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    Espineli V People - Digest

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    Shane Fulgueras
    Espineli was charged with murdering Alberto Borbon along with others. Witness Romeo Reyes gave a sworn statement to NBI agent Segunial implicating Espineli. Another witness identified a car used in the crime. Espineli did not present a defense. The trial court found Espineli guilty of murder. The appellate court modified the ruling to homicide since no witnesses saw the killing. Espineli argued Reyes' statement was inadmissible hearsay. The Supreme Court ruled the statement was not hearsay as the NBI agent testified only to taking Reyes' statement, not for the truth of its contents. Reyes' sworn statement was also a notarized document.

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    Espineli V People - Digest

    Uploaded by

    Shane Fulgueras
    43 views2 pages
    Espineli was charged with murdering Alberto Borbon along with others. Witness Romeo Reyes gave a sworn statement to NBI agent Segunial implicating Espineli. Another witness identified a car used in the crime. Espineli did not present a defense. The trial court found Espineli guilty of murder. The appellate court modified the ruling to homicide since no witnesses saw the killing. Espineli argued Reyes' statement was inadmissible hearsay. The Supreme Court ruled the statement was not hearsay as the NBI agent testified only to taking Reyes' statement, not for the truth of its contents. Reyes' sworn statement was also a notarized document.

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    Espineli v People - Digest

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    Espineli was charged with murdering Alberto Borbon along with others. Witness Romeo Reyes gave a sworn statement to NBI agent Segunial implicating Espineli. Another witness identified a car used in the crime. Espineli did not present a defense. The trial court found Espineli guilty of murder. The appellate court modified the ruling to homicide since no witnesses saw the killing. Espineli argued Reyes' statement was inadmissible hearsay. The Supreme Court ruled the statement was not hearsay as the NBI agent testified only to taking Reyes' statement, not for the truth of its contents. Reyes' sworn statement was also a notarized document.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as TXT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as txt, pdf, or txt
    43 views2 pages

    Espineli V People - Digest

    Uploaded by

    Shane Fulgueras
    Espineli was charged with murdering Alberto Borbon along with others. Witness Romeo Reyes gave a sworn statement to NBI agent Segunial implicating Espineli. Another witness identified a car used in the crime. Espineli did not present a defense. The trial court found Espineli guilty of murder. The appellate court modified the ruling to homicide since no witnesses saw the killing. Espineli argued Reyes' statement was inadmissible hearsay. The Supreme Court ruled the statement was not hearsay as the NBI agent testified only to taking Reyes' statement, not for the truth of its contents. Reyes' sworn statement was also a notarized document.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as TXT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    Facts: Petitioner Espineli was charged with the murder of Alberto Borbon along with

    Sotero Paredes and three unidentified gunmen where Alberto suffered multiple
    gunshot wounds. Petitioner was arrested and entered a plea of not guilty.

    The group of Atty. Dizon of the NBI took into custody one Romeo Reyes for the
    Illegal Possession of Deadly Weapon. Reyes confided to the group of Atty. Dizon
    that he was willing to give vital information regarding the Berbon case. NBI agent
    Segunial interviewed Reyes and reduced it in writing.

    Another witness, Rodolfo Dayao (Rodolfo), testified that he sold his red Ford
    Escort car to three
    persons. He later identified the said car from the photographs presented to him by
    the police officers. Petitioner, on the other hand, did not adduce evidence for his
    defense.

    RTC: Espineli is guilty of Murder.

    CA: Modified the findings to Homicide since none of the prosecution witnesses saw
    how the killing of the victim was perpetrated, the qualifying circumstance of abuse
    of superior strength cannot be appreciated. Neither can nighttime serve as an
    aggravating circumstance as the time of the commission of the crime was not even
    alleged in the Information.

    Petitioner argued that the Sinumpaang Salaysay of Reyes was a hearsay and
    inadmissible. He avers that the said sworn statement should not have been given
    probative value because its contents were neither confirmed nor authenticated by
    the affiant. Thus, all circumstances emanating from or included in the sworn
    statement must be totally brushed aside as lacking any evidentiary and probative
    value. Petitioner that there was no direct evidence linking him to the crime;

    Issue: Whether or not the testimony of Reyes is hearsay.

    Ruling: No. The testimony of Reyes is not hearsay.

    NBI Agent Segunial testified that he had investigated Reyes and reduced the
    latter’s statement into writing.

    The hearsay evidence rule as provided under Section 36, Rule 130 of the Rules of
    Court states:
    Sec. 36. Testimony generally confined to personal knowledge; hearsay excluded. – A
    witness can testify only to
    those facts which he knows of his personal knowledge; that is, which are derived
    from his own perception, except as
    otherwise provided in these rules.

    Evidence is hearsay when its probative force depends in whole or in part on the
    competency and credibility of some
    persons other than the witness by whom it is sought to produce.

    In the present case, the testimony of NBI Agent Segunial that while he was
    investigating Reyes, the latter confided
    to him that he (Reyes) heard petitioner telling Sotero "Ayaw ko nang abutin pa ng
    bukas yang si Berbon" and that he
    saw the two (petitioner and Sotero) armed with a .45 caliber pistol and an
    armalite, respectively, before boardinga
    red car, cannot be regarded as hearsay evidence. This is considering that NBI Agent
    Segunial’s testimony was not
    presented to prove the truth of such statement but only for the purpose of
    establishing that on February 10, 1997,
    Reyes executed a sworn statement containing such narration of facts.

    The testimony of NBI Agent Segunial is in the nature of an independently relevant


    statement where what is relevant is
    the fact that Reyes made such statement and the truth and falsity thereof is
    immaterial. In such a case, the
    statement of the witness is admissible as evidence and the hearsay rule does not
    apply.

    Moreover, the written statement of Reyes is a notarized document having been duly
    subscribed and sworn to before Atty. Cesar A. Bacani, a supervising agent of the
    NBI. As such, it may be presented in evidence without further proof

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