PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES

, plaintiff-appellee,vs.
VICENTE TEMBLOR alias “ RONALD" defendant-appellant161 SCRA 623, May 28, 1988

CASE NATURE
: APPEAL from the judgment of the Court of First Instance of Agusan del Norte and ButuanCity.
SC RULING
: The judgment appealed from is
AFFIRMED
in all respects.
LEGAL DOCTRINE/TOPIC
:MOTIVE. Proof of motive is not essential when the culprit was positivelyidentified.

FACTS

:On or about 7:30 in the evening of December 30, 1980, Julius Cagampang with his wife,
VictorinaCagampang, and their two children were conversing in the store adjacent to their house at
Barangay Talo-ao,Buenavista, Agusan del Norte, Philippines,

Vicente Temblor alias “Ronald” arrived and fired at Julius Cagampang, who instantly fell, wounded and
bleeding. Plaintiff shouted at Victorina (wife) to let out Julius’ firearm and fired two shots at Julius.

Victorina hurried to get the maleta with the firearm inside and gave itto the plaintiff, who took
her husband’s .38 caliber revolver, and fled. Julius Cagampang, inflicted with mortalwounds, instantly
died. The plaintiff was with Anecito Ellevera who is at large.The accused and his companion were
members of NPA and were hiding in the mountains of Malapong. Accused surrendered to Mayor Dick
Carmona of Nasipit during the mass surrender of dissidents in August,1981. He was arrested by the
Buenavista Police at the Buenavista public market on November 26, 1981 anddetained at the Buenavista
Municipal Jail, where Victorina (wife) was summoned by the Station CommanderMilan, where she saw
and identified the accused as the man who killed her husband.

Vicente Temblor alias “ Ronald ” was charged with the crime of murder and upon arraignment on
June8,1982, he entered a plea of not guilty.

The accused’s defense was an alibi. He alleged that from 4:00 o’clock in the afternoon of December 30,
1980, he and his father had been in the house of Silverio Perol in BarangayCamagong, Nasipit, Agusan
del Norte, where they spent the night drinking over a slaughtered dog as “pulutan,” until 8:00 o’clock in
the morning of the following day, December 31, 1980. He also capitalized thefact that Victorina (wife)
did not know him but he was positively identified by her and was corroborated byanother prosecution
witness Claudio Sabanal (tricycle driver) who was a long-time acquaintance of the accused and who
knew him as “Ronald”. Vicente Temblor alias “
Ronald was convicted and sentenced to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua, with the accessory
penalties thereof under Articles 41 and 42 of the Revised Penal Code, and toindemnify the heirs of the
victim in the amount of P12,000 without subsidiary imprisonment in case ofinsolvency. He appealed:

1. in finding that he was positively identified by the prosecution witness as the killer of the
deceasedJulius Cagampang; and
2. in rejecting his defense of alibi.

ISSUES

Whether or not Vicente Temblor is guilty of murder.

RULING
Yes. Vicente “Ronald” Temblor is guilty of murder.

The settled rule is that the trial court’s assessment of the credibility of witnesses while testifying is
generally binding on the appellate court because of its superior advantage in observing their conduct
and demeanor anda