Back

PEOPLE vs Ong

PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, appellee, vs. WILLIAM ONG y LI and CHING DE MING @ ROBERT TIU, appellants.

G.R. No. 137348 | 2004-06-21

D E C I S I O N


PUNO, J.:

"... the allowance of the privilege to withhold evidence that is demonstrably relevant in a criminal trial would cut deeply into the guarantee of due process of law and gravely impair the basic function of the courts." [1]

Chief Justice Warren E. Burger

The case at bar involves the clash of two classic values - - - the need for the State to stop crimes and preserve the peace against the right of an individual to confront material witnesses to establish his innocence. In balancing the two values, we shall scrutinize and set the parameters that ought to guide prosecution when to disclose the identity of...