On The Night of July 16, 1997, Sisters Marijoy and Jacqueline
On The Night of July 16, 1997, Sisters Marijoy and Jacqueline
On The Night of July 16, 1997, Sisters Marijoy and Jacqueline
-For one, it
is not true that they were not given sufficient opportunity to crossexamine
Rusia. All of appellants’ counsel de parte had a fair share
of time in grilling Rusia concerning his background to the
kidnapping of Marijoy and Jacqueline. The records reveal the
following dates of his cross-examination:
-That the trial court imposed limitation on the length of time counsel
for appellants may cross-examine Rusia cannot be labeled as a
violation of the latter’s constitutional right. Considering that
appellants had several lawyers, it was just imperative for the trial
court to impose a time limit on their cross-examination so as not to
waste its time on repetitive and prolix questioning.
Indeed, it is the right and duty of the trial court
-Records show that the failure of the PAO lawyers to crossexamine
some of the prosecution witnesses was due to appellants’
obstinate refusal.
-C. Right to Impartial Trial
Appellants impute bias and partiality to Judge Ocampo when he
asked questions and made comments when the defense witnesses
were testifying.
Canon 14 of the Canons of Judicial Ethics states that a judge may
properly intervene during trial to promote expeditious proceeding,
prevent unnecessary waste of time and dilly-dallying of counsel or
clear up obscurities. The test is whether the intervention of the judge
tends to prevent the proper presentation of a cause or the
ascertainment of the truth in the matter where he interposes his
questions or comments.
-D. Right to Produce Evidence
-Appellants assail the trial court’s exclusion of the testimonies of four
(4) airlines personnel104 which were intended to prove that Larrañaga
did not travel to Cebu from Manila or from Cebu to Manila on July
16, 1997. According to Judge Ocampo, it was imperative for appellants’
counsel to prove that Larrañaga did not take a flight to Cebu before
July 16, 1997.
-It is a known practice of students
who are temporarily residing in Metro Manila to return to their
provinces once in a while to spend time with their families.
-