Remedial Law, Legal and Judicial Ethics, with Practical Exercises › Evidence › Weight and Sufficiency (Rule 133)

4. Positive and Negative Evidence

POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE EVIDENCE

POSITIVE EVIDENCE	NEGATIVE EVIDENCE
When the witness affirms that a fact did occur. Such evidence is entitled to greater weight since the witness represents of his or her personal knowledge the presence or absence of a fact.	When the witness states that an event did not occur or that the state of facts alleged to exist does not actually exist.
Example: The testimony of W that he saw P fire a gun at the victim is positive evidence	Example: Testimony of W that he could not have fired the gun because he was not armed during the incident is negative evidence

Updated: Positive identification does not prevail over alibi unless the eyewitness’s credibility concerning identification is first established (People v. Quillo, G.R. No. 232338, 8 July 2019).