Court: Swears in the witness

Q: Do you swear to tell the truth and nothing but the

truth?

Also, I had a duty to accomplish a medico legal for

each of my cases and I had to appear before the
honorable courts of law in connection with the cases
that I handled, sir.

A: Yes Maam.

Q: How many medico legal cases have you handled?

Q: After 1969 what did you do?

A: Approximately around 10,000 cases sir.

A: I took the medical board exam.

Q: How many reached the courts?

Q: When did you pass the boards?

A: About 20%. Around 2000.

A: I passed in March 1970.

Q: Being a doctor, have you had any seminars, special

trainings on this field?

Q: Thereafter, did you take an oath being a doctor?

A: Yes.
Q: After taking the oath, what did you do then?
A: I applied for a position of medico legal officer of the
NBI and I was accepted sometime in June of 1970.
Q: Until what time?
A: Up to the time I retired from the NBI in the year
2000.
Q: What was the nature of your work as medico legal
of the NBI?
A: It was purely medico legal work involving autopsies,
medico legal autopsies, medico legal examinations,
physical examinations of person of those alledgedly
been victims of physical injuries and of sexual assault.

A: Mostly training at the NBI. I also had to attend

seminars regarding legal medecines and sometimes
each of us would be resource persons for several topic
regarding legal medicines.
Q: Have you gone abroad for special training?
A: I was fortunate to be given a government grant to
have an in depth training in legal medicine in the US
for a short time.
Q: By legal medicine, what do you mean by that?
A: It is the branch of medicine that deals with the
application of medical knowledge in relation to law.
Q: After retiring from the NBI, what did you do next?

A: I have the privilege of teaching legal medicine to

medical students of the UST Faculty of Medicine and
Surgery and as substitute instructor at the St. Lukes
Medical School for a period of 5 semesters.
Q: Are you a member of any medical associations?
A: I am a current member and a founding member of
the Philippine Association of Forensic Medicine, Inc.
Q: Okay Dr. Garcia. In connection with this case, you
were subpoenaed to bring the medical report and
other record of one patient, Arjay Valenton. Do you
have a copy of that record?
A: I have here my copy of the medico legal report on
the examination done on one Arjay Valenton.
(Presents Medico Legal Report)
Q: This is an original copy which you gave me a while
ago, are you referring to this medico legal report?

Q: There is a two page attachment in your medico

legal report. What are these attachments?
A: One is the sketch of the human head depicting four
sides of the human head.
Q: And the other attachment. What is that?
A: This is the sketch of the human body showing the
front and the back side.
Atty. Manalo: For purposes of identification. Your honor,
we request to substitute our Exhibit E with this original
copy, Your honor.
Court: Granted!
Atty. Manalo: And the attachment No. 1 as Exh. E-1
and attachment no. 2 as Exh E-2.
Court: Mark them.

A: Yes Sir. This is the original medico legal report on

the examination of one Arjay Valenton

Q: In this medico legal report, it is stated here that you

made examination on patient Arjay Valenton, private
complainant in this case, on September 26, 2006 is
that correct?

Q: There appears a signature above the printed name

Roberto V. Garcia, M.D., whose signature is this?

A: That is correct sir.

A: Mine sir.

Q: What was the reason for the examination?

Atty. Manalo: For purposes of identification. Your

honor... I withdraw that.

A: I had to comply with request of the patient himself

to be for the purpose of a medico legal evaluation of
the injuries he sustained and also for the
accomplishment of a medico legal report he may use
for a legal proceeding.
Q: What is the difference between your medico legal
report and the medical certificate issued by Dr.
Hernandez, the attending physician?

A: This was taken by the witness from the medical

record. It will show that this was the operation
performed on this person.
Q: After the examination of the patient on September
26, 2006, you made several physical examination
findings stated in this report?
A: Yes sir.

A: a medical certificate is a certification of what the

physician saw on the patient and which may include
what he did to what he saw on the body of the patient.

Q: And you depicted the findings of those

examinations in the form of sketches? Exhibits E-1 and
E-2. Is that correct?

Q: You made an examination of the body of Valenton

more than a month after the infliction. My question is
are the physical injuries you found consistent with the
date of infliction on August 2, 2006?

A: Yes sir.

A: Yes sir.

A: Yes sir.

Q: What is your basis?

Q: And how would you describe these injuries?

A: My basis will be my findings correlated to the

medical records of the patient at the Manila East
Medical Center.

A: There were brownish linear scars on the face of the

patient at the time of the examination. Three of which
were with sutured marks and four of which did not
present any sutured mark.

Q:You stated in your medico legal report that a layer

suture of repair of lacerated wounds of the face. Neck.
Left side. Thorax. Left side of the patient were
conducted. Is that correct?

Q: On Exhibit E-1, the sketch of the wound shown on

the frontal portion of the face that there are several
injuries (1-7), did you find these on the patient?

Q: In your opinion Doctor, what could have caused

these wounds?
A: There were linear scars on the face of the patient.
There are a lot of possible causes for these. I would
believe that these linear scars were caused by any

sharp edge, a sharp cutting edge of an instrument or

object like a sharp cutting edge of a broken piece of
glass or a knife even a sharp cutting edge of a tin can.
Q: If you were hit by an empty bottle of beer on your
head, would it result to these findings?
A: Yes. Provided that the sharp cutting edge of the
broken piece of the broken bottle would run against
the skin of the face in such a way that it produce the
injuries noted on the face of the patient. I would
consider that as probable cause.
Q: The back portion of the head in your sketch E-1
shows to wounds. Please describe each.
A: There are also linear scars found at the back of the
left ear both of which contain sutured marks. I believe
that these were also the cause of sharp edge
instrument.
Q: Can this be caused by a broken glass?
A: Yes sir.
Q: Let us go to Exh. 2, there is a sketch of a human
body showing 3 wounds on the left side of the body.
Please describe.
A: Yes sir. One wound did not present any sutured
mark, was measured 0.8x0.1 centimeters. It was
located below the left breast. On the other hand, the
two wounds were with sutured marks on the left side
of the trunk of the patient with 6.5 cm length and 8 cm

width. Again they could have been caused by a sharp

cutting edge of an instrument.
Q: On these two wound measuring 0.8x0.1 cm and
1.4x0.4 cm, could have these been caused by an ice
pick or a sharpened screw driver?
A: For the 1.4x0.4 cm wound, this could have been
caused by the previously mentioned instruments and
also with a sharpened end of a screw driver. On the
other hand, the 0.8x0.1 cm wound likewise could have
been caused by a sharpened end of a screw driver or
an ice pick provided this was altered in the hospital. I
noted in the medical records that some kind of
intervention was performed which means there was a
removal of dead tissues, which we call retrieval. The
discrepancy in the measurement of the wound and the
tip of an ice pick is explained by this.
Q: in your findings doctor and an examination of the
medical records of the patient in the hospital, did you
find any life threatening wounds on the patient?
A: Not by themselves and not right away sir. Although,
there would be bleeding as a result of the open
wounds, it would not constitute a bleeding with a
severe category that it will cause death right away.
Q: If no medical attention will be given to the patient,
what will happen to him if he had these type of
injuries?

A: The patient would have, although not right away,

lost so much blood. He would have developed infection
which would later on produced death, sir. I understand
that he was given anti-tetanus treatment.
Atty. Manalo: That will be all your honor.

They must have been facing each other when assailant

attacked.
Q: So doctor, could you tell if there was a fight or a
struggle between the victim and the assailant?

Court: Cross?

A: Struggle was not established by physical

examination of the patient.

Atty. Mendoza: Cross your honor.

Q: How about the injury on the left neck of patient?

Q: Doctor, would it be safe to say that the injuries

sustained by the patient would not cause his
immediate death?

A: Same maam. The two probably were standing

facing each other. Likewise, it is possible that the
assailant is standing on the left side of the patient to
inflict such blow.

A: That is correct, maam. He would not have died right

away.
Q: Most of the injuries by complainant is on the left
side. Correct?
A: Yes.
Q: So, what could have been the possible position of
the assailant when he sustained the injuries?
A: If I may give my separate answer maam depending
on the location of the injuries.
Q: For example the ones on the face of the patient?
A: If the assailant and the patient were standing on the
same level on direct position with the assailant holding
the positive weapon or object, it is the right hand.

Q: How about the injury on the left thorax of the

patient?
A: Same answer maam.
Q: So doctor, is it safe to say that the assailant was not
on the back of the patient when the patient sustained
all those injuries?
A: The only possibility that assailant was at the back of
the patient was if he was holding the weapon in his left
hand. That would be the most convenient location of
the assailant.
Q: So if the assailant was right handed, he could not
have inflicted those injuries if he were at the back?
A: Probably not but not entirely excluded. It would be
most inconvenient to stab a person on his left side

from his back using a right hand.The possibility is not

excluded but not considered.

A: I was going over the records but no entry to that

effect is present.

Q: And doctor, it was Dr. Hernandez who first treated

and examined the patient and not you and it was only
referred to you upon request of the patient in case
there is a necessity for him to get a medico legal
certificate?

Q: So it is safe to say that patient went to you just for

a possible medico legal document or certificate?

A: Thats correct maam. Not for a medical reason.

Court: Re-direct?

Q: And the findings on the medico legal report you

submitted and presented before the honorable court
were based on the findings and medical records of the
patient?

Atty. Manalo: Re-direct.

A: Not fully, my report was based on my examination

and I have to know the internal effects of the injuries
so I had to consult the medical records of the patient
and i had to see considering the time difference which
is more than a month comparing to that. I had to see
what they really observed at the time and what they
did to form my own opinion whenever asked later.

A: The color was brown so it is completely healed.

Q: So when you examined the patient on Sept. 26,

2006, he was already an outpatient?
A: I believe so.
Q: Was there a recommendation from the attending
physician, Dr. Hernandez to refer this matter to you
Doctor being the medico legal consultant of Manila
East Medical Center?

A: And possible court appearance maam

Atty. Mendoza: That will be all Your Honor.

Q: When you examined the patient on September 26,

2006, were the wounds completely absolutely healed?

Q: You said in your report that the healing period is 20

to 30 days?
A: No sir. My conclusion did not refer to the healing of
the wounds. It refers to the time that medical attention
is necessary to treat the wounds and the time the
patient is incapacitated to work.
Q: In your opinion doctor, would the assailant that
caused the injuries of the patient be placed on the left
side?
A: I separated my answer basing on the group of
injuries. That statement will be true with regard to the
neck injury and the body injury. The facial injury would
be different.

Q: Except the neck wounds and the body wounds on

the left part of the body of the patient, would it be
possible that they were caused by an assailant which
was on the left side of the patients body?
A: Yes sir. The body wound and the neck wound would
have been caused by the assailant being on the left
side of the patient.

Atty: Mendoza: Yes your honor.

Q: Doctor, what could be the possible distance of the
assailant when he hit the patient which caused him to
sustain those injuries?

Q: Even if he is a little bit farther?

A: I will base my answer on the ability of the assailant

with the positive weapon using the right hand able to
reach the target. It would approximate 3 feet. But this
is only an approximation.

A: Yes. Provided, he is within reach.

Atty. Mendoza: No further question your honor.

Atty. Manalo: That would be all your honor.

Court: Re-Cross?