Despite weak defense, evidence not enough to tag man in crimes

CEBU, Philippines - The Regional Trial Court has ordered the Naga City Jail to release a man accused of attempted rape and robbery after prosecutors failed to prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

Judge Sylva Paderanga said Winston Alforque’s defense of denial was “inherently weak”, but the prosecution’s case was weaker.

“The accused in these cases invoked the defense of denial and alibi which are inherently weak defenses. However, these defenses of the accused had drawn strength from the apparent failure of the prosecution to prove the guilt of the accused with moral certainty,” Paderanga’s decision reads.

In 2008, cases for attempted rape and robbery were filed against Alforque in court.

The complainant alleged she was sleeping alone at her house in Barangay Tinaan, Naga on April 12, 2008 when she was awakened at around 1 a.m. when she felt someone go on top of her. She immediately held the person’s head and asked for his name to which the man answered ‘Macmac’.

However, when she reportedly turned on her mobile phone for some light, she saw that it was Alforque, her neighbor.

The complainant alleged that Alforque poked a knife to her neck and grabbed her mobile phone, but because she resisted, Alforque failed to rape her.

 â€œWinston tried to remove my pants but was unable to do so as I evaded his advances by forceful efforts to get free from him until I found an opportunity to unlock and open the door as my hand was near it and finally escaped away from Winston,” the complainant’s affidavit reads.

She then went to her neighbor’s house and asked that her husband be informed about what happened. When her husband arrived, they went to the barangay hall to report the incident.

For his defense, Alforque said he was drinking with friends evening on April 11, 2008 and he went home to sleep around 11 p.m. He was reportedly awakened when two barangay tanods knocked on his door and informed him someone had accused him of attempted rape and robbery. He denied the allegations.

In her decision, Paderanga said it was curious why the complainant did not tell the tanods the name of the accused outright, considering that she had indentified him, as stipulated in her sworn statement.

“…this court finds it beyond the demands of logic why she had to give to the barangay tanods the description of the suspect who at about 1:00 a.m. of April 12 allegedly entered her house, attempted to rape her and robbed her cellphone when she could have named outright Winston Alforque as she allegedly recognized him after illuminating the latter’s face using her cellphone she got beside her,” the decision reads.

Paderanga added that if the complainant indeed recognized the Alforque positively, she could have asked the tanods to accompany her to the accused’ house to have him arrested. — (FREEMAN)