A.C. No. 9197 - Sta. Maria vs. Atayde, Jr.

On 1 September 1996, around 10:30 in the morning, AAA—a 19‑year‑old polio victim and midwifery student from Cordillera College, Buyagan, La Trinidad, Benguet—was on her way to her parents’ home in Tinoc, Ifugao, to collect her allowance.
While walking in Natuel, Buguias, Benguet, she encountered Eddie Basite, who was headed in the opposite direction.
After passing each other, AAA became aware of Basite following her.

Eddie Basite reached AAA, seized her by both hands, and ordered her to come down with him.
Despite her resistance, Basite produced a knife from his waistband and thrust it at her neck, threatening to stab her if she did not comply.
He forced her to lie down, undressed himself, and forcibly removed her pants and underwear.
Basite then inserted his penis into her vagina, making a series of push and pull movements that caused AAA pain, while continually threatening her with the knife.
Upon completing the assault, he warned her to keep silent under the threat of further violence.

In an act of self-defense, AAA grabbed the knife and stabbed Basite on his left shoulder.
Basite, injured, ran away from the scene.
AAA, while attempting to compose herself, lost her balance, rolled down a cliff, and lost consciousness.
After regaining consciousness later that night, she struggled to regain her bearings due to the pain and weakness she felt, eventually resuming her journey.

As she continued towards her parents’ home, AAA encountered friendly occupants of a local house where she was offered camote to eat, and later, soldiers who offered to accompany her.
Along the way, she met four men, one of whom—Basite’s brother—identified Eddie Basite as the person who had earlier accosted her. He even suggested going to the crime scene.
At the scene, AAA retrieved her bag and declined the invitation to meet Basite or his relatives, opting instead to proceed to Monsoyohoy where she was to meet her uncle, Nazario Habungan.
Upon meeting her uncle and other relatives, AAA narrated the ordeal. The group subsequently went to the Abatan Police Station to report the incident and file a complaint.

While passing through Bot-oan, Basite was seen alighting from a yellow Ford Fiera with an injured right hand.
Nazario and his companions, upon intercepting Basite and engaging him, managed to catch up to him after he resisted by pushing away Nazario.
Barangay Captain Gilbert Sacla intervened to stop the commotion and subsequently took Basite to the Abatan Police Station where he cooperated willingly.

AAA was advised to undergo a medical examination and was taken first to the Abatan Emergency Hospital for a physical checkup and then to the Lutheran Hospital for laboratory tests.
Dr. Relante Raper of Abatan Emergency Hospital testified that upon examination AAA’s clothes were muddy, with mud noted on her right breast and pubic hair.
Physical findings included multiple healing scratches and contusions on her arms, legs, and inner thighs, attributed possibly to external force or impact from a fall.
Internal examination revealed no lacerations, scratches, or bleeding in the perineal area, and her hymen was found intact; however, the vagina admitted one finger with difficulty.
A whitish mucoid discharge taken from the labia minora was examined in the Lutheran Hospital and yielded negative results for sperm.
Dr. Raper clarified that even a married woman could have an intact hymen due to its elasticity.

AAA filed her sworn statement and a formal criminal complaint on 3 September 1996, leading to the filing of an Information for Rape against Basite on 2 October 1996.
Basite pleaded not guilty at arraignment, and his motion for bail was denied.
The prosecution’s case was substantially built on AAA’s spontaneous and detailed testimony, wherein she positively identified Basite as the assailant.
Basite’s defense included testimonies from two witnesses—Lidot Lacbao and Dr. Ronald Bandonill.

Lidot Lacbao recounted that he had received AAA in his home early on 2 September 1996, noting her limping condition, scratches, and muddy attire. He mentioned that AAA stated she had stabbed her assailant, asserting that she had not been raped.
Dr. Ronald Bandonill, serving as an expert witness for the defense, critiqued Dr. Raper’s Medico-Legal Certificate as being incomplete and opined that the absence of fresh vaginal lacerations or other trauma indicated that there was no sexual intercourse.

Basite’s actions after the crime—fleeing the scene after being stabbed and his subsequent behavior—were scrutinized.
He later surrendered to authorities through Barangay Captain Gilbert Sacla, a point raised by his defense to suggest a mitigating circumstance; however, the court examined whether his surrender was indeed spontaneous.

Whether the incompleteness and alleged inconclusiveness of Dr. Raper’s Medico-Legal Certificate, as highlighted by Dr. Bandonill, created reasonable doubt as to the occurrence of sexual intercourse.
Whether the absence of fresh lacerations and an intact hymen conclusively negated the victim’s claim of rape.

Whether AAA’s detailed, spontaneous, and consistent testimony, despite discrepancies with physical findings and the conflicting statements of other witnesses, is sufficient to convict.
The impact of alleged inconsistencies between her account and the observations of witness Lidot Lacbao.

Whether the court should give controlling effect to the defense expert Dr. Bandonill’s interpretation of the medical findings over the prosecution’s evidence.
How to assess the significance of expert opinions in the absence of definitive forensic indicators of sexual contact.

Whether Basite’s surrender—taken through the intervention of Barangay Captain Sacla and following a chase by the victim’s relatives—can be construed as a voluntary act that might mitigate his culpability.
Determining if such surrender demonstrates an acknowledgment of guilt or is merely a reaction to external pressures.