Court clears painter of murder charges
For lack of convincing evidence that the accused conspired with the other perpetrators, the court cleared a painter from murder charges for allegedly among those that stabbed to death a tricycle driver.
Regional Trial Court Branch 18 Judge Gilbert Moises said that “there is no clear and convincing evidence that conspiracy exists” to indict Allan Abarquez to the crime of murder.
Aside from this, Moises also took into consideration the admission of another accused, Criseldo Nanoy, that he stabbed Antonio Ibonalo on
In 2004, Nanoy entered into a plea bargaining agreement with the prosecution and pleaded guilty to the crime of homicide. One other accused in the case remains at large.
“Absent any active participation in furtherance of the common design or purpose to kill Antonio, the mere presence of Abarquez at the crime scene does not necessarily make him a conspirator. Even knowledge, acquiescence or approval of the act- without the cooperation and the agreement to cooperate- is not enough to establish conspiracy,” Moises said.
“It is a fundamental principle that the evidence for the prosecution must stand or fall on its own merits. The defense may be weak but the prosecution is weaker, and the rule is that conviction must rest not on the weakness of the defense but on the strength of the prosecution,” Moises added.
In his defense, Abarquez told the court that he was even among those who tried to pacify the fight between Nanoy and Ibonalo. However, he was no longer able to stop Nanoy from stabbing Ibonalo as things happened too fast.
A prosecution witness, barangay health worker Elizabeth Arain, also told the court that while she saw Abarquez, Laborte, and Nanoy allegedly running after Ibonalo, it was only Nanoy that she saw stab the victim. — Joeberth M. Ocao//BRP
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