Case Digest (G.R. No. 124053)
Facts:
People of the Philippines v. Carlito Palana y Saranggote, G.R. No. 124053, March 20, 2002, Supreme Court First Division, Ynares‑Santiago, J., writing for the Court.The respondent-accused is Carlito Palana y Saranggote (accused‑appellant); the petitioner is the People of the Philippines (plaintiff‑appellee). Accused was charged before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Manila, Branch 12, in Criminal Case No. 92‑103795 with rape (Article 335, Revised Penal Code, as amended) for an alleged sexual assault on his niece by affinity, Emelita Tamayo y Gonzales, on or about January 11, 1992. The information alleged that the victim, then nine years old, was mounted upon, had her panty removed, was threatened with death should she resist, and was penetrated.
At arraignment accused pleaded not guilty. After trial the RTC rendered a decision dated October 11, 1995 (penal judge Rosmari D. Carandang), finding accused guilty beyond reasonable doubt of rape and sentencing him to reclusion perpetua, ordering immediate transfer to the National Bilibid Prisons, awarding P50,000.00 as moral damages, and imposing costs. Accused appealed to the Supreme Court, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence.
The prosecution's case rested largely on the victim's testimony: she described being called to accused's bedroom at about 1:00 p.m., being laid down, having her panty removed, and having accused insert his penis and cause pain; she observed a white substance emanating from the penis. A playmate, Agnes Diaz, reportedly was threatened by accused not to report the incident. The victim related the matter to Agnes, who told her mother, who then informed the victim's mother; police and medical examination followed. The medico‑legal certificate (Exh. F) showed a healed laceration on the hymen; the victim's birth certificate (Exh. D) established her age.
Accused testified that earlier that morning he had beaten the victim for allegedly taking his money, and a neighbor witness, Herminia Manguerra, corroborated that beating and the victim's fall on the stairs. Accused argued the bleeding and healed hymenal wound were due to that fall, that there was no outcry, that the victim had motive t...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Was the evidence sufficient to sustain accused‑appellant's conviction for rape beyond reasonable doubt?
- Do the absence of outcry, the delay in reporting, the medico‑legal finding of a healed hymenal laceration, the failure to present the playmate as a corroborating witness, and accused's asserted alibi undermine the victim's testimony and require acquittal?
- Is civil indemnity mandatory upon conviction for rape where the death penalty ...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
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Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)