PROOF BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT:

     Proof beyond reasonable doubt is the required quantum of evidence in order to convict an accused.  A judgment of conviction must rest on nothing less than moral certainty, moral certainty in an unprejudiced mind that it was the accused who committed the crime, failing which the accused must be exonerated. If the prosecution failed to discharge its burden of establishing the guilt of the accused, it unnecessary to still pass on the accused’s defense (People vs. Rubio, G.R. No. 179748, October 2, 2009, Second Division, Carpio Morales, J.).