Lawyer: Video taker, best source to authenticate Nuezca footage
The testimony of the person who captured the Gregorio murders in Tarlac on
video will be strong evidence against Police Master Sergeant Jonel Nuezca, but
other forms of evidence can also be used, a lawyer said Thursday. Philippine
National Police chief General Debold Sinas earlier said the video taker seemed
hesitant to testify in court. The primary source to "authenticate" the video,
so it could be admissible as "object/real evidence," would be the one who took
it, said National Union of Peoples' Lawyers (NUPL) president Edre Olalia. If
the video taker is unwilling or unable to testify, the people who saw it being
taken or those captured in the footage could also speak up, he said. But in
this case, it could be admitted as evidence but only to the extent that the
video exists and not as to the truth of its contents, he said. (Read more:
NICOLE-ANNE C. LAGRIMAS, GMA News. December 24, 2020. Lawyer: Video taker is
best source to 'authenticate' Nuezca footage but other evidence can be used.
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/769288/lawyer-video-taker-is-best-source-to-authenticate-nuezca-footage-but-other-evidence-can-be-used/story)
"As to the weight to be given, the [video taker's authentication] would be stronger [than others' testimonies]," Olalia told GMA News Online in Filipino. "But there are other forms of evidence that can establish and corroborate the killing: eyewitness testimonies, extrajudicial confession, ballistics results, post mortem autopsies etc.," he explained. Paniqui Municipal Police Station chief Police Lieutenant Colonel Noriel Rombaoa expressed confidence that the witness who captured the incident would allow the video to be used as evidence against Nuezca.
"Nakausap na natin, wino-workout pa namin pero most likely papayag sila," Rombaoa said Thursday. Nuezca killed Sonya Gregorio and her son, Frank Anthony, in front of his young daughter last Sunday during a heated confrontation over the use of a "boga" — an improvised cannon used in New Year festivities — and right of way. He surrendered to police and now faces charges for two counts of murder. Nuezca has a history of cases behind him, including two for grave misconduct (homicide), which some groups say should have led to his expulsion from the police force. He has been demoted over an extortion case. Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said witnesses may apply for protection under the Department of Justice.—AOL, GMA News (Read more: NICOLE-ANNE C. LAGRIMAS, GMA News. December 24, 2020. Lawyer: Video taker is best source to 'authenticate' Nuezca footage but other evidence can be used. https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/769288/lawyer-video-taker-is-best-source-to-authenticate-nuezca-footage-but-other-evidence-can-be-used/story))
