Title
Jeffrey Gramatica y Laurista vs. People
Case
G.R. No. 260233
Decision Date
Aug 12, 2025
R.A. 7610 & R.P.C: Child abuse & Acts of Lasciviousness; coercion/influence vs. force/intimidation defined.
child abuse
lascivious conduct
sexual abuse
A

Case Summary (G.R. No. 260233)

Criminal Charges and Material Allegations

In G.R. No. 260233, petitioner Jeffrey Gramatica was charged, first, in a separate information (Criminal Case No. 15-CR-10794) with illegal sale of dangerous drugs under Section 5 of Republic Act No. 9165. The trial court acquitted him for failure to prove the elements of illegal sale. The same factual milieu, however, supported three R.A. No. 7610 charges: in Criminal Case No. 15-CR-10797, violation of Section 5(b) for sexual intercourse or lascivious conduct with BBB, a minor allegedly exploited in prostitution or other sexual abuse; and in Criminal Case Nos. 15-CR-10798 and 15-CR-10799, violation of Section 10(a) for child abuse allegedly committed on AAA and BBB, respectively, by selling/delivering/sharing methamphetamine hydrochloride (“shabu”) to the minors and allowing them to use and consume it in his place.

In G.R. No. 266039, XXX266039 was charged by information dated August 29, 2018 with violation of Section 5(b) of R.A. No. 7610. The information alleged that on or about August 24, 2018, he “caressed” the breasts and vagina of CCC, his 17-year-old granddaughter, through “intimidation, coercion, and influence,” and thereby subjected her to sexual abuse.

Factual Background: The Minors in the Two Cases

The Court treated the two cases as involving “unfortunate experiences of three minors,” each with distinct factual settings.

In G.R. No. 260233, BBB and AAA were close friends and had become addicted to shabu at a young age. They engaged in sex in exchange for shabu with Gramatica and Darwin Santiago (Darwin). AAA testified that she met them through a pimp she called “lolo” and described a pattern of obtaining shabu in exchange for sex, including sexual encounters after shabu consumption. BBB corroborated that AAA introduced her to Gramatica and Darwin and testified that she herself engaged in sexual intercourse with Darwin in exchange for shabu and later had sexual liaisons with Gramatica after shabu consumption. She clarified that she would not have engaged in sexual intercourse absent being under the influence of drugs.

Law enforcement intervention followed a complaint from AAA’s mother. Police discovered AAA living with Gramatica in his boarding house and being used as a drug courier. After locating AAA, police observed drug paraphernalia, arrested Gramatica upon his arrival, and later arrested Darwin after BBB was locked in a room by Darwin and police forcibly opened the room.

Medical and medico-legal findings were presented to confirm sexual activity among the victims, including hymenal notching and transection findings for both BBB and AAA.

In G.R. No. 266039, the prosecution narrative centered on CCC, a 17-year-old student. She testified that she was asleep when XXX266039 inserted his hand inside her panties, awakened her, and touched her breasts after placing his hands inside her bra. She said she was terrified, could not move or shout, and that XXX266039 then left the room as if nothing had happened.

XXX266039 denied the allegations. He claimed he woke CCC to ask for help in applying medicine in his eyes due to glaucoma.

Trial Court Rulings in Both Cases

In G.R. No. 260233, the RTC ruled in July 5, 2018. It acquitted petitioner in the illegal sale case, but convicted him in the R.A. No. 7610 cases. Specifically, it convicted him in Criminal Case No. 15-CR-10797 for Section 5(b) violation, finding he had sexual relations with BBB, a minor, and that the age disparity placed him in a stronger position enabling him to force his will. It also convicted him in Criminal Case No. 15-CR-10798 for Section 10(a) child abuse, reasoning that the act of selling/delivering/giving shabu prejudiced the child’s development. It acquitted him in Criminal Case No. 15-CR-10799 due to reasonable doubt.

In G.R. No. 266039, the RTC decision dated February 19, 2020 found XXX266039 guilty beyond reasonable doubt of lascivious conduct under Section 5(b) of R.A. No. 7610. The RTC held that: first, XXX266039 committed lascivious conduct based on CCC’s testimony that he touched her vagina and breasts; second, the child experienced “sexual abuse” because a child is deemed subjected to other sexual abuse when she indulges in lascivious conduct under the coercion or influence of an adult; and third, CCC’s birth certificate showed she was 17 years old. The RTC discounted XXX266039’s claim of assistance in applying medication in the face of CCC’s identification.

Appellate Proceedings: The CA’s Dispositions

In G.R. No. 260233, the CA, in its March 11, 2021 decision, affirmed the conviction under Section 5(b) and Section 10(a) but modified the damages. The CA concluded that the prosecution proved all elements of Section 5(b). It emphasized that Gramatica, then 23, courted and had sexual relationship with BBB, then 14, while BBB stayed in his boarding house, and that he took advantage of her minority, manipulating her trust to submit to his sexual desires. For the AAA charge under Section 10(a), the CA ruled all elements were established, crediting testimony that Gramatica sold shabu to AAA on several occasions and concluding that selling drugs to minors degraded the children’s intrinsic worth.

In G.R. No. 266039, the CA decision dated October 7, 2021 sustained the RTC conviction under Section 5(b) but modified penalty and damages, and increased the sanctions in line with its modification.

The Central Issues on Review

In G.R. No. 260233, petitioner argued that the CA erred in affirming conviction despite alleged failure of the prosecution to establish the elements of the offenses charged. He insisted that BBB’s sexual intercourse with him should have been considered as consensual and that there was no evidence that he influenced BBB to take shabu for his sexual purposes. With respect to AAA, he argued that the prosecution failed to show that his acts debased or demeaned AAA’s dignity and intrinsic worth and that there was no proof that AAA consumed the same shabu he sold. These arguments were said to have already been raised and rejected by the CA.

In G.R. No. 266039, the issue was whether the CA correctly affirmed the conviction of XXX266039 under Section 5(b) of R.A. No. 7610, given the evidence that CCC was asleep during the touching and that XXX266039 claimed he only sought assistance for eye medication.

Governing Statutory and Jurisprudential Framework

The Court anchored its analysis on Section 5(b) of R.A. No. 7610, which penalizes those who commit sexual intercourse or lascivious conduct with a child exploited in prostitution or subjected to other sexual abuse, with a proviso directing the use of the Revised Penal Code when the victim is under 12. The Court also considered Article 336 of the Revised Penal Code on acts of lasciviousness, whose elements include lewd acts under force/intimidation or when the offended party is deprived of reason or otherwise unconscious, or when the offended party is under 12.

The Court revisited and clarified doctrinal developments, particularly the Court’s guidance in Dimakuta v. People, Quimvel v. People, and People v. Tulagan, and the later refinement in cases addressing confusion between the Revised Penal Code and R.A. No. 7610. It explained that jurisprudence had blurred distinctions by treating “force and intimidation” and “coercion and influence” as interchangeable, contributing to uncertainty about when prosecutions should proceed under R.A. No. 7610 versus the Revised Penal Code.

To resolve the confusion, the Court underscored the need to interpret R.A. No. 7610 according to its text. It invoked the plain-meaning rule (verba legis), stating that when statutory words are clear, courts must apply them as written. In particular, it emphasized that the word “indulges” and the implementing rules’ definitions of “sexual abuse” and “engages” bear on whether the victim’s participation includes a semblance of consent due to coercion or influence, as opposed to being entirely unconscious or unwilling from the outset.

Legal Reasoning in G.R. No. 260233 (Gramatica)

The Court held that petitioner was properly found guilty of child prostitution under Section 5(b). It reasoned that the law deems children exploited in prostitution and other sexual abuse when they indulge in sexual intercourse or lascivious conduct “for money, profit, or any other consideration or due to coercion or influence of any adult.” The Court treated BBB’s testimony as establishing that she engaged in sexual intercourse with Gramatica in exchange for shabu. It ruled that, unlike rape where consent is relevant in analyzing the force element, Section 5(b) targets sexual intercourse or lascivious conduct with a minor exploited in prostitution or other sexual abuse, for which “consent is immaterial” because the prohibited setting is the minor’s exploitation for consideration.

Applying R.A. No. 7610’s statutory concept of “exploited in prostitution or other sexual abuse,” the Court found that BBB’s minority status and the exchange of sex for shabu placed the case within Section 5(b). It rejected petitioner’s insistence that there was no evidence he provided the drugs or that BBB and AAA would not have participated absent drugs. The Court considered such arguments as attacks on credibility and factual findings already affirmed by the CA, noting the rule that factual findings of the RTC—especially on witness credibility—are generally respected when affirmed on appeal.

On the Section 10(a) child abuse charge relating to AAA, the Court affirmed liability. It explained that Section 10(a) punishes not only acts constituting child abuse but also other conditions prejudicial to the child’s development, and that the dispositive question was whether selling drugs to a minor impaired the child’s development. It answered in the affirmative, holding that selling shabu to a minor degrades her humanity and worth and infringes her right to grow in a safe, wholesome environment.

The Court then imposed modifi

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