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PEOPLE vs. Hector Vasquez, et al.

THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. HECTOR VASQUEZ and RENATO VASQUEZ, accused-appellants.

G.R. No. 102366 | 1997-10-03

D E C I S I O N

HERMOSISIMA, JR., J:

In criminal cases, the duty of the court is not so much as to convict but to enter a judgment of acquittal when doubt exists as to the guilt of the accused. For, under our criminal justice system, the overriding consideration is not whether the court doubts the innocence of the accused but whether it entertains a reasonable doubt as to his guilt. 1

The brothers Hector Vasquez and Renato Vasquez were convicted of the crime of murder by the Regional Trial Court (Branch 17) of Roxas City. They were said to have beaten up one Primo Dollete and alleged to have dragged the said victim to the river bank at...