Case Digest (G.R. No. 192147)
Facts:
People of the Philippines charged Aniceto Bulagao by two Informations dated December 21, 2000 with two counts of rape allegedly committed on June 17 and June 29, 2000 in Bocaue, Bulacan against AAA, then fourteen years old; upon trial AAA first testified for the prosecution describing force and a knife, and later recanted when she testified for the defense. The RTC, in its January 23, 2006 decision, convicted and sentenced the accused to death and ordered indemnities of P50,000.00 per count; the Court of Appeals affirmed on April 14, 2008 but modified the penalty to reclusion perpetua in view of Republic Act No. 9346, prompting this appeal.Issues:
- Was the prosecution evidence sufficient to sustain conviction despite AAA’s subsequent recantation?
- Did accused prove insanity or mental retardation as an exempting circumstance at the time of the offenses?
Ruling:
The Court denied the appeal and affirmed the conviction for two counts of rape, sentencing accused to reclusion per Case Digest (G.R. No. 192147)
Facts:
- Parties and charges
- People of the Philippines as plaintiff-appellee filed two separate Informations dated December 21, 2000, charging Accused-appellant Aniceto Bulagao with rape in Crim. Case No. 197-M-2001 and Crim. Case No. 198-M-2001.
- The Informations alleged: (a) on or about June 29, 2000, in Bocaue, Bulacan, accused, armed with a knife, by force and intimidation, with lewd designs, had carnal knowledge of private complainant AAA, then 14 years old (Crim. Case No. 197-M-2001); and (b) on or about June 17, 2000, in Bocaue, Bulacan, the same acts against AAA, then 14 years old, with a knife and by force and intimidation (Crim. Case No. 198-M-2001).
- Arraignment, plea and trial
- Accused-appellant pleaded not guilty upon arraignment on February 26, 2001.
- Trial ensued with AAA as the only prosecution witness; the medico-legal officer, Dr. Ivan Richard Viray, was not called after parties stipulated to his examination of AAA on September 5, 2000, and to the contents of his report.
- Victim’s background and living arrangements
- AAA was born April 13, 1986, and under a late-registered birth certificate her parents were BBB (mother) and CCC (father); AAA testified she was adopted and not biologically their child.
- CCC died in December 1999.
- In April 2000, AAA moved to live in her brother DDD’s house in Lolomboy, Bocaue, Bulacan, together with brothers EEE and accused-appellant, and her younger sister FFF.
- Alleged incidents of June 17 and June 29, 2000
- June 17, 2000: at about 8:00 p.m. AAA woke when someone entered a room with no door; she recognized accused-appellant holding a knife, who poked the knife at her neck, removed her clothes and his, kissed her neck, and inserted his penis into her vagina; FFF woke but accused-appellant continued and raped AAA for about one hour.
- June 29, 2000: at about 11:00 p.m. AAA was asleep on the second floor where there are no rooms; she was roused to find accused-appellant undressing her, who removed his shorts and inserted his penis into her vagina; he held her hands when she tried to resist, touched her breasts, kissed her, and remained on top of her for about half an hour.
- Immediate reactions and custodial status
- AAA told her mother BBB and brother EEE about the incidents; BBB did not believe her and whipped her.
- AAA was in the custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) when she testified for the prosecution and was later returned to the family of accused-appellant, after which she testified for the defense and recanted portions of her earlier testimony.
- Medical and forensic evidence
- Parties stipulated to Dr. Viray’s examination report dated September 5, 2000, which included the finding that AAA was in a “non-virgin state.”
- Prosecution testimony versus recantation
- As a prosecution witness while in DSWD custody, AAA gave detailed accounts of the two assaults and affirmed the use of a knife on June 17, 2000.
- More than a year later, as a defense witness while back with accused-appellant’s family, AAA recanted her prosecution testimony, testified the sexual encounters were consensual or fabricated out of anger, claimed police instructed her to say accused used a knife, and alleged prior sexual abuse by deceased CCC beginning at age seven.
- On re-examination and re-cross, AAA made varying statements including that accused did not force himself upon her and that accused had a mental defect; she also indicated she had no relatives to stay with and was dependent on accused’s family.
- Defense evidence and accused’s testimony
- Defense presented clinical psychologist Yolanda Palma, who examined accused-appellant on September 12, 2002, and found an IQ below 50 consistent with mental retardation, but testified accused-appellant retained capacity to discern right from wrong.
- Accused-appellant, age forty when he testified on June 15, 2005, claimed AAA seduced him by removing her clothes, that they merely kissed and did not have intercourse, denied pointing a knife, and alleged AAA accused him because she demanded P300.
- Trial court findings and judgment
- Regional Trial Court of Malolos, Bulacan, Branch 13, rendered a joint Decision dated January 23, 2006, finding accused-appel...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Credibility and sufficiency of prosecution evidence given recantation
- Whether AAA’s later recantation of her trial testimony rendered the prosecution’s evidence insufficient to sustain conviction beyond reasonable doubt.
- Sanity and mental incapacity defense
- Whether accused-appellant proved the exempting circumstance of insanity or mental retardation at the time of the offenses by clear and convincing evidence.
- Qualification of the rape charges and proper penalty
- Whether either or both rape offenses were proven as qualified by the use of a deadly weapon under Article 266-A and Article 266-B of the Revised Penal Code, and the consequent proper penalty in light of Republic Act No. 9346.
- ...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
- (Subscriber-Only)