FIRST DIVISION
[G.R. No. 256822. December 2, 2021.]
JUN REY LUBRIDO y REGANON, petitioner,vs. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, respondent.
NOTICE
Sirs/Mesdames :
Please take notice that the Court, First Division, issued a Resolution datedDecember 2, 2021which reads as follows:
"G.R. No. 256822 (Jun Rey Lubrido y Reganon v. People of the Philippines). — The petitioner's motion for an extension of thirty (30) days within which to file a petition for review on certiorari is GRANTED, counted from the expiration of the reglementary period.
This is a Petition for Review on Certiorari assailing the Decision 1 of the Court of Appeals (CA) dated August 28, 2020 in CA-G.R. CR No. 43614 which affirmed the Judgment of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) convicting Jun Rey Lubrido y Reganon (petitioner) of Carnapping. 2
Considering the allegations, issues, and arguments adduced in the Petition for Review on Certiorari, the Court finds no cogent reason to deviate from the CA and the RTC's findings that petitioner is guilty of Carnapping. We stress that the CA and the RTC's assessment on the credibility of the prosecution witness and the veracity of his testimony is given the highest degree of respect, 3 especially if there is no fact or circumstance of weight or substance that was overlooked, misunderstood or misapplied, which could affect the result of the case. 4 Moreover, the trial court had the best opportunity to determine the credibility of the prosecution witness, having evaluated his emotional state, reactions, and overall demeanor in open court. Here, the prosecution witness vividly recalled how the petitioner and his companion forcibly took the vehicle, to wit:
Q: Mr. Witness, where were you at around 1:00 a.m. of November 26, 2015?
A: I was plying a taxi, ma'am.
Q: And during that time, what happened?
A: I was plying my route in Las Piñas Hospital when two (2) men boarded, ma'am.
Q: When these two men boarded, what happened?
A: They asked me to bring them to Marcos Alvarez Highway, Bacoor, Cavite, ma'am.
Q: And while you were on your way to this place, Marcos Alvarez Highway, Bacoor, Cavite, what happened?
A: While we were traveling along Marcos Alvarez Highway, they suddenly declared hold-up and my neck was pointed with a fan knife, ma'am.
Q: And then?
A: My personal belongings were taken, ma'am, my wallet, two (2) cellphones [sic], license, BIR I.D., as well as the taxi.
Q: Where were you at the time that these two men were already taking your personal belongings, as well as the taxi?
A: Still on the driver's seat, ma' am. While the fan knife was being pointed at my neck, the one beside me was taking my personal belongings. Nakahinto na po kami nuon.
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Q: And then, after these two persons were able to get your personal belongings, what did they do next?
A: They brought me down and then they sped away.
Q: When these two persons first went inside your taxi, where did they sit themselves?
A: The one was at the back while the other one was beside me, ma'am.
Q: And at the time you were being held-up, who was pointing the knife at the back of your neck?
A: The one at the back, ma'am.
Q: And who was taking your personal belongings, your wallet, your I.D.'s?
A: The one beside me, ma'am.
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Q: With respect to the person who was seated beside you and whom you pointed at at [sic] the police station, did you come to know his full name?
A: I only came to know it at the police station, ma'am.
Q: And what is the name?
A: Jun Lubrido y Reganon, ma'am.
Q: And could you point to him to this Court, is he here, by the way?
A: Yes, ma'am.
Q: Please point to him?
A: That man, ma'am. 5
Also, the prosecution witness identified the petitioner as the perpetrator of the crime. Corollarily, the petitioner's uncorroborated denial cannot prevail over the positive declaration of the prosecution witness. This negative defense is self-serving and undeserving of weight in law absent clear and convincing proof. 6
FOR THESE REASONS, the petition is DENIED. Petitioner Jun Rey Lubrido y Reganon is found guilty of Carnapping and is sentenced to suffer the indeterminate penalty of seventeen (17) years and four (4) months, as minimum, to twenty (20) years, as maximum.
SO ORDERED." Lopez, J., J., no part; Marquez, J., designated additional Member per Raffle dated November 24, 2021.
By authority of the Court:
(SGD.) LIBRADA C. BUENADivision Clerk of Court
By:
MARIA TERESA B. SIBULODeputy Division Clerk of Court
Footnotes
1.Rollo, pp. 30-41. Penned by Associate Justice Apolinario D. Bruselas, Jr., with the concurrence of Associate Justices Jhosep Y. Lopez (now Member of this Court) and Bonifacio S. Pascua.
2. Entitled "AN ACT PREVENTING AND PENALIZING CARNAPPING," August 26, 1972.
3.People of the Philippines v. Jemreich Matignas, et al., 428 Phil. 834, 868-869 (2002); citing People v. Basquez, 418 Phil. 426, 439 (2001); People v. Jaberto, 366 Phil. 556, 566 (1999); People v. Deleverio, 352 Phil. 382, 401 (1998).
4.People v. Orosco, 757 Phil. 299, 310 (2015); citing People v. De Leon, 608 Phil. 701, 721 (2009).
5.Rollo, pp. 36-38.
6.People v. Togahan, 551 Phil. 997, 1013, 1014 (2007).