Thursday, April 12, 2012

Alibi is weak defense - G.R. No. 187073

G.R. No. 187073

"x x x.

We concur with the trial and appellate courts in rejecting appellants’ defenses of denial and alibi.  Time and again this Court has ruled that alibi is the weakest of all defenses, for it is easy to fabricate and difficult to prove; it cannot prevail over the positive identification of the accused by the witnesses.[9]  Moreover, for the defense of alibi to prosper, the requirements of time and place must be strictly met. It is not enough to prove that the accused was somewhere else when the crime was committed, but he must also demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that it was physically impossible for him to have been at the scene of the crime at the time the same was committed.[10]   Such physical impossibility was not shown to have existed in this case where appellants’ testimonies confirmed they were in the same locality (Bagong Silang) when the robbery-killing took place.
x x x."