People v. Dadles

People v.
Dadles
G.R. Nos. 100220-21
September 1, 1997, 221 SCRA 715
Similar acts as Evidence; Propensity Evidence
DOCTRINE: The general rule is that evidence is not admissible which shows or tends to show, that the accused in
a criminal case has committed a crime wholly independent of the offense for which he is on trial. It is not competent
to prove that he committed other crimes of a like nature for the purpose of showing that he would be likely to commit
the crime charged in the indictment.
FACTS: On May 24, 1989, at around 11:00 p.m., Dadles and with five others arrived at the residence of Alipio
Tehidor in Brgy. Amontoy, Binalbagan, Negros Occidental. They tied the hands of Alipio and his son, Dionisio
Tehidor. When his wife protested, they said that they would free them if they will surrender the firearms of his two
other sons who were members of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Units (CAFGU). At around 11:30 p.m. of
the same night, the group went to the house of Alipan. Salvador Alipan and his son Antontio went to with the group
because they said that they merely want to talk to them and will return them the next day. The four people who were
taken disappeared. For the said kidnapping, appellant Narito alias "Naring" Dadles was charged in two separate
informations. Of the several accused named in the aforequoted informations, only appellant was arraigned while the
cases against the other accused who remain at large up to the present have been temporarily archived until their
apprehension.
Appellant denied the charges against him and interposed an alibi. The defense attempted to prove that on
the said date and time of the alleged kidnapping of the victims, the appellant was in the house of defense witness
Rogelio Ariola sleeping soundly after a round of beer with the latter and his other guests.
Finding the alibi of the appellant insufficient to controvert his positive identification by the prosecution
witnesses, Branch 55 of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Himamaylan, Negros Occidental rendered a decision
convicting the appellant of two (2) counts of kidnapping and serious illegal detention. He was sentenced to suffer the
penalty of "double life imprisonment" and to indemnify the families of the victims in the amount of one hundred
thousand pesos (P100, 000.00) each without subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency.
Hence, the present appeal before the Court.
ISSUE: Whether the trial court erred in convicting accused-appellant Narito Dadles of two (2) counts of kidnapping
and serious illegal detention.
RULING: No. True it is that "evidence that one did or did not do a certain thing at one time is not admissible to prove
that he did or did not do the same or similar thing at another time. However, "it may be received to prove a specific
intent or knowledge, identity, plan, system, scheme, habit, custom or usage, and the like."
Thus we have held that: The general rule is that evidence is not admissible which shows or tends to show,
that the accused in a criminal case has committed a crime wholly independent of the offense for which he is on trial.
It is not competent to prove that he committed other crimes of a like nature for the purpose of showing that he would
be likely to commit the crime charged in the indictment. A man may be a notorious criminal, but this fact may not be
shown to influence a jury in passing upon the question of his guilt or innocence of the particular offense for which he
is on trial. A man may have committed many crimes and still be innocent of the crime charged in the case on trial.
To permit proof of other crimes would naturally predispose the minds of the jurors against the defendant. One who
commits one crime may be more likely to commit another; yet logically, one crime does not prove another, nor tend
to prove another, unless there is such a relation between them that proof of one tends to prove the other."
In this case we find that there is such a relation between both incidents of kidnapping charged in the two
informations that "proof of one tends to prove the other", and evidence of similar acts committed about the same
time establishes the criminal intent of the appellant to deprive Salvador and Alipan of their liberty. First of all, both
incidents happened almost simultaneously. The kidnapping of Alipio and Dionisio occurred only some thirty (30)
minutes before Salvador and Antonio were taken from their home. The appellant and his companions were
apparently well acquainted with the Tehidors and the Alipans who readily allowed them entrance into their
respective houses on the fateful night of May 24, 1989. Alipio and Dionisio were taken by the appellant's group on
the pretext that they wanted to talk to Alipio. Similarly, the appellant claims that they took Salvador and Antonio only
because they wanted to talk to the former. Alipio's wife was warned not to tell the authorities about the incident. The
same warning was given to Salvador's wife.
Moreover, as correctly pointed out by the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), circumstances exist to
further warrant the conclusion that it was the appellant's criminal intent to deprive the victims of liberty, to wit:
First. If appellant's group merely wanted to talk to Salvador Alipan, they could just have talked to him then
and there at the house of the latter without necessarily taking him together with his son.
Second. Appellant's group could have elicited the required information from Salvador in just a matter of
hours. Hence, they should have returned Salvador and his son the following day as promised. To this date,
however, no trace of the two (2) can be found.
Third. If they did not have any ill-motive against the duo, why did they warn the family of the victims not to
report the incident to anybody or they will be killed? Clearly, this behavior betrays the falsity of their alleged
intention.

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