REPORT ON THE FINGERPRINT EXAMINATION OF THE ALLEGED RIGHT THUMBMARK MARKED "S" AT VOTER REGISTRATION RECORD OF THE COMELEC IN THE NAME OF MARIJOY JIMENEA CHIONG

I. PURPOSE: To review and verify the findings of Police Inspector Edgardo Lenizo of the PNP Crime Laboratory, Region 7, Cebu City. 

II. MATERIALS USED: Hand lens and enlarged photographs of the questioned and standard fingerprints allegedly belonging to Marijoy Chiong. 

III. FINDINGS:
 
          A. Destruction of some portion of the epidermal tissues causing disturbance of ridges and furrows from that part of the right and left thumbs friction skin of the cadaver due to surgical operation. 

          B. Improper distribution of ink on the right and left thumbs friction skin of the cadaver. 

          C. Following ridges characteristics are not clear/discernable as numbers: 
                    
                    3 is doubtful, it appears more as an ending ridge; 

                    6 is doubtful, it appears more as an ending ridge; 

                    8 is doubtful, it appears more as bifurcation. 

          D. Dissimilarity in the number of intervening ridges between ridge characteristics nos. 4 and 5 and 6 

IV. RECOMMENDATION: 

          A. To exhume the body of the cadaver whether that alleged portion of the friction skin actually come from the cadaver. 

          B. So that methods of identification by forensic anthropologist be utilized to resolve doubt arising from the limitation of fingerprint analysis of the cadaver.

                                                              signed: P/Lt. Col. REYNALDO D. MARCELO (RET)
                                                                                Independent Fingerprint Expert Practitioner

Reference: Modern Criminal Investigation, Harry Soderman & John O' Connel 

MODERN CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION
by Harry Soderman & John O' Connell

          "It has been long standing rule that a minimum of 12 identical and characteristics detail must be found. One should not however adhere to this rule. The identification does not consist only in searching for identical points, such as forks, abrupt endings and abrupt beginnings, but also in estimating the angles of the forks, the length of the ridges forming the forks, etc. When the core of the pattern is missing, the appearance of the details must be examined with utmost care. In such cases only one difference is sufficient to declare that the impressions are not of identical origin."

IN OTHER PART OF THE BOOK:

          In other words, one must to a certain degrees, rely on the judgment of the fingerprint expert as to the rarity and value of the evidence of the different details.  

THREE SETS OF CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE

          1. If 12 or more characteristics points are the same and the fingerprint is clear, there is absolute proof of identity.

          2. If 8 to 12 points are the same, the value of identification as evidence depends on:

                    a. Clearness of the impression
                    b. Rarity of the pattern
                    c. The presence of the core or the delta of the pattern to be examined 
                    d. Presence of pores
                    e. Identity between the breadth of the ridges, direction of the ridges and the angles of the forks.

          3. If only a small number of similar characteristics details are found, the fingerprint has no absolute value as evidence, but identity can be surmised with the degree of probability proportionate to the number and the clearness of the characteristic points."