Case Digest (G.R. No. 182924)
Facts:
People of the Philippines v. Jose Perez @ Dalegdeg, G.R. No. 182924, December 24, 2008, Supreme Court Third Division, Chico‑Nazario, J., writing for the Court.On January 18, 2000 an information for statutory rape was filed in the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Palawan and Puerto Princesa City, Branch 50, charging Jose Perez @ Dalegdeg with having carnal knowledge of AAA, a six‑year‑old, on or about September 19, 1999. A warrant of arrest issued; Perez was arrested and detained without bail. At arraignment on June 5, 2000 he pleaded not guilty. At pre‑trial he offered to plead to acts of lasciviousness but the prosecutor, after consulting the offended party, refused; he also admitted the victim’s age and that he had been in the barangay on the date alleged.
The prosecution presented four witnesses: AAA’s mother BBB, AAA herself, AAA’s father CCC, Municipal Health Officer Dr. Jerry Gundayao, and psychologist Shiela Chan. Their evidence was that AAA left a movie house with her brother, was later found crying with injuries, and subsequently told her mother that Perez hit her eye with a stone, punched her abdomen, took her behind a house where he first inserted a finger then his penis into her vagina, and that she lost consciousness from pain. Dr. Gundayao’s examination documented contusions and fresh hymenal lacerations at 6:00 and 4:00 positions and other genital abnormalities; he concluded the child had been sexually abused. Psychologist Chan later diagnosed AAA with Post‑Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Perez and his father testified for the defense. Perez denied the rape, asserting he was at his parents’ home in Barangay Malaud (about an hour away by pump boat) at the time. His father, however, gave testimony placing Perez at the movie house and recalled Perez carrying AAA and handing her over to her father, a fact the trial court found inconsistent with the alibi.
On September 2, 2005 the RTC convicted Perez of statutory rape and imposed the death penalty, plus P75,000 civil indemnity and P75,000 moral damages. Because the trial court imposed death, it forwarded the records to the Supreme Court for automatic review pursuant to Section 10, Rule 122, but the case was transferred to the Court of Appeals pursuant to this Court’s directive in People v. Mateo. The Court of Appeals, in CA‑G.R. CR‑H.C. No. 02235, on November 26, 2007 affirmed the conviction but reduced the penalty to reclusion perpetua (citing Republic Act No. 9346) and awarded exemplary damages of P50,000 in addition to the trial court’s awards.
Perez filed a timely Notice of Appeal and the records were elevated to the Supreme Court for automatic review. ...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Whether the evidence established appellant’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt for statutory rape.
- Whether the death penalty imposed by the RTC should be reduced and whether appellant is eligible for parole.
- Whether the award of exemplary damages by the Court of Appeals ...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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