Where failure of witness to point to accused in court does not dent credibility of witness.

RUSTICO ABAY, JR. and REYNALDO DARILAG vs. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, G.R. No. 165896, September 19, 2008.


“x x x.

Similarly, petitioners assert that the testimonies of Andrade and Tolentino are incredible and unsubstantiated. They question the failure of Tolentino to identify Punzalan in court, and stress that Andrade and Tolentino were not able to identify all the accused. The OSG, on the other hand, maintains that the testimonies of Andrade and Tolentino are credible since the facts testified to by them and Aban support each other.

We find petitioners’ allegations untenable. The testimonies given by Andrade, Tolentino and Aban corroborate each other. Their testimonies agree on the essential facts and substantially corroborate a consistent and coherent whole. The failure of Tolentino to point to Punzalan in court does not dent her credibility as a witness. It must be noted that it took years before Tolentino was placed on the witness stand. As to the allegation that the testimony of Andrade and Tolentino are incredible because they were not able to identify all the accused deserves scant consideration. During the robbery, they were told to bow their heads and hence, they were only able to raise their heads from time to time. It is but logical that the witnesses would not be able to identify all of the accused.

X x x.”