Appellant's contentions deserve scant consideration. A close scrutiny of Galfo's sworn statement reveals that although appellant's name was not specifically mentioned, he was however referred to as the “companion” or“kas-a”of Salcedo.[38] Besides, the failure to specifically mention his name does not foreclose the fact that he was the assailant. It must be recalled that during his testimony in court, Galfo positively and categorically identified appellant as the perpetrator of the crime. As such, any alleged inconsistency in the sworn statement of Galfo vis-a-vis his testimony in open court is more apparent that real. In Mercado v. People,[39] we declared that –
x x x [T]his Court had consistently ruled that the allegedinconsistencies between the testimony of a witness in open court and his sworn statement before the investigators are not fatal defects to justify a reversal of judgment. Such discrepancies do not necessarily discredit the witness since ex parte affidavits are almost alwaysincomplete. A sworn statement or an affidavit does not purport to contain a complete compendium of the details of the event narrated by the affiant. Sworn statements taken ex parte are generally considered to be inferior to the testimony given in open court.
x x x x
The discrepancies in [the witness]’s testimony do not damage the essential integrity of the prosecution’s evidence in its material whole. Instead, the discrepancies only erase suspicion that the testimony was rehearsed or concocted. These honest inconsistencies serve to strengthen rather than destroy [the witness]’s credibility.
More importantly, Galfo's narration in his sworn statement is consistent in all material points with his testimony in open court, to wit:
7. Q: Can you narrate to me the facts of the incident?
A: That at about 7:30 o'clock in the evening of May 12, 1991, while Carlito Magan and I were drinking at the store of Lorna Tamson at Brgy. Sapal, Jordan, Guimaras, Iloilo, Rolando Salcedo and his companion arrived at the said store and then we drunk together and after (30) thirty minutes of drinking, all of us went home wherein Carlito Magan and I were ahead of them but instead of going their way, Rolando Salcedo and his companion followed us and with a distance of about half a kilometer from the place where we drank, they reached us and upon reaching us, without any provocation they stabbed Carlito Magan with their knives and upon seeing the incident, I attempted to help Carlito Magan but they turned on me and so I ran away leaving Carlito Magan with wounds.[40]
