PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENCE

The Constitution mandates that an accused shall be presumed innocent until the contrary is proven beyond reasonable doubt. The burden lies on the prosecution to overcome such presumption of innocence by presenting the quantum of evidence required. In doing so, the prosecution must rest its case on its own merits and cannot merely rely on the weakness of the defense. If the prosecution fails to meet the required quantum of evidence, the defense does  not even need to present any evidence in its behalf; the presumption of innocence prevails and the accused should be acquitted (People v. Cantalejo, G.R. No. 182790, April 24, 2009, 586 SCRA 777, 783 cited in PEOPLE OF THE PHILS. VS. JHON-JHON ALEJANDRO, G.R. NO. 176350, AUGUST 10, 2011, BRION, J.).