G.R. No. 117954 April 27, 2000 PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Plaintiff-Appellee, ORLANDO ACURAM, Accused-Appellant
G.R. No. 117954 April 27, 2000 PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Plaintiff-Appellee, ORLANDO ACURAM, Accused-Appellant
G.R. No. 117954 April 27, 2000 PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Plaintiff-Appellee, ORLANDO ACURAM, Accused-Appellant
QUISUMBING, J.
SO ORDERED.4
II
III
IV
To begin with, while appellant denies that he fled and hid after
the shooting incident, we find that his behavior proves otherwise.
Appellant admits that he was at the scene of the crime at the time
the shooting happened. Considering that he is a law enforcement
officer, the unusual incident should have at least elicited his
curiosity and he should have inquired about it. However, he chose
to ignore the incident and go his way. 12 That a policeman could
display such indifference to a crime committed in his presence is
highly incredible. While it was true that he reported for duty the day
after the incident, the following day, he was ordered by his
commanding officer restricted within the camp pending
investigation of the case. By this time, appellant must have learned
that his commanding officer had received a radio message and that
he was already a suspect. As the trial court noted, no superior
officer will hold back from any of his men involved, such a grave
charge. Despite these, appellant did not present himself before the
police in El Salvador, Misamis Oriental. Instead, he was
conveniently nowhere to be found.
SO ORDERED.
Footnotes
1
Corrected by witness as "Rolando" Manabat, TSN,
January 13, 1992, p. 14.
2
Rollo, p. 9.
3
Records, pp. 29-30.
4
Rollo, p. 56.
5
TSN, March 4, 1992, pp. 4-15.
6
Records, p. 13.
7
TSN, December 29, 1992, p. 30; Records, p. 15.
8
Records, p. 52.
9
TSN, December 29, 1992, pp. 5-24.
10
Rollo, p. 57.
11
Rollo, p. 87.
12
TSN, December 29, 1992, pp. 13-14.
13
People vs. Ramos, 296 SCRA 559, 572-573 (1998).
14
People vs. Quitlong, 292 SCRA 360, 382 (1998).
15
Rollo, p. 95.
16
People vs. Navarro, 295 SCRA 139, 146 (1998).
17
People vs. Bermas, G.R. Nos. 76416 and 94312, July 5,
1999, p. 21.
18
Sec. 4, Rule 133, Rules of Court.
19
R.J. Francisco. Basic Evidence, p. 190 (1991).
20
People vs. Mangat, G.R. No. 131618, July 6, 1999, pp.
7-8.
21
Rollo, pp. 43-44.
22
People vs. Fuertes, 229 SCRA 289, 300 (1994).
23
People vs. Oliano, 287 SCRA 158, 177 (1998).
24
R. and C. Aquino. I The Revised Penal Code 74, 76-77,
84 (1997).