Case Digest (G.R. No. 172607)
Facts:
People of the Philippines v. Rufino Umanito, G.R. No. 172607, April 16, 2009, Supreme Court Special Second Division, Tinga, J., writing for the Court.The accused-appellant, Rufino Umanito, was charged with and convicted of rape by the Regional Trial Court (RTC), Bauang, La Union, Branch 67, which sentenced him to reclusion perpetua and ordered indemnity of P50,000.00. The Court of Appeals affirmed the RTC decision, and Umanito appealed to the Supreme Court. The appeal was pending when the Court, by a Resolution dated 26 October 2007, applied the newly promulgated A.M. No. 06-11-5-SC (New Rules on DNA Evidence) to this case, remanding it to the RTC for reception of DNA evidence and directing Deputy Court Administrator Reuben Dela Cruz to monitor implementation and report to the Court.
Pursuant to the remand, the RTC set hearings (27 November 2007; 5 December 2007) to determine feasibility under Sections 4(a), (b), (c) and (e) of the DNA Rules. The complainant (here identified as AAA) and her daughter (the child, BBB, then 17) testified and agreed to DNA testing, as did the parties’ counsel; the parties and the prosecution concurred in selecting the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to perform testing. The RTC ordered collection of biological samples; on 9 January 2008 buccal swabs and blood samples from AAA and BBB were taken in court, and on 8 February 2008 samples from Umanito were taken at New Bilibid Prison. NBI forensic chemist Mary Ann Aranas testified as expert; no objections to her qualifications were interposed. The court imposed chain-of-custody safeguards (sealed envelopes, witnesses, photographs, signatures, tamper tape, preservation until case disposition).
At the admissibility hearings (March–April 2008) the NBI reported that using the PowerPlex 16 System and analyzing 15 loci there was a complete match between Umanito and BBB and a 99.9999% Probability of Paternity. The RTC found that the NBI followed reliable procedures (buccal swabs with blood backup, separate processing, duplicate analyses), that chain of custody was properly established, and that, under Section 6, A.M. No. 06-11-5-SC, a Probability of Paternity of 99.9% or higher gives rise to a disputable presumption of paternity. The defense did not object to the admission of Exhibits A and B nor present evidence to rebut the presumption. The RTC therefore ruled that Umanito is the biological father of BBB.
...(Pro-only)Issues:
- May the appellant’s Motion to Withdraw Appeal dated 16 February 2009 be granted?
- Were the court-ordered DNA tests and the NBI report admissible and sufficient to establish a disputable presumption of paternity under the New Rules o...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
- (Pro-only)
Ratio:
- (Pro-only)
Doctrine:
- (Pro-only)