This case has been cited 1 times or more.
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2000-10-26 |
BELLOSILLO, J. |
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| self-preservation and filial piety, relatives would invariably rush to the succor of a beleaguered family member. This fact of life takes more significance in this case where the person in the line of fire is the patriarch of the del Rosario clan. Alibi is one of the weakest defenses that can be resorted to by an accused, not only because it is inherently weak and unreliable but also because it can be easily fabricated.[22] We also do not make much of the claim by defense witness Jaime Pascual that he saw the complainant at her residence in Novaliches, Quezon City, on 31 January 1997. On cross-examination Jaime's testimony wilted when he admitted that on that fateful day he left for work at 8:45 in the morning and returned only at 6:00 o'clock in the evening. In short, he could not have been privy to what the complainant was doing during the interim. He even clarified that it only took him one (1) hour to travel from his residence in Novaliches to his place of work in Cubao, which is roughly the same time required for the complainant to commute from her residence in Novaliches to her father-in-law's apartment in Cubao. All told, accused-appellant failed to satisfactorily prove to this Court that he was at his sister's residence at the time the crime happened, but more importantly, that it was physically impossible for him to be at the locus criminis at the time of its | |||||