FIRST DIVISION
G.R. No. 200077, September 17, 2014
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. ADEL RAMOS Y ABELLANA, Accused-Appellant.
D E C I S I O N
PEREZ, J.:
Criminal Case No. 08-0281
That on or about the 17th day of July 2007, in the City of Las Piñas, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, with lewd design, by means of force, violence and intimidation, willfully, unlawfully and feloniously have carnal knowledge with one “AAA”,3 a sixteen (16) year old minor, against her will and without her consent, subjecting the said minor complainant to sexual abuse, which act debases the intrinsic dignity of the minor complainant and which is prejudicial to her physical, emotional and psychological development.
CONTRARY TO LAW.Criminal Case No. 08-0282
That on or about the 29th day of January 2008, in the City of Las Piñas, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, with lewd design, by means of force, violence and intimidation, willfully, unlawfully and feloniously have carnal knowledge with one “AAA”, a seventeen (17) year old minor, against her will and without her consent, subjecting the said minor complainant to sexual abuse, which act debases the intrinsic dignity of the minor complainant and which is prejudicial to her physical, emotional and psychological development.
CONTRARY TO LAW.Criminal Case No. 08-0283
That on or about and sometime between July 17, 2007 and January 29, 2008, in the City of Las Piñas, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, with lewd design, by means of force, violence and intimidation, willfully, unlawfully and feloniously have carnal knowledge with one “AAA”, a seventeen (17) year old minor, against her will and without her consent, subjecting the said minor complainant to sexual abuse, which act debases the intrinsic dignity of the minor complainant and which is prejudicial to her physical, emotional and psychological development.
CONTRARY TO LAW.Criminal Case No. 08-0284
That on or about and sometime between July 17, 2007 and January 29, 2008, in the City of Las Piñas, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, with lewd design, by means of force, violence and intimidation, willfully, unlawfully and feloniously have carnal knowledge with one “AAA”, a seventeen (17) year old minor, against her will and without her consent, subjecting the said minor complainant to sexual abuse, which act debases the intrinsic dignity of the minor complainant and which is prejudicial to her physical, emotional and psychological development.
CONTRARY TO LAW.4chanrobleslaw
- that the court has acquired jurisdiction over the offense charged and over the person of the accused;
- the identity of the accused Adel Ramos y Abellana [who] is the same person present in court and that his true name is that appearing on the criminal information; andChanRoblesVirtualawlibrary
- the fact that the minor private complainant (AAA) was brought to Camp Crame for medical examination.5
x x x [AAA] has a deep-healed laceration at 6 o’clock position which means that the laceration cannot be dated accurately since it is healed but there is clear evidence that there is a blunt penetrating trauma; AAA’s claim, as stated on the sexual crime protocol, that she was raped on 17 July 2007 is consistent with [the] findings in [the] medico-legal report; during [the] medical examination, AAA was coherent; there were no other abnormal findings, and no abnormalities on the external genitalia; the general physical examination was normal and there were no physical injuries except for the genital finding; AAA was not crying at the time of her medical examination; and AAA was accompanied at that time by her mother. Dr. Ebdane identified the Medico-Legal Report No. R08-244 dated 08 February 2008.
x x x AAA’s deep-healed laceration could also be caused by consensual sex; a blunt force or penetrating trauma could be caused by a finger, penis or a ballpen; the trauma could also be self-inflicted by using one’s finger ; a deep healed laceration cannot be dated accurately; a deep-healed laceration is more than twenty-one (21) days; the blunt force or penetrating trauma sustained by AAA was not caused just recently at the time of the examination on 02 February 2008 because the laceration is already healed; according to AAA she has not sexual relationship and that it was the accused who is the perpetrator; and AAA told her that she was raped for the first time on 17 July 2007 and that the last time was on 29 January 2008 at x x x, Las Piñas City.6chanrobleslaw
WHEREFORE, the court finds the accused ADEL RAMOS y ABELLANA, GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt for Four (4) counts or Rape under Criminal Informations Nos. 08-0281, 08-0282, 08-0283 and 08-0284 (penalized under Article 266-A Revised Penal Code in relation to Republic Act 7610), and hereby sentence (sic) to suffer a penalty of RECLUSION PERPETUA for each of the aforesaid cases with the accessory penalty as provided for by law.
This court likewise directs the accused ADEL RAMOS Y ABELLANA to indemnify the victim “AAA” FITY THOUSAND PESOS (P50,000.00) as civil indemnity ex-delicto, another FIFTY THOUSAND PESOS (P50,000.00) as moral damages and another TWENTY FIVE THOUSAND PESOS (P25,000.00) as exemplary damages for each of the aforesaid cases.
The awards of civil indemnity and moral damages [are] in accordance with prevailing jurisprudence. Civil indemnity, actually given as actual or compensatory damages, is awarded upon the finding that rape was committed. Similarly, moral damages are awarded to rape victims without need of pleading or evidentiary basis because the law assumes that a rape victim suffered moral injuries entitling her to the award.7chanrobleslaw
WHEREFORE, premises considered, the appeal is DENIED. The Decision dated 27 January 2010 of the Regional Trial Court of Las Piñas City, Branch 199 in Crim. Cases Nos. 08-0281, 08-0282, 08-0283, 08-0284 finding accused-appellant Adel Ramos y Abellana guilty beyond reasonable doubt of four (4) counts of rape under Article 266-A, par. 1(a) of the Revised Penal Code, as amended; sentencing him to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua for each count of rape, and ordering him to pay the victim AAA the amounts of P50,000.00 as civil indemnity and P50,000.00 as moral damages for each count of rape, is AFFIRMED with MODIFICATION in that the trial court’s award of P25,000.00 as exemplary damages to be paid by accused-appellant to AAA is hereby increased to P30,000.00 for each count of rape, and that ALL the awards for civil indemnity, and moral and exemplary damages shall bear interest at the rate of 6% per annum from the date of finality of this Decision.8chanrobleslaw
ART. 266-A. Rape, When and How Committed. – Rape is committed –
1. By a man who shall have carnal knowledge of a woman under any of the following circumstances:chanRoblesvirtualLawlibrary
a. Through force, threat or intimidation;
x x x x
ART. 266-B. Penalties. – Rape under paragraph 1 of the next preceding article shall be punished by reclusion perpetua.
1. First incident FISCAL AZARES Q: (AAA), do you remember where were you on July 17, 2007? A: I was at the house of Adel Ramos, sir. x x x x Q: Why were you at the house of Adel Ramos, Ms. Witness? A: Because her (sic) teenage daughter invited me to sleep there because our house was not yet fully constructed, sir. x x x x COURT Q: Where is this house of Adel Ramos located? A: Beside our house, Your Honor. Q: Where exactly? A: [XXX, XXX], Las Piñas City, Your Honor. x x x x FISCAL AZARES Q: Do you own the house where you live, Ms. Witness? A: No, sir. We’re just renting the house, sir. Q: And do you know who [rents out] this house that you stay in? A: Adel, sir. Q: If you will see again Adel Ramos, will you be able to identify him? A: Yes, sir. Q: Kindly look around this court and tell us if Adel Ramos is here. COURT INTERPRETER Witness has pointed to a man wearing a yellow shirt, with handcuffs and when asked he identified himself as Adel Ramos. FISCAL AZARES Q: Ms. Witness, until what time did you stay at the house of Adel Ramos? A: I slept there, sir. Q: At 3:00 o’clock in the morning of the following day, July 17, 2007, do you remember anything [unusual] that happened? A: I just cried because of what happened to me and what he did to me, sir. Q: Why? What did he do to you and what happened to you? A: He took advantage of me, sir. Q: What do you mean ‘pinagsamantalahan,’ Ms. Witness? A: When I slept there, I made my project there. When I woke up at around 3:00 o'clock, I went to the [comfort room]. x x x x WITNESS A: He touched in me [all over], sir. COURT Q: What do you mean he touched you? A: When he inserted his penis inside my vagina, Your Honor. Q: When you said ‘ginalaw,’ is it my understanding that he raped you? A: Yes, Your Honor. Q: How did he rape you during that particular night? A: He told me to take off all my clothes and he took off only his short pants, Your Honor. x x x x FISCAL AZARES Q: And when Adel Ramos pushed you back inside the [comfort room], what happened next? A: When he pushed me, he pointed his gun at my side. Q: Did he tell you anything? A: He told me that if I will shout, he will evict my whole family from our house and he threatened to kill me. Q: Then what did the accused do next, if any? A: He ordered me to sit on the floor and then he took off all my clothes, sir. Q: What did he do next? A: He went on top of me and when I was totally naked, he inserted his penis inside my vagina. 2. Second incident Q: Can you remember if how many days after the first incident did that happen? A: I can’t recall, sir. Q: Do you remember where did that happen? A: At their sala, sir. x x x x Q: Why were you at the house of Adel Ramos at noontime at that time, Ms. Witness? A: Because my mother told me to bring viand to them, sir. Q: Is it usual for your mother to ask you to send food to the house of Adel Ramos, Ms. Witness? A: Yes, sir. Q: What happened when you brought food to the house of Adel Ramos? A: I was at the door when I called for somebody. And then a male voice said that I should place the food on the table. So I [rushed] inside the house and when I was about to go out, he pulled me. Q: Did you recognize whose voice was that, Ms. Witness? A: No, sir. Q: And who was that man who prevented you from going out of the house? A: Adel Ramos, sir. x x x x Q: What happened when he prevented you from going out of the house and threatened you? A: He raped me again, sir. Q: Where? A: At the sala, sir. Q: Can you describe to us how did he do that again to you? A: He told me to take off my clothes and he took off his short pants, sir. Q: And then what did he do next after he ordered you to take off your clothes? A: He went on top of me and he again inserted his penis into my vagina, sir. Q: The first time that he did that to you, Ms. Witness, you told this court that he threatened you with a gun. Did he also threaten you with a gun this time? A: No, sir. 3. Third incident COURT Q: You said that there were four (4) incidents of rape. The third incident of this alleged rape, how did this happen? A: When I returned the things of his child, Your Honor. Q: Was it in the evening, in the morning or in the afternoon? A: In the afternoon, Your Honor. x x x x FISCAL AZARES Q: Where did this third incident happen or transpire? A: At their house also, sir. Q: What part in their house? A: At the sala also, sir. Q: Could you tell us what did the accused do to you at that time? A: When I was calling from the door, nobody was answering. So I thought that nobody was home. When I went inside, I saw no person there but when I was already in the sala, that’s the time when I notice that he was there. Q: And when you noticed that Adel Ramos was inside their sala, what did he do next, if any? A: He pulled me again, sir. Q: What did he do next? A: He told me to remove my shorts, he also removed his short pants and then he kissed me on my neck, sir. Q: Did he tell you anything? A: None, sir. Q: After he asked you to remove your shorts, what happened next? A: He went on top of me, sir. Q: After he went on top of you, what did you do? A: I was just silent while crying, sir. Q: Did he insert his penis inside your vagina? A: Yes, sir. Only once. 4. Fourth incident Q: The fourth incident, Ms. Witness, where did this happen? A: In our [comfort room], sir. Q: When was that? A: January 29, 2008, sir. x x x x Q: You said inside the [comfort room] of your house. Where is this [comfort room] located, Ms. Witness? A: Outside, sir. Q: Outside your house? A: Yes, sir. Q: While you were inside the [comfort room] what happened, Ms. Witness? A: I was about to go inside our [comfort room] when I opened the door, I was surprised to see him there inside the [comfort room]. Q: Did you not lock the door? A: It’s not locked when nobody is inside it, sir. Q: When you went inside the [comfort room] did you lock the door? A: He was the one who [was] inside the [comfort room] [when] I was about to go inside. Q: When you pushed the door of the [comfort room], the accused Adel Ramos was already inside the [comfort room]? A: Yes, sir. Q: And then what happened? A: He made a signal for me to go inside the [comfort room], I was near the door, so I just went inside the [comfort room]. x x x x Q: Did you do as he told you? A: Yes, sir. I went inside the [comfort room]. Because if ever I will run away, he will pull me just the same, sir. Q: What happened inside the [comfort room], Ms. Witness? A: He told me to remove all my clothes, he lifted one of my legs and then he shoved me against the wall, sir. Q: What did he do next? A: He inserted his penis into my vagina once, sir. Q: How big is the [comfort room] of yours? A: It’s a small [comfort room], sir. Q: And how wide is that? A: I cannot estimate, sir. Q: Would you be able to lie down inside your [comfort room], Ms. Witness? A: No, sir. Q: After he inserted his penis into your vagina, what happened next, Ms. Witness? A: He told me to wear my clothes and to go out, sir. Q: Did he threaten you? A: He threatened me that he will kill me and my parents if I will talk about the incident, sir.13
A: Because my other siblings are not capable of going on errands and also his daughter was outside, so I was the one who put the things inside the house, Your Honor. x x x x Q: Ms. Witness, was there a time that you came to like the accused raping you? A: No, sir. x x x x Q: Tell us your reason why do you have to go to the house of the accused? A: Because of his teenage daughter, Your Honor. We’re inviting each other. Q: And what do you usually do whenever you go to the house of the accused? A: Me and his teenage daughter are talking to each other, Your Honor.20
Against a deluge of inculpatory evidence from the prosecution, all that accused-appellant could muster was his defense of denial. He testified, inter alia, that: AAA was lying; it was not possible for him to have raped her because of the dogs barking whenever there were strangers at their house; there was even a dog near the toilet, which just gave birth, and was fierce and kept on barking; and it was impossible for him to rape AAA while standing because of the height disparity; AAA did not sleep in their house on 17 July 2007 as his daughter accompanied her out of the house; and his family was also at the house. What can be gleaned from his testimony is that accused-appellant does not question the fact that he was at the locus criminis when the rape incidents happened.
Self-serving statements cannot be accorded greater evidentiary weight than the declaration of a credible witness on affirmative matters. Time-tested is the rule that between the positive assertion of prosecution witnesses and the negative averment of an accused, the former undisputedly deserves more credence and is entitled to greater evidentiary value. As it has been oft pronounced, both denial and alibi are inherently weak defenses which cannot prevail over the positive and credible testimony of the prosecution witness that [Ramos] was the author of the crime charged.
For the crime of rape to be committed, it is not necessary for the place to be ideal or the weather to be fine, for rapists bear no respect for locale and time when they carry out their evil deed. In numerous cases, it has been held that rape can be committed even in places where people congregate, in parks, along the roadside, in school premises, in a house where there are other occupants, in the same room where other member of the family are also sleeping and even in places which to many would appear unlikely and high risk venues for its commission. Besides, there is no rule that rape can be committed only in seclusion. Indeed, lust is no respecter of time and place.28chanrobleslaw
Endnotes:
1 Penned by Associate Justice Celia C. Librea-Leagogo with Associate Justices Remedios A. Salazar-Fernando and Michael P. Elbinias, concurring. Rollo, pp. 2-39.
2 Penned by Presiding Judge Joselito Vibandor. CA rollo, pp. 72-92.
3 This is pursuant to the ruling of this Court in People v. Cabalquinto, 533 Phil. 703 (2006), wherein this Court resolved to withhold the real name of the victim-survivor and to use fictitious initials instead to represent her in its decisions. Likewise, the personal circumstances of the victims-survivors or any other information tending to establish or compromise their identities, as well as those of their immediate family or household members, shall not be disclosed. The names of such victims, and of their immediate family members other than the accused, shall appear as “AAA,” “BBB,” “CCC,” and so on. Addresses shall appear as “XXX” as in “No. XXX Street, XXX District, City of XXX.”
The Supreme Court took note of the legal mandate on the utmost confidentiality of proceedings involving violence against women and children set forth in Sec. 29 of Republic Act No. 7610, otherwise known as Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act; Sec. 44 of Republic Act No. 9262, otherwise known as Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004; and Sec. 40 of A.M. No. 04-10-11-SC, known as Rule on Violence Against Women and Their Children effective 15 November 2004.
4 Id. at 72-74.
5Rollo, p. 5.
6 Id. at 8-9.
7 CA rollo, p. 92.
8Rollo, p. 35.
9People v. Felan, G.R. No. 176631, 2 February 2011, 641 SCRA 449, 452.
10People v. Abellano, 551 Phil. 826, 833-834 (2007).
11 Id. at 834.
12 Id.
13 TSN, 21 May 2008, pp. 7-30.
14People v. Gayeta, G.R. No. 171654, 17 December 2008, 574 SCRA 213, 224.
15 Id. at 224-225.
16People v. Arraz, 591 Phil. 128, 138 (2008).
17People v. Garcines, 156 Phil. 655, 664 (1974).
18People v. Guerrero, G.R. No. 170360, 12 March 2009, 580 SCRA 666, 681-682.
19People v. Napudo, 589 Phil. 201, 216 (2008).
20 TSN, 21 May 2008, pp. 42-44.
21People v. Rante, G.R. No. 184809, 29 March 2010, 617 SCRA 115.
22People v. Sinoro, 449 Phil. 370, 381 (2003).
23 Id.
24People v. Aguilar, G.R. No. 185206, 25 August 2010, 629 SCRA 437, 448.
25People v. Marcos, G.R. No. 185380, 18 June 2009, 589 SCRA 661, 669.
26People v. Arraz, supra note 16 at 138.
27People v. Castel, 593 Phil. 288, 315 (2008).
28Rollo, pp. 33-34.
29 Revised Penal Code, Articles 266-A, paragraph 1(a) and 266-B.
30 Art. 2229. Exemplary or corrective damages are imposed, by way of example or correction for the public good, in addition to the moral, temperate, liquidated or compensatory damages.
31 Art. 2230. In criminal offenses, exemplary damages as a part of the civil liability may be imposed when the crime was committed with one or more aggravating circumstances. Such damages are separate and distinct from fines and shall be paid to the offended party.
32People v. Catubig, 416 Phil. 102, 118-119 (2001).
33People v. Cañada, G.R. No. 175317, 2 October 2009, 602 SCRA 378; People v. Neverio, G.R. No. 182792, 25 August 2009, 597 SCRA 149; People v. Layco, Sr., G.R. No. 182191, 8 May 2009, 587 SCRA 803.
34 See Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas Circular No. 799, Series of 2013.