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PEOPLE vs Ernie Baro

PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, appellee, vs. ERNIE BARO, appellant.

G.R. Nos. 146327-29 | 2002-06-05

D E C I S I O N

PANGANIBAN, J.:

The prosecution must prove the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt. It must avoid pushing the judge to the pitfall of either convicting the innocent or acquitting the guilty. The hornbook rule is that where there is reasonable doubt, the accused must be acquitted. It would be far more acceptable to acquit the guilty erroneously than to convict the innocent wrongly.

The Case

Ernie Baro appeals the Decision[1] dated October 30, 2000 issued by the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Quezon City (Branch 86), finding him guilty beyond reasonable doubt of three (3) counts of rape and sentencing him to...