4/10/2020 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly Findings of fact of the CA, when they affirm those of the trial court, are binding on this Court, unless the findings of the trial and the appellate courts are palpably unsupported by the evidence on record, or unless the judgment itself is based on a misapprehension of facts.[12] Likewise, we have time and again ruled that mere denial cannot prevail over the positive testimony of a witness. A mere denial, just like an alibi, is a self-serving negative evidence, which cannot be accorded greater evidentiary weight than the declarations of credible witnesses who testify on affirmative matters. As between a categorical testimony that has the ring of truth on the one hand and a bare denial on the other, the former is generally held to prevail.[13] We, however, find it proper to modify the amount of moral and exemplary damages awarded by the CA. On 12 May 2003, Congress passed R.A. 9208 or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act. This law was approved on 26 May 2003. Ironically, only a few days after, private complainants found themselves in a situation that this law had sought to prevent. In Lalli, we increased the amount of moral and exemplary damages from P50,000 to P500,000 and from P50,000 to P100,000, respectively, having convicted the accused therein of the crime of trafficking in persons. In so doing, we said: The Civil Code describes moral damages in Article 2217: Art. 2217. Moral damages include physical suffering, mental anguish, fright, serious anxiety, besmirched reputation, wounded feelings, moral shock, social humiliation, and similar injury. Though incapable of pecuniary computation, moral damages may be recovered if they are the proximate result of the defendant's wrongful act for omission. Exemplary damages, on the other hand, are awarded in addition to the payment of moral damages, by way of example or correction for the public good, as stated in the Civil Code: Art. 2229. Exemplary or corrective damages are imposed, by way of example or correction for the public good, in addition to the moral, temperate, liquidated or compensatory damages. Art. 2230. In criminal offenses, exemplary damages as a part of the civil liability may be imposed when the crime was committed with one or more aggravating circumstances. Such damages are separate and distinct from fines and shall be paid to the offended party. elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/54824 7/10