Case Digest (G.R. No. 74352)
Facts:
The People of the Philippines v. Elpidio Cabading, G.R. No. 74352, June 06, 1989, Supreme Court Second Division, Paras, J., writing for the Court.The complainant, Benita Huliganga, alleged that on August 8, 1978, while she was at her grandfather Alejo Gacad’s house in Brgy. Naguilian, La Union, the accused, her neighbor Elpidio Cabading, entered the room, raised her mosquito net and, with a kerosene lamp providing light, covered her mouth with his palm, went on top of her, twined his legs around hers, raised her dress and removed her panty, and inserted his penis into her vagina though he failed to ejaculate. She testified she could not cry out because her mouth was covered and that Cabading threatened to kill her, her child or husband if anyone learned of the incident. Afterward she and companions moved to another relative’s house; the next morning she reported the matter to her parents and the police.
Medical examination by Dr. Luis Duldulao produced a certificate showing no external signs of spermatozoa and no physical injuries except a minute abrasion on the right jaw; a medical expert testified the abrasion could have resulted from having a hand placed over the mouth. On cross-examination the complainant added that the assailant held a knife in his right hand while gagging her, but no knife was produced in evidence.
At trial the accused offered an alibi, claiming he was at his house about twenty meters away with his wife and two young children at the time. The Regional Trial Court, Branch XXXII...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Was the evidence presented by the prosecution sufficient to prove the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt?
- Did the inconsistencies and surrounding circumstances (lack of manifest resistance, the belated allegation of a knife, medical findings, and possible ulterior motive) sufficiently undermine the complainant’s credibi...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
- (Pro-only)
Ratio:
- (Pro-only)
Doctrine:
- (Pro-only)