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PEOPLE vs Noel y Santiago

PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. NOEL DIAZ y SANTIAGO @ BOY TOPAK, accused-appellant.

G.R. No. 130652 | 1999-06-21

D E C I S I O N


PANGANIBAN, J.:

As a general rule, the assessment of the credibility of witnesses and their testimonies is best left to the discretion of trial courts. However, where the lower court overlooked relevant, material and pervasive inconsistencies which in their totality create reasonable doubt in an unprejudiced mind, the conviction of the accused cannot be justified. The prosecution must rely on the strength of its own evidence, not on the weakness of the defense.

The Case

Before us is an appeal from the January 16, 1997 Decision1 [Rollo, pp. 27-33; records, pp. 90-96.] of the Regional Trial Court of Malabon (Branch 72),2...