Title
People vs. Latag y Dita
Case
G.R. No. 140411-13
Decision Date
Dec 11, 2003
Avelino Latag convicted of raping niece BBB; death penalty reduced to reclusion perpetua due to unalleged relationship in Information.
rape
reclusion perpetua
complaint
A

Case Summary (A.M. No. P-03-1671)

Factual Background

The prosecution established that BBB, then ten years old, lived with her parents until the family relocated to Sitio Santol in Barangay Nangkaan, Mataasnakahoy, Batangas, in their maternal grandparents’ house. In April 1997, during the night, BBB testified that appellant raped her in the second-floor area where she was sleeping with her siblings and certain relatives who were also asleep. According to BBB, appellant removed her short pants and panty, positioned himself on top of her, and inserted his penis into her vagina. When she attempted to resist by trying to remove his penis, appellant boxed her and slapped her whenever she attempted to shout. After staying on top of her for about one minute, appellant left and returned to the lower portion of the house where he normally slept. BBB asserted that she recognized appellant because of a lighted kerosene lamp in the vicinity. After the incident, BBB reported it to her older sister, AAA, and the sisters later informed their maternal grandparents, who did not believe the children.

The prosecution further relied on medical evidence obtained on May 8, 1997 at the Lipa City District Hospital before Dr. Alex Agato. The doctor found that BBB’s vaginal opening was inflamed and admitted the fifth digit of the examining finger with difficulty up to about two centimeters in depth. The hymen was absent, which was not natural for BBB’s age and was attributed to penetration by an object, probably a finger or a penis. The doctor also noted that the vaginal opening could be seen, which was considered unusual for a ten-year-old. Dr. Agato issued a medico-legal certificate dated May 8, 1997, concluding that BBB was no longer a virgin.

Defense Theory

Appellant denied the allegations. He presented a narrative in which BBB was his granddaughter in the first instance, and later the defense sought to characterize BBB as his niece, the daughter of his sister. Appellant claimed that he supported BBB and her siblings during their stay and that he only learned of the rape charges when appellant was apprehended. He insisted that BBB did not complain about the alleged rape committed by his son before the filing of the cases. He also denied being at the scene during the relevant time. The defense further claimed that, in the month of April 1997, a relative—described as BBB’s brother-in-law—mauled appellant’s sister repeatedly, with appellant and his brother Yolito allegedly present during the last incident, when they also helped in “mauling their brother-in-law.”

Trial Court Disposition

The RTC acquitted appellant of the other rape charge involving AAA for insufficiency of evidence, but convicted him beyond reasonable doubt for raping BBB. The trial court held that appellant sexually assaulted BBB during one night in April 1997. It gave significant weight to BBB’s testimony because it found her conduct and demeanor credible, her narration clear and positive, and her account devoid of artificiality. The court reasoned that it was unthinkable for a ten-year-old to fabricate a serious rape allegation against her uncle and then endure humiliation from a medical examination and a public trial. It rejected appellant’s denial and alibi as inherently weak and insufficient to overcome BBB’s positive testimony. The trial court also ruled that appellant failed to show physical impossibility of his presence at the time of the offense.

Based on its conclusion that the rape was qualified, the RTC imposed the death penalty and ordered indemnity and damages, including P75,000.00 as indemnity ex delicto, P10,000.00 as moral damages, and P5,000.00 as exemplary damages.

The Parties’ Contentions on Appeal

Appellant assigned two principal errors. First, he argued that the Information in Criminal Case No. 0460-97 was insufficient to support conviction because it did not state the precise date of the offense. He invoked Section 6 of Rule 110 and asserted that the time of the rape had to be alleged with more precision, making the Information fatally defective and void. He also contended that the ruling in United States v. Javier Dichao should control, as the uncertainty of the time would prevent the effective interposition of an alibi and would violate the constitutional right to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation. He maintained that trial evidence could not cure the defect.

Second, appellant contended that the RTC erred in imposing the death penalty because the Complaint failed to allege his relationship with BBB as required to qualify the rape. He asserted that, without such allegation, his relationship should not be used as a qualifying circumstance.

The Court found merit in appellant’s second contention as to the qualifying relationship and, therefore, reduced the penalty. It rejected the first contention concerning the date and time of the rape.

Legal Reasoning on the Date/Time Allegation

On the first issue, the Court held that the precise time of the commission of rape need not be alleged, unless time is an essential element of the offense. It emphasized that Section 11 of Rule 110 provides that the precise date is not necessary unless it is a material ingredient. The Court reiterated that in rape, time is not an element because the gravamen is the act of carnal knowledge under the circumstances under Article 335 of the Revised Penal Code—including rape by force or intimidation, and the age-based circumstances. Thus, an information alleging the crime occurred “sometime” during a specified period could be sufficient compliance, so long as it alleged the date “as near as possible” to the actual date and did not deprive the accused of the ability to prepare a defense.

The Court also relied on the principle that even if any defect existed as to the certainty of the time allegation, it was cured by evidence presented during trial. Moreover, it underscored that appellant did not object before the trial court to the sufficiency of the Information on this ground. The Court reasoned that appellant’s participation in trial—through cross-examination and the presentation of evidence—showed that his constitutional right to be informed was not violated. It further noted that the defense did not demonstrate that the victim’s testimony regarding the month of April 1997 caught appellant by surprise or made defense preparation difficult. The Court also explained that the proper remedies, which appellant did not pursue, were a bill of particulars or a quashal on the ground that the Information did not substantially conform to prescribed form.

The Court likewise found appellant’s reliance on Dichao misplaced. It distinguished Dichao by highlighting that the factual setting there involved a time allegation described as an interval of two years—an extreme lack of definiteness that prevented the accused from effectively pleading alibi. In contrast, the complaint here alleged that the rape occurred “sometime in the month of April, 1997,” which the Court found adequately definite and certain. It also noted that in Dichao, the accused had filed a motion to quash, while in the present case no such motion was filed. Because appellant raised no timely objection, the Court treated the alleged defect as waived.

Legal Reasoning on the Qualifying Relationship and the Penalty

On the second issue, the Court held that the death penalty could not stand because the qualifying relationship was not properly alleged in the Information. The Court explained that the rape occurred before the effectivity of RA No. 8353, so the applicable qualifying circumstance provision was Section 11 of RA No. 7659, amending Article 335. Under that framework, the death penalty applied when the victim was under eighteen and the offender was a parent, ascendant, stepparent, guardian, relative by consanguinity or affinity within the third civil degree, or the common-law spouse of the parent of the victim.

The Court stressed a doctrinal requirement: even if the facts show the offender is a qualifying relative, the death penalty cannot be imposed unless the specific relationship is duly alleged in

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