FIRST DIVISION
|
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPINES,
Plaintiff-Appellee, - versus - ANTONIO CASTRO y PAYAWAN, Accused-Appellant. |
|
G.R. No. 172691 Present: PUNO, C.J.,
Chairperson, SANDOVAL-GUTIERREZ, AZCUNA, and GARCIA, JJ. Promulgated: August 10, 2007 |
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D E C I S I O N
GARCIA, J.:
Before us is this appeal by Antonio
Castro y Payawan from the decision[1] dated
March 2, 2006 of the Court of Appeals (CA) in CA-G.R. CR-HC No. 00377, affirming in toto an earlier decision[2] of
the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of San Fernando City, Pampanga, Branch 47, which
adjudged him guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of Rape and sentenced
him to reclusion perpetua with civil
damages.
Consistent with our decision in People v. Cabalquinto[3]
and subsequent cases, the real name of the rape victim is withheld in this Decision.
Instead, fictitious initials (AAA) are used to represent her. Also, the
personal circumstances of the victim or any other information tending to
establish or compromise her identity, as well as those of her immediate family
or household members, are not disclosed herein.
The case
In an Information[4]
filed with the RTC of San Fernando City, Pampanga and docketed thereat as Criminal
Case No. 9518, which was raffled to
Branch 47 thereof, herein appellant Antonio Castro y Payawan was charged with
the crime of rape committed against the person of his stepdaughter AAA,
allegedly in the following manner:
“That on or about the 6th day of June 1997, in the Municipality of Mexico, Pampanga, Philippines and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, ANTONIO CASTRO Y PAYAWAN, with lewd design, by means of force, threat and intimidation, did then and there willfully, unlawfully, and feloniously have carnal knowledge with his stepdaughter, AAA, 14 years old, against her will and without her consent.
CONTRARY TO LAW.”
The evidence
To the foregoing charge, appellant,
when arraigned with assistance of
counsel, entered a plea of “Not Guilty.” With the pre-trial having been
waived by appellant, trial on the merits ensued, in the course of which the
prosecution presented in evidence the oral testimonies of AAA herself; that of Ponciano
David, AAA’s maternal grandfather; and Dra. Jeanette Kabigting, the physician
who examined AAA.
For its part, the defense adduced in evidence
the testimonies of appellant and that of BBB, mother of the
victim and common-law wife of appellant.
The appealed decision of the CA
recites the facts as follows:
AAA
was born to CCC and BBB on
In
the evening of
According to BBB, the victim’s
mother, she has five (5) children with CCC, and AAA was the 4th in
the order of birth. When they separated ten (10) years ago, she started living
with the accused at
BBB further averred that AAA spent
her night at their house on
BBB learned of the incident when AAA’s grandmother, Isabel Layug, told her about it. She confronted the accused, but the latter denied the charges. Together with her parents, they reported the incident to the barangay captain.
Dr. Jeanette Kabigting Samonte of
the Department of Obstetrician and Gynecology of Jose B. Liñgad Memorial
Hospital, San Fernando Pampanga, examined the victim on
Denial
is appellant’s main plea in defense.
Again,
to quote from the same decision of the CA, hereunder is what appellant
belabored to establish:
The
accused, on the other hand, denied the accusation. He alleged that since he
started cohabiting with BBB in 1984, AAA together with her other siblings, live
with her grandparents. But AAA every now and then visited their family dwelling
and sometimes slept over. In the evening of
It was in the evening of
The trial court’s
decision
In a decision[5] of
WHEREFORE, premises considered, judgment is hereby rendered finding accused ANTONIO CASTRO y PAYAWAN guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of “rape” committed against AAA, and hereby sentences him to Reclusion Perpetua. He is entitled to the full benefit of his preventive imprisonment, conformably with Article 29 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended. Accused is ordered to pay complainant the amount of Php 50,000.00 as civil indemnity and the sum of Php 50,000.000 representing moral damages.
SO
ORDERED.
Therefrom, appellant went on appeal
to the CA whereat his appellate recourse was docketed as CA-G.R. CR-HC No. 00377, on the lone assigned error, viz:
THE
TRIAL COURT GRAVELY ERRED IN CONVICTING THE ACCUSED-APPELLANT DESPITE THE FACT
THAT HIS GUILT WAS NOT PROVEN BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT.[6]
The CA decision
In turn, in a decision dated
WHEREFORE, the judgment appealed from
is hereby AFFIRMED IN TOTO.
SO
ORDERED.
As it was in the CA, appellant presently
insists that the prosecution failed to establish his guilt beyond reasonable
doubt and thus plead for the reversal of the CA decision.
After the records of this case were
forwarded to this Court pursuant to the Notice
of Appeal filed by the appellant with the CA, the Court accepted the appeal and
required the parties to file their respective supplemental briefs if they so
desire. In their respective separate manifestations,[7] the
parties informed the Court that they are no longer filing any supplemental
brief since all their respective arguments have been thoroughly discussed in
their respective appellant’s and appellee’s briefs before the CA.
The Court’s ruling
The appeal must fail.
It is appellant’s main submission
that it is impossible for him to rape AAA in a small room where there are eight
(8) persons sleeping.
The contention deserves scant
consideration. The Court has repeatedly held that lust is no respecter of time
and place, and rape can be and has been committed in even the unlikeliest of
places.[8]
To us, what is at bottom in this case
is AAA’s credibility as against appellant’s bare denial. On this score, the Court finds no reason to
doubt the truth of AAA’s tale. We note from the transcript of stenographic notes
how this young girl of fourteen tearfully narrated in court the sordid details
of her bestial experience from appellant.
Unflawed by any material or
significant inconsistency and given in a manner straightforward and
categorical, hereunder is AAA’s account of her harrowing experience:
Q: Tell the Court the reason why you woke
up at
A: I felt something pulling my pajama,
sir.
Q: When he was pulling your pajama and
removing your panty, what did you do, if any?
A: I was then shouting sir but he covered
my mouth sir.
Q: With his hands?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: So, in other words, you were not able to
shout?
A:
Yes, sir.
Q:
At the time he was removing your
pajama, was he, already covering your mouth?
A: Yes, sir.
Q:
Aside from covering your mouth,
please tell the Court if the accused tell (sic) something to you?
A: There was, sir.
Q:
What did he say to you?
A: He told me that if I will make a noise
he will kill me.
Q: What did you feel when he said that?
A: I was surprised and I was scared
(natakot po ako).
Q: Which did the accused remove first, your
pajama or your panty?
A: Pajama, sir.
Q: At the time he was removing your pajama,
was he already covering your mouth?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: How about when he was removing your
panty, was he covering your mouth?
A: My mouth was already covered with his
hands, sir.
Q: What did you do, if any, when he was
removing your panty?
A:
I was then lying sir,
Q: Did
you try to fight back?
A: I did not, sir, because I was afraid,
sir.
Q: Afraid of what?
A: Because he said that he will kill me.
Q: After he removed your pajama and panty,
what happened next?
A: He raped me, sir.
Q: Was he able to insert his penis to your
vagina?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: How many times?
A: Two(2) times sir.[9]
xxx xxx xxx
Q: At the time that Antonio Castro, the
live-in partner of your mother for the last ten(10) years, doing that, where is
your mother, if you know?
A; She was sleeping, sir.
Q: How about your half-brothers and
sisters?
A: They were then beside me sleeping, sir,
but I am a little bit farther from them, sir.
FISCAL:
May I place on record, sir that the
witness is crying while testifying.
Q: From your testimonial chair, how far was
your mother from you at that time?
A: From my testimonial chair to the wall
of the court, sir.
FISCAL:
About 3 to 4 meters, Your Honor.
ATTY.
CRUZ:
Three(3) to four (4) meters, Your
Honor.
FISCAL:
Will you tell the Court, the ages of
your half-brothers, sisters on
A: Jennifer is(sic) 9 years old, Jayson – 5, J.R., 3
Junior 2 and I forgot the name of the youngest but he is (sic) more than one (1) year old, sir.
Q: Now, did (sic) your house have a room?
A: None, sir.
Q: So, you were all sleeping in a sala?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: After your father-in-law raped you
twice, what did he do afterwards?
A: None, sir.
Q: What did he do after he raped you twice?
A: He threatened me that he will kill me
including my mother, sir.
Q: What did you feel when Antonio Castro
said that?
A: I was afraid.[10]
Appellant argues, however, that the
foregoing account of AAA is highly doubtful, expressing surprise on why AAA did
not shout for help during or after the commission of the alleged rape even as,
according to him, it would have been easy for her other relatives to come to
her aid since they live in the same compound.[11]
The argument cannot persuade.
As pointed out by this Court in People v. Ilao:[12]
The fact that the private complainant did not resist or attempt to flee or shout for help does not negate force or intimidation. Different people react differently when confronted by a shocking or a harrowing and unexpected incident, for the workings of the human mind when placed under emotional stress are unpredictable. Some people may cry out, some may faint, some may be shocked into insensibility, while others may appear to yield into intrusion.
Besides, in rape cases, physical
resistance need not be established when intimidation is exercised upon the victim and the latter
submits herself out of fear. Intimidation is addressed to the mind of the
victim and is therefore subjective.[13]
Here, AAA categorically described the force and intimidation exerted upon her
person by appellant who covered her mouth while ravishing her and even threatened
to kill her and her mother after satisfying his bestial lust.
Barely out of childhood, there was
nothing AAA could do but resign to appellant’s evil desires to protect her
life.[14]
Minor victims like AAA are easily intimidated and browbeaten into silence even
by the mildest threat on their lives.[15]
In fine, the Court entertains no
doubt at all that appellant’s guilt for the offense charged has been established
by proof beyond moral certainty of doubt. We, therefore, find no reversible
error in the assailed decisions of the two courts below.
IN VIEW WHEREOF,
the instant appeal is DISMISSED and the appealed decision dated
SO ORDERED.
CANCIO C. GARCIA
Associate Justice
WE CONCUR:
REYNATO S. PUNO
Chief
Justice
Chairperson
|
ANGELINA
SANDOVAL-GUTIERREZ Associate
Justice |
RENATO C.
CORONA Associate
Justice |
ADOLFO S. AZCUNA
Associate
Justice
C E R T I F I C A T I O N
Pursuant to Section
13, Article VIII of the Constitution, I certify that the conclusions in the
above decision had been reached in consultation before the case was assigned to
the writer of the opinion of the Court’s Division.
REYNATO S. PUNO
Chief
Justice
[1] Penned by Associate Justice Jose L. Sabio with Associate Justices Fernanda Lampas-Peralta and Arturo G. Tayag, concurring; rollo, pp. 2-15.
[2] CA Rollo, pp. 43-54.
[3] G.R. No. 167693,
[4] Supra note 2 at 43.
[5]
[6]
[7] Rollo, pp. 27-30.
[8] People v. Cortes, G.R.
No. 129693,
[10]
[11] Supra note 2 at 85-86.
[12] G.R. Nos. 152683-84,
[13]
[14] Supra note 1 at 95.
[15] People
v. Pulanco, G.R. No. 141186,