Petitioner asserts that the RTC should not have given evidentiary weight to the inconsistent and contradictory testimonies of the prosecution witnesses. He urges this Court to apply the Latin maxim falsus in unus, falsus in omnibus (false in part, false in everything).
We disagree. We have stated that:
[T]he maxim or rule “falsus in [unus], falsus in omnibus” does not lay down a categorical test of credibility. It is not a positive rule of law or of universal application. It should not be applied to portions of the testimony corroborated by other evidence, particularly where the false portions could be innocent mistakes. Moreover, the rule is not mandatory but merely sanctions a disregard of the testimony of a witness if the circumstances so warrant. To completely disregard all the testimony of a witness on this ground, his testimony must have been false as to a material point, and the witness must have a conscious and deliberate intention to falsify a material point.[51]
Furthermore, it should be borne in mind that even the most candid witness oftentimes makes mistakes and confused statements. Instead of eroding the effectiveness of the evidence, such imperfections and discrepancies in the testimony can in fact be considered as signs of veracity.[52] Aside from the fact that it is very difficult to give a mechanical and accurate account of a traumatic and horrifying experience,[53] the victim here was a mere five-year old girl when she was put on the witness stand. We should not expect a five-year old child to explain with exact precision the nature of the acts done to her, given her naiveté and still undeveloped vocabulary and command of language.[54] Despite this limitation, however, the victim never wavered in her claim that petitioner molested her.
