1. The
EQUIPOISE RULE provides that when there is equilibrium
in the evidence presented by both sides, the CONSTITUTIONAL PRESUMPTIOM OF
INNOCENCE should tilt the balance of the
scale in favor of the acquittal of the accused, for, in such a situation,
the offense has not been proven beyond
reasonable doubt, which is the
quantum of evidence required to convict an accused.
2.
Suspicion
alone is insufficient, the required quantum of evidence being proof beyond
reasonable doubt. [People v. Gargar, 300 SCRA 542 (1998). [See also: En Banc, Justice
Mendoza, THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. FIDEL ABRENICA
CUBCUBIN, JR., accused-appellant, G.R. No. 136267. July 10, 2001].
3.
All
Trial Courts and the various Offices of the Prosecutors under the Department of
Justice should be guided by the principle that it would be better to set free
ten men who might be probably guilty of the crime charged than to convict one
innocent man for a crime he did not commit. [En Banc, Melo, People v. Tagudar [G.R. No. 130588. June 8, 2000].
