Title
People vs. XXX
Case
G.R. No. 205888
Decision Date
Aug 22, 2018
A father convicted of raping his daughter; her death precluded cross-examination, but her statements were admitted as res gestae, affirming guilt.

Case Summary (G.R. No. 205888)

Petitioner and Respondent

Petitioner (plaintiff-appellee): People of the Philippines. Respondent (accused-appellant): XXX, charged in four Informations for Rape and one for Attempted Rape involving his daughter AAA.

Key Dates and Procedural Milestones

Alleged incidents: July 18, 1999 (attempted rape allegation) and April 8 and April 15, 2001 (rape allegations, with multiple acts on April 15). Victim’s death: January 4, 2003. RTC Joint Decision: February 16, 2005 (convicting XXX for three counts of rape and acquitting on two counts). CA Decision: April 19, 2012 (affirming RTC in toto for the three convictions). Supreme Court Decision reviewed: August 22, 2018. Appeal pursuant to Rule 124, Section 13(c), Rules of Court.

Applicable Law and Procedural Rules

Criminal statutes invoked in the Informations included Article 266-A, Paragraph 1, of the Revised Penal Code (rape as amended) and Article 335 RPC (rape). Procedural and evidentiary rules relevant to the disposition include: the accused’s constitutional right to confront and cross-examine witnesses (Article III, Section 14(2), 1987 Constitution), Rule 115 (right to meet witnesses face to face), Rule 130 Section 42 (res gestae hearsay exception), and provisions governing appeals (Rule 124). Statutory protections for children and victims (e.g., RA 7610, RA 9262) were invoked in procedural anonymity of the victim.

Core Facts as Developed at Trial

AAA testified in direct examination recounting multiple sexual assaults by her father: an attempted anal assault on July 18, 1999; a completed rape on April 8, 2001; and three separate rapes during the night of April 15, 2001 (approximately 7:00 p.m., 9:00 p.m., and midnight). AAA’s direct testimony, however, was not cross-examined because she died before cross-examination could occur. After AAA’s death, the trial court ordered her direct testimony expunged from the record for the reason that it had not been subjected to cross-examination. The prosecution thereafter relied on other witnesses, notably EEE (the aunt) and Gelmie Calug, who testified as to out-of-court statements made by AAA describing the rapes.

RTC Findings and Sentence

The RTC convicted XXX of three counts of rape corresponding to the sexual assaults occurring on April 15, 2001, and acquitted him of the April 8 and July 18 incidents for failure of proof. The RTC accepted the aunt’s and, to a degree, other witness testimony as constituting res gestae. The RTC declined to apply the special qualifying circumstance of filiation because the prosecution’s baptismal records were not treated as sufficiently probative to establish filiation. The RTC sentenced XXX to reclusion perpetua for each of the three counts and awarded civil and moral damages.

Impact of Victim’s Death and the Exclusion of Direct Testimony

The trial court correctly proceeded with the criminal trial despite the victim’s death because criminal liability is that of the State and prosecution may continue in the absence of the private complainant. However, the Constitutional right of the accused to confront and cross-examine witnesses (Article III, Section 14[2], 1987 Constitution) required exclusion of AAA’s untested direct testimony. The courts therefore expunged that direct testimony from the record, leaving the prosecution to rely on other admissible evidence, including res gestae declarations and medical findings.

Hearsay Principle and the Res Gestae Exception

The Supreme Court reiterated the general inadmissibility of hearsay, but applied the res gestae exception under Section 42 of Rule 130. The Court articulated the three requisites for the res gestae exception to apply: (1) the principal act must be a startling occurrence; (2) the statements must have been made before the declarant had time to contrive or fabricate; and (3) the statements must concern the occurrence and its immediate attending circumstances. The Court further applied the Manhuyod, Jr. factors for spontaneity: temporal lapse, location, condition of the declarant, presence of intervening events, and nature/circumstances of the statement.

Application to EEE’s Testimony (Aunt)

EEE testified that AAA arrived at her house at noon on April 16, 2001—about twelve hours after the April 15 incidents—appearing sad and crying, and immediately disclosed that she had been raped by her father on April 8 and April 15, and specified the times on April 15 (7:00 p.m., 9:00 p.m., and midnight). The Court found these utterances admissible under the res gestae exception: the statements were made within a relatively short interval from the assaults, at a place not remote from the principal transaction, and while AAA’s emotional condition showed ongoing distress. The Court concluded that the statements were spontaneous and so closely connected to the principal events as to preclude deliberate fabrication.

Application to Gelmie Calug’s Testimony (Co-worker)

Gelmie Calug’s testimony recounted statements by AAA made on April 18, 2001—three days after the April 15 incidents—while both were working in Pedro de los Santos’ household. Although the substance of Calug’s account was consistent with EEE’s, the Supreme Court determined that the statements to Calug were too remote in time and involved intervening circumstances (AAA’s movements and stay with relatives, subsequent employment) that broke the necessary immediacy and spontaneity. Accordingly, the Court held that Calug’s recounting did not qualify as res gestae and should not have been admitted on that basis.

Evidentiary Sufficiency Despite Exclusion of Some Declarations

Even while excluding Calug’s statements as res gestae, the Supreme Court found the remaining admissible evidence sufficient to prove XXX’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt for the three April 15 rapes. The conviction rested principally on EEE’s admissible res gestae testimony and medico-legal findings consistent with AAA’s account. The Court emphasized that appellate courts defer to trial court findings of credibility unless there are compelling reasons to overturn them and found no such reason in this case.

On the Special Qualifying Circumstance of Filiation

The RTC declined to apply the special qualifying circumstance of being the victim’s father because the baptismal records presented were not admitted as competent public records to establish filiation. The Supreme Court noted this absence of competent proof of filiation and therefore did not sustain suc

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