Title
People vs. Belen y Marasigan
Case
G.R. No. 215331
Decision Date
Jan 23, 2017
Appellant convicted of two counts of simple rape for sexually abusing his 8-year-old stepdaughter; Supreme Court affirmed conviction, modified damages, citing credible testimony and moral ascendancy.
appeal
conviction
simple rape

Case Summary (G.R. No. 215331)

The Informations and the Charges Filed

In Criminal Case No. 9563, the information alleged that appellant, taking advantage of his moral ascendancy, had carnal knowledge of AAA, then an eight (8)-year-old minor, “against her will and without her consent,” using force, violence, and intimidation through a knife. It further alleged qualifying circumstances of relationship because AAA was said to be the daughter of appellant’s common-law wife, and minority, thereby charging qualified rape. The information added that the offense was aggravated by circumstances such as treachery, evident premeditation, abuse of superior strength, and dwelling.

Criminal Case No. 9564 contained a substantially similar allegation for a second incident in July 1999, again charging qualified rape by reason of the same qualifying circumstances and deadly weapon use, with the same alleged aggravating circumstances.

Arraignment and Course of Trial

Appellant, assisted by counsel, was arraigned on April 17, 2008 and pleaded not guilty to both charges. Trial then proceeded, with the prosecution presenting AAA, Police Senior Inspector Dean C. Cabrera (PSI Cabrera), a medico-legal officer, and BBB, AAA’s mother. Appellant testified in his own defense and presented a denial of the charges, attributing the filing of the case to motive connected to property.

Testimony of AAA: Two Rape Incidents in July 1999

AAA testified that she was eight (8) years old in 1999 and that appellant was the husband of her mother, though they were not married. She stated that, at the time, she, her mother, and appellant lived in Purok I, Buntong Palay, San Mateo, Rizal. She narrated two separate incidents.

For the first incident, she testified that around 4:00 p.m. in July 1999, while she was playing outside the house, appellant called her inside. Once inside, appellant locked the door and poked a knife, ordering her to remove her clothes. She complied, and appellant instructed her to bend over. She stated that he inserted his penis into her vagina. She further testified that appellant placed himself on top of her and moved up and down while she cried, and that the first rape occurred in her mother’s room for about half an hour.

For the second incident, AAA testified that during the second week of July 1999, around 7:00 p.m., while her mother was at work and she was sitting at home, appellant entered the house. She stated that he told her to undress; she complied because he threatened her not to make noise or tell her mother. She testified that appellant asked her to bend and inserted his penis into her vagina, told her to lie down, and then went on top of her and inserted his penis into her vagina again while moving up and down. She stated that this second rape incident also lasted for about half an hour while she cried, and that the assaults continued several more times until stopped when her grandmother brought her to an uncle’s house in Divisoria. She testified that she only disclosed the assaults in 2005 after confronting by her mother, explaining that she did not earlier tell her mother because appellant threatened her.

Medical Evidence: Medico-Legal Examination Conducted in 2005

PSI Cabrera testified that he conducted a physical and genital examination of AAA on December 8, 2005 upon request by the Chief of Police of San Mateo, Rizal. He issued a medico-legal report stating that the victim sustained a deep-healed laceration of the hymen at 6:00 position. He also testified that the hymenal laceration finding “would hardly give any proof to the number of times that a sexual abuse had taken place.”

Testimony of BBB: Relationship and Delayed Disclosure

BBB testified that appellant was her live-in partner for ten (10) years and that she stayed with AAA and appellant in AAA’s house in July 1999. She testified that on November 11, 2005, AAA told her that appellant had molested her. BBB stated that she kept silent because appellant threatened to kill them. BBB then took AAA after she finished grade 2 and brought her to an uncles’ house in Divisoria. BBB’s testimony placed AAA at eight (8) years old and in grade 2 at the time of the rape incidents.

Defense Evidence: Denial and Claimed Motive

Appellant denied the charges. He claimed that AAA was the daughter of BBB, his live-in partner, but he maintained he had separated from BBB in 1999 and that BBB’s family brought AAA to Manila to study, after which he did not visit. He asserted that BBB was upset and threatened to file a case against him. He also testified that a case had been filed to obtain his property.

RTC Judgment: Conviction for Two Counts of Simple Rape

On December 20, 2010, the RTC convicted appellant in both cases. It found AAA’s narration detailed, candid, and straightforward. It relied on the medico-legal report’s finding of deep healed laceration at the 6 o’clock position, concluding that it bolstered AAA’s account. However, it rejected the prosecution’s theory that both incidents were qualified rape on the ground that it was not shown with the required certainty that AAA was a minor, because the Local Civil Registrar reportedly had no record of AAA’s birth.

Accordingly, the RTC convicted appellant of simple rape in each case and imposed reclusion perpetua and awards for civil indemnity, moral damages, and exemplary damages, with no pronouncement as to costs. The RTC credited appellant for preventive detention under Art. 29 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended by RA 6127 and EO 214.

CA Judgment: Affirmance of Conviction

Appellant appealed to the CA. In its July 11, 2014 Decision, the CA denied the appeal and affirmed the RTC. The CA upheld the RTC’s factual findings and conclusions on credibility and the sufficiency of proof of rape.

Issues Raised on Appeal

Appellant argued before the Supreme Court that the prosecution failed to overcome the presumption of innocence. He claimed that the testimony of AAA was doubtful because leading questions and presumptions allegedly influenced her answers. He also contended that AAA’s testimony was inconsistent with the medico-legal report because only one hymenal laceration was found.

Appellant additionally argued that since the medical examination occurred in 2005, when AAA was no longer living with appellant under the same roof, it was possible that the lone laceration could have been caused by some other male person. He likewise tried to discredit AAA and BBB by imputing ill motive connected to obtaining his property.

Finally, while the RTC and CA already convicted him of simple rape, the case also required examination of whether the offense should have been qualified rape based on relationship and minority.

Supreme Court’s Findings on Credibility and the Sufficiency of Proof of Rape

The Court held that the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that appellant had carnal knowledge of AAA with threat and intimidation in the first incident. It relied on AAA’s categorical testimony that appellant locked the door, poked a knife at her, ordered her to remove her clothes, and inserted his penis into her vagina while she cried. For the first incident, the Court considered the use of a knife as evidence of threat and intimidation that caused AAA to submit against her will.

As to the second incident, the Court ruled that while AAA did not describe physical force and intimidation in the same manner as in the first incident, appellant’s moral ascendancy and influence over AAA established the intimidation element for purposes of rape. It pointed to their living arrangement and the close relationship such that appellant wielded moral influence and physical superiority over a child victim. The Court adopted the doctrinal rule that in rape committed by close kin, moral influence substitutes for violence or intimidation. It thus concluded that the second incident also constituted rape committed through the victim’s lack of free consent due to appellant’s ascendancy.

The Court further sustained the trial courts’ assessment of witness credibility. It reiterated that the evaluation of the trial judge, supported by observations of the witness and affirmed by the CA, is binding absent proof that material facts were overlooked or misinterpreted. It rejected appellant’s claim that AAA’s answers resulted from leading questions, noting the CA’s finding that appellant failed to object during the proceedings and that he cross-examined AAA on the same matters, thereby rendering the challenge untimely and barred.

Medical Evidence Not Controlling; Laceration Not an Element of Rape

The Court rejected appellant’s argument that the presence of only one hymenal laceration negated rape. It invoked People v. Ferrer, G.R. No. 142662, August 14, 2001, for the settled proposition that laceration is not an element of rape and that neither the absence nor presence of lacerations is indispensable to prove rape. It emphasized that medical examination and medical certificate evidence are merely corroborative, not essential, and that credible testimony of the victim alone can convict.

The Court also relied on PSI Cabrera’s clarification that a hymenal laceration finding hardly proves the number of times sexual abuse occurred. It thus held that AAA’s testimony on penetration in two separate instances was not negated by the medico-legal report showing only one healed laceration.

The Court also reiterated the evidentiary weight accorded to child victims in rape prosecutions, reasoning that it is improbable for a young girl to fabricate a detailed account of defilement, undergo a public trial, and endure the attendant trauma and scandal unless the acts occurred.

Rejection of Denial and Alleged Ill Motive

The Court held that appellant’s denial and attempt to impute ill motive to the complainant and her mother lacked evidentiary support. It stated that denial, absent clear and convincing evidence, is a self-serving assertion that cannot prevail over the positive testimony of the victim.

As to the alleged motive

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