Court of Appeals affirms conviction of 5 fratmen in 1994 Venturina slay

MANILA, Philippines - Five fraternity men face a maximum of 40 years in prison after the Court of Appeals (CA) affirmed their conviction for killing a member of a rival fraternity in 1994.

In 2002, the Quezon City Regional Trial Court found Danilo Feliciano Jr., Julius Victor Medalla, Christopher Soliva, Warren Zingapan and Robert Michael Alvir guilty of killing Dennis Venturina, a member of the Sigma Rho fraternity, during a rumble at the University of the Philippines in Quezon City.

The CA ruled that the trial court was correct in finding the five accused, who belonged to the Scintilla Juris fraternity, guilty of murder and sentencing them to reclusion perpetua or a maximum of 40 years in prison.

“As to the defenses of alibi and denial, it is almost trite to say that the same are weak and would not prevail over positive identification,” read the CA decision.

“However trite it is, the same still applies to this case. The alibis of each one did not absolutely negate the possibility that they could have been in the locus criminis (scene of the crime) at the time of the commission of the crime,” it further read.

The Quezon City court did not err in giving credence to the testimonies of five prosecution witnesses who identified the five accused during the trial, the CA said.

The appellants argued it was impossible for the witnesses to identify the assailants who were supposedly wearing masks at that time.

However, the CA said there was no reason to doubt the testimonies of the victims and other witnesses that some of the attackers were not wearing masks.

“In reading the transcript of the stenographic notes taken during the testimonies of the five private complainants, we are convinced that they were credible witnesses,” stated the CA decision.

“The defense tried to muddle and confuse their testimonies with presumed inconsistencies but we find that the said witnesses were steadfast and unshaken in their testimonies implicating the accused appellants...

“We are therefore convinced that the prosecution was able to discharge the burden of proof required of the same, which was proof beyond reasonable doubt,” it further stated.

The CA said it is a well-established rule that minor inconsistencies do not affect the credibility of a witness.

“The narration of each of the defense witnesses would prove that he or she did not see all the occurrences during the incident,” read the CA decision.

The verdict was handed down by a special division of five CA justices headed by Presiding Justice Andres Reyes Jr.

Associate Justices Amelita Tolentino, Mariflor Punzalan-Castillo, and Jose Reyes concurred with the ruling. Associate Justice Stephen Cruz dissented from the majority opinion.