Validity ng identification ng biktima sa salarin kahit wala sa police line-up

DR. PERSIDA V. RUEDA-ACOSTA / MAGTANONG KAY ATTORNEY

Dear Chief Acosta,

Ang identification o pagkilala ba ng biktima sa salarin habang siya ay nasa ospital ay mayroong bisa kahit ito ay hindi ginanap sa police line-up? — Jairus

Dear Jairus,

Para sa inyong kaalaman ang inyong katanungan ay tinalakay ng Korte Suprema sa People of the Philippine vs. Lito Macapanas y Ecija (G.R. No. 187049, May 4, 2010, Ponente: Honorable former Associate Justice Martin Villarama, Jr.) kung saan isinaad:

“Even if there was no police line-up, there could still be proper and reliable identification as long as such identification was not suggested or instigated to the witness by the police. What is crucial is for the witness to positively declare during trial that the person charged was the malefactor.

In People v. Teehankee, Jr., we explained the procedure for out-of-court identification and the test to determine the admissibility of such identification. We said:

Out-of-court identification is conducted by the police in various ways. It is done thru show-ups where the suspect alone is brought face to face with the witness for identification. It is done thru mug shots where photographs are shown to the witness to identify the suspect. It is also done thru line-ups where a witness identifies the suspect from a group of persons lined up for the purpose. Since corruption of out-of-court identification contaminates the integrity of in-court identification during the trial of the case, courts have fashioned out rules to assure its fairness and its compliance with the requirements of constitutional due process.”

Samakatwid, sang-ayon sa Korte Suprema, kahit walang police line-up, maaaring valid o mayroong bisa ang identification o pagkilala sa salarin kung ito ay hindi suggestive identification o hindi iminungkahi ng mga opisyal ang pagkaka­kilanlan ng nasabing tao. Ayon sa mataas na hukuman, ang mas mahalaga ay ang positibong pagtukoy ng saksi sa akusado sa pagdinig na gaganapin sa hukuman.

Nawa ay nasagot namin ang inyong mga katanungan. Nais naming ipaalala sa inyo na ang opinyong ito ay nakabase sa inyong mga naisalaysay sa inyong liham at sa pagkakaintindi namin dito. Maaaring maiba ang opinyon kung mayroong karagdagang impormasyong ibibigay. Mas mainam kung personal kayong sasangguni sa isang abogado.