Case Digest (G.R. No. 124329)
Facts:
People of the Philippines v. Cesar Masalihit y Mondido, G.R. No. 124329, December 14, 1998, the Supreme Court En Banc, Bellosillo, J., writing for the Court. The accused-appellant is Cesar Masalihit y Mondido; the offended party and principal witness is his daughter Analyn C. Masalihit. Justice Bellosillo delivered the majority opinion; Justices Davide, Jr., Melo, Puno, Kapunan, Mendoza, Martinez, Quisumbing, Purisima, and Pardo concurred. Justice Panganiban agreed with acquittal but joined Justice Vitug’s call for legislative reexamination of the death penalty law; Justice Vitug filed a dissent joined by Justice Romero.On or about January 1, 1994, Analyn, then fourteen years old, alleged that she was raped by her father at about 1:00 a.m. She filed a complaint on June 8, 1994. The 2nd Municipal Circuit Trial Court (MCTC) of Silang-Amadeo found probable cause and forwarded the case to the Provincial Prosecutor; an information was filed in the Regional Trial Court (RTC) on October 10, 1994. At trial the prosecution presented Analyn’s testimony recounting that she was awakened by a weight on her and felt pain in her private parts, saw her father on top of her pulling up his shorts and noticed her panty lowered; she testified that her father wiped her private parts and that she felt pain thereafter. A medical examination by Dr. Godwyn N. Bernardo, conducted about five months after the alleged incident, recorded healed hymenal lacerations.
The RTC, Judge Eleuterio F. Guerrero presiding, convicted Cesar Masalihit of rape under paragraph 1 of Article 335 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended by R.A. No. 7659, found the aggravating circumstance of relationship, and sentenced him to death with awards of civil indemnity, moral and exemplary damages. The case was brought to the Supreme Court for review. The prosecution emphasized the victim’s testimony and the medical findings; the defense stre...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Was the element of carnal knowledge (penetration) and thus the crime of rape proven beyond reasonable doubt?
- Did the complainant’s testimony and the medical findings sufficiently corroborate one another and sustain the conviction despite inconsistencies and non-presentation...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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