Title
People vs. Patong-Og
Case
G.R. No. L-70574
Decision Date
Nov 27, 1987
Elvira Arias, assaulted by Carmelo Paton-og in 1982, testified credibly; medical evidence supported her account. Court convicted Paton-og, rejecting his denial and alibi, affirming rape with slight penetration. Indemnity increased to P20,000.
rape
conviction
positive identification
A

Case Summary (G.R. No. 210542)

Factual Background

The complainant, Elvira Arias, testified that on the morning of December 20, 1982, she arrived in Ormoc City from Pilar, Cebu intending to take a “special” boat trip to Cebu City. When she went to the Aboitiz office, tickets for the trip leaving the following morning were no longer available. She then took a passenger jeepney bound for Baybay, Leyte at about 2:00 in the afternoon.

At around 4:20 in the afternoon in Baybay, she went to the house of her friend, Si Hong, to look for another friend, Nenita Gucela. Since the latter was not there, she left a letter and later decided to return to Ormoc City because her goiter was to be “prayed over” by members of the charismatic movement. At about 5:30 in the afternoon, she left Baybay for Albuera, Leyte, riding a passenger jeepney.

Upon arriving in Albuera at past 6:00 in the evening, she hitched a ride in a truck owned by Biophil, Inc., where she initially had four male companions. At Barrio Talisayan, the truck took in five teenagers, including the accused. Because the truck’s destination was only up to the Biophil compound at Barangay Ipil, all passengers, including the complainant and the accused, had to alight. The four teenagers with the accused boarded a sugarcane hauling truck bound for Ormoc City, while the accused was left behind with the complainant.

The complainant narrated that the accused approached her and, since she was new to the area, asked where pedicabs bound for Ormoc City were parked. She asked the same question when the accused initially replied that the pedicab parking area was still some distance away. The accused then pointed to a supposed route, and they walked together. Along the way, they passed a railway track with large tanks on both sides and a building, but no pedicab signs were seen. When she again asked where the pedicabs were, the accused answered it was farther off. Beyond a canal, the accused suddenly held her hands. She resisted; the accused boxed and choked her and dragged her into nearby bushes. Frightened, she shouted for help until her throat nearly exploded. She pleaded for release by offering her wristwatch and telling him she had children, but the accused ignored her.

She further stated that the accused boxed her again in different parts of her body and choked her several times. She fell repeatedly, and when she attempted to stand, he pulled her back, so her clothes became muddy. During the assault, she bit his hand, not too hard for fear he might kill her. She also managed to get hold of his penis when his pants and underpants were down and pulled it to stop him from consummating his “evil desires.” Due to blows on her head, chest, and thighs and the heavy pressure on her neck from choking, she became tired, weak, and powerless. At that stage, the accused began inserting his penis into her vagina. She testified that at the point of full penetration, she lapsed into unconsciousness and could not recall what happened thereafter.

When she regained consciousness, she found herself lying down and her panties were gone. She ran to the Biophil compound and reported the incident to a guard, who allowed her to ride on a Kadiwa jeep to Ormoc City. In Ormoc City, she went to her cousin, Cecilia Blancha, and proceeded to the police station. She reported the incident and requested a physical examination. She was brought to Ormoc General Hospital, where Dr. Nelson Seno examined her and issued a medical certificate showing, among others, a swollen right upper jaw, mucosal abrasion on the lower lip (left side), pelvic examination, a statement that the patient admitted readily the index and middle finger, an old laceration of the vaginal canal, and a sperm examination done (negative). The medical certificate further noted that her injuries incapacitated her from ordinary labor or required medical attendance for less than nine days.

After the examination, she returned to her cousin’s house to clean herself of the mud. She went back to Pilar, Cebu the following day. On December 24, 1982, she returned to the PC Camp in Ormoc City and, upon request, was to identify her abuser from among the four teenagers in the line-up, who were also her companions in the Biophil truck. Because the accused was not included, she pointed to no one, but she instead described the culprit as the “smallest from among the five teenagers who boarded at Talisayan.” On December 28, 1982, she gave her sworn statement. An order of arrest was issued on March 15, 1983, and the accused was arrested on July 6, 1983.

Accused’s Version and Defense

The accused, Carmelo Paton-og, testified that he came to know Elvira Arias only when he was called for preliminary investigation in the Office of the City Fiscal in Ormoc City. He claimed that on December 20, 1982, at about 7:00 in the evening, he was in Brgy. San Antonio, Ormoc City, with four companions: Sammy Sodigo, Nonito Barabad, Carlos Bando, and Ray Oliver. He said they rode a Biophil truck coming home from San Antonio. He testified that on the truck, there was one female passenger whom he did not recognize. Upon reaching the Biophil compound, he stated that the passengers alighted, including himself and the woman, and that the driver drove inside the compound. He asserted that the four companions left him, because he was not fast enough to overtake and board the sugarcane hauling truck.

According to the accused, after the passengers alighted, the woman asked if there were still trips to Ormoc City. He said he left the woman after she had an agreement with a truck driver for the latter to conduct her home. He then claimed that he hitchhiked on a bicycle, slept at past 7:00 in the evening, and did not go out of the house that night. He denied any participation in the alleged rape. He told the trial court that he never held the complainant’s hands, boxed her, or raped her, and he stated that he had nothing to say because he did not know what the complainant declared.

Defense witness Mario Alba, called to corroborate the accused, testified that on the night of December 20, 1982, he was in Sitio Tinag-an, Brgy. Ipil, Ormoc City, with companion Leonito Bendijo. He said they passed by the accused, who hitched a ride with him on his bicycle and was brought home, after which Alba and Bendijo returned to their own respective houses.

Trial Court Proceedings and Conviction

On September 13, 1984, the trial court found the prosecution evidence more credible and convicted the accused of rape under Article 335 of the Revised Penal Code, imposing reclusion perpetua. The trial court ordered indemnification to the offended party in the amount of P12,000.00, with costs of the action against the accused.

Issue on Appeal and the Parties’ Contentions

On appeal, the accused relied on the sole assignment of error that the trial court erred in convicting him because the prosecution allegedly failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that he raped the complainant. The defense posture was anchored on denial and an attempt to discredit the complainant’s identification and narration.

The People’s stance, as adopted in the Supreme Court’s discussion, was that the complainant’s testimony carried sufficient credibility and that her identification of the accused was positive. The Supreme Court also considered the accused’s partial admissions about being in the vicinity of the incident, and treated the defense denials and the attempt at corroboration as insufficient against the prosecution’s evidence.

Supreme Court’s Ruling on Credibility and Identity

The Supreme Court held that the complainant’s testimony bore the earmarks of spontaneity, candidness, and credibility. The Court emphasized that immediately after the assault, she reported the incident to a guard at the Biophil compound, who helped her board a Kadiwa jeep to Ormoc City. It also noted that she did not delay in asking her cousin to accompany her to the police station to report the incident, and that she was taken to Ormoc General Hospital for physical examination upon her own request.

The Court found that the medical findings were consistent with the complainant’s account. In particular, the Court treated the presence of a “swollen (r) upper jaw” and “mucosal abrasion lower lip (L) side” as confirmatory of the “heavy pressure on her neck due to choking” narrated by her. It also noted that her behavior after the incident—returning to her cousin to clean herself of mud—matched her claim that she had fallen and that the accused pulled her back until her clothes were muddy.

The Court further ruled that the complainant exercised care in identifying the accused. At the PC line-up on December 24, 1982, the accused was reportedly not in the line-up. Hence, she pointed to no one. However, she described the culprit as the “smallest from among the five teenagers who boarded at Talisayan,” the group that included the accused. The accused was eventually arrested on July 6, 1983, which the Court treated as supporting the sufficiency of the complainant’s recognition and as negating the possibility of mistaken identity.

While the accused denied the act, the Court considered that he partly corroborated key parts of the complainant’s version. He admitted that on December 20, 1982, he, his companions, and a “female passenger” rode together on the Biophil truck; that upon reaching the Biophil compound, they alighted; and that he was left behind with the woman because he was not fast enough to overtake and board the sugarcane hauling truck. Although his defense differed from the complainant’s account in that he said he left the woman after she agreed with a truck driver for her home, the Court rejected that explanation as improbable because it claimed he would not have shown concern for a woman unknown to him if he did not know what happened.

The Supreme Court also declined to give weight to the accused’s corroborated claim that he hitched a ride on Mario Alba’s bicycle and went home soon thereaft

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