G.R. No. 219884 - THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, V. MICHAEL A. BELLUDO AND JOHN DOE, ACCUSED. MICHAEL A. BELLUDO, ACCUSED-.

Ruling

Accordingly, he went to the crime scene and conducted his investigation. He interviewed possible witnesses and according to a radio announcer of BBS radio station, he heard a gunshot and when he went outside, he saw a person about to board a motorcycle near the victim. PO3 Llamado also received a call from a concerned citizen informing him that he witnessed the incident and that the police should investigate a person called alyas "Odo." Upon following-up on the lead, PO3 Llamado verified that "Odo" resides in Barangay Lerma, Naga City and ascertained the latter's identity who turned out to be Belludo. [10] PO3 Jose Luis Caparroso (PO3 Caparroso) of Naga City Police Station IV testified that he talked to Ladia who positively identified Belludo in a police line-up as the perpetrator of the crime. A separate police line-up was viewed by Ladia's son who also pointed to Belludo as the culprit. [11] Based on the post-mortem examination conducted on the victim's body by Dr. Vito Borja (Dr. Borja), the health officer of Naga City, the immediate cause of death was cardiac pulmonary arrest, secondary to the laceration of the occipital lobe of the brain, left side and secondary to gunshot wound. Dr. Borja also testified that he found pellets and one plastic remnant which is part of a bullet on the base of Ojeda's head. [12] Version of the Defense As for the defense, it presented Belludo as its sole witness whose defenses were predicated on denial and alibi. His version of the events is that at the date material to this case, he was at the billiard hall located at the Central Business District of Naga City where he worked as a spotter. He opened the hall for business at 5:00am until 10:00 pm of the same day. In October 2008, he was arrested by a police officer at the billiard hall regarding a complaint of a Barangay Kagawad that he allegedly punched. To his shock, however, upon arrival at the police station, he was shown ammunitions and was told that they were found in his possession. At this point, he was being forced to confess to the killing of Ojeda. Subsequently, he was included in a police line-up wherein a man wearing a helmet pointed at him. He was then brought to Tabuco police station where he was charged with the killing of Ojeda. [13] The Ruling of the RTC On October 24, 2012, the RTC rendered a Decision finding Belludo guilty as charged. It gave full credence to Ladia's testimony finding that his identification of Belludo is positive, straightforward, and unequivocal. [14] As for Belludo's defenses of denial and alibi, the trial court brushed them aside as they were not supported by any other evidence and did not outweigh the positive evidence established by the prosecution. [15] Furthermore, the RTC ruled that the victim's killing was attended by the qualifying circumstance of treachery because the gunshot wound was located at the back of his head. [16] The dispositive portion of the RTC decision reads: WHEREFORE, the prosecution having proven t