CASE No.

93 (Robbery with Violence)

G.R. No. 116918

June 19, 1997

PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee,

vs.
BONFILO MARTINEZ y DE LA ROSA, JOHN DOE and PETER DOE, accused.
BONFILO MARTINEZ y DE LA ROSA, accused-appellant.
FACTS:
At about 6:30 PM of December 28, 1991, while Michael Buenvinida, Glorivic Bandayanon (the
guardian of Michael and his siblings), and several other occupants of the Buenvinida residence were
watching television, a man armed with gun, jumped over the low fence, went in the house through
the open front door and introduced himself as a policeman. On cue, two men followed the first man
in entering the house and promptly covered their faces with handkerchief. The intruders tied the
occupants of the house and brought them to the masters bedroom with guns pointed at the victims.
The burglars seized the cash and bottles of perfume in the room. One of the perpetrators asked
Michael to unplug all the appliances they could possibly take. They also asked the victims for
jewelleries but when they couldnt give them any, they brought Glorivic to the childrens bedroom to
search for jewelleries in the room. When Glorivic wasnt able to find anything, the first man pointed
his gun to her and asked her to take her clothes off, despite her pleas, the man succeeded in
removing her clothes and had carnal knowledge with her. After which, the second man entered the
room, but the cloth covering his face fell on his neck so Glorivic was able to identify him (Martinez).
Martinez also succeeded in having carnal knowledge with Glorivic as well as the third man after.
Michael was able to witness the three coming in and out of the room as it was left open and heard
Glorivics cries and implorations to her tormentors. After the raping incident, Glorivic was brought her
back to the company of the others wearing her pants inside out, her hair dishevelled, and with blood
on her lower part. The felons left with the loots after intimating to the group by way of a threat that
they were going to explode a hand grenade.
After more than two years, appellant Martinez was arrested on March 3, 1994 for soliciting funds for
a fictitious volleyball competition. Glorivic was able to positively identify him among the 8 detainees
suspected to be her malefactor. In a separate instance, Michael was also able to positively identify
him with 6 other inmates due to his prominent mole on the right cheek.
During the trial, appellant denies being involved in the robbery with rape committed in the
Buenvinido residence. He also raised an alibi that he was with his wife and children when the crime
happened. Giving credence, however, to the testimonies of the witnesses of the prosecution and
rejecting appellant's defense of alibi, the trial court found appellant guilty of the composite crime of
robbery with rape and sentenced to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua and to pay the amount
of the stolen and unrecovered personal properties, moral damages to Glorivic Bandayanon, and cost
of the suit.
On appeal he questions the credibility of the witnesses identification: due to the long interval of time
before they were able to confront him; because the perpetrators covered their face with handkerchief
and; because they could have been so gravely terrified by the criminal acts as to have their mental
faculties impaired.

ISSUE:

Whether or not his identification as one of the perpetrators by two of the victims, deserve credence
in determining his guilt on the crime committed.
RULING:

The Court held that the testimonies of the principal witnesses for the prosecution were not only
consistent with and corroborative of each other. Their narrations before the lower court were
delivered in a clear, coherent and unequivocal manner.
There was no perceptible hesitation or uncertainty on the part of Glorivic and Michael when they
unerringly identified appellant during the trial. The unhurried, studious and deliberate manner in
which appellant was identified by them in court added strength to their credibility and immeasurably
fortified the case of the prosecution.
The records also show that the memory of these witnesses were not in any way affected by the
passage of two years and three months since the tragedy. While appellant claims that his face was
covered during the commission of the crime, there were providential points in time when the two
witnesses were able to freely see his face and scan his facial features closely to as to enable them
to identify him later on.
Moreover, there is no evidence to show that the two eyewitnesses were so petrified with fear as to
result in subnormal sensory functions on their part. Contrarily, in a recently decided case, we held
that fear for one's life may even cause the witness to be more observant of his surroundings.
Last, the records do not disclose any improper motive on the part of the witnesses to falsely point to
appellant as one of the robber-rapists. It is doctrinally settled that in the absence of evidence
showing that the prosecution witnesses were actuated by improper-motive, their identification of the
accused as the assailant should be given full faith and credit.
Hence, the decision of the trial court is affirmed in full with modifications that the damages awarded
to Glorivic be increased to Php 50,000.
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