virginia Angelito, Philips Angelito, Jr. and Philvin, wife
and children of the accused respectively, when he went outside his house to see who was
shouting from the outside, he was ganged up by the men and using a knife, ice-pick, small bolo
and abuse of superior strength they stabbed him to death outside his house. They were able to
see through the incident by a flashlight held by the wife. The trial court ruled all the accused
guilty beyond reasonable doubt of murder except Villafania. The rest appealed the decision
challenging the credibility of the witnesses.

Issue:
Whether or not the witnesses are credible.

Held:
Yes, the witnesses are credible. They have identified the accused-appellants as the assailants,
having been their neighbors. As stated by the trial court, the prosecution witnesses could not
have committed a mistake in pointing to the accused-appellants as the persons who stabbed
the victim because the place where the incident happened was illumined by a flashlight held by
the wife who was, more or less, seven meters away from the accused-appellants. And on the
matter of inconsistency regarding the weapon used, considering that the five accused-
appellants ganged up on Philip Angelito, Sr. and two of the eyewitnesses are minors who are
not used to seeing such deadly weapons, the said inconsistencies are minor and immaterial,
and do not discredit the testimony of the prosecution witnesses on the material and significant
points bearing on accused-appellants’ acts of stabbing the victim to death, in conspiracy with
each other. As long as the testimony of the witnesses corroborate each other on material points,
the minor inconsistencies therein cannot destroy their credibility. The murder verdict is affirmed.