THIRD DIVISION
G.R. No. 211027, June 29, 2015
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. JOSE BRONIOLA @ “ASOT”, Accused-Appellant.
D E C I S I O N
VILLARAMA, JR., J.:
That on or about February 28, 2000, in the Municipality of Arakan, Province of Cotabato, Philippines, the said accused, armed with a bolo (Lagaraw), did then and there, willfully, unlawfully and feloniously and by means of force and intimidation, have a carnal knowledge with [AAA], minor, 13 years old, against her will, that after the occasion, accused with intent to kill, attack, assault, hack and use physical violence to the above-named victim, thus inflicting upon her hack wounds on the different parts of her body, which is the direct and proximate cause of her death thereafter.At his arraignment, appellant, duly assisted by counsel, pleaded not guilty to the charge. After pre-trial, trial on the merits ensued.
CONTRARY TO LAW.chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
Multiple hacked wounds:According to Dr. Edu, the probable cause of death was loss of blood due to the hack wounds. He also opined that the genital injury could have been caused by a penetrating penis or any blunt object.13chanrobleslawLeft face mandibular area, partial transection
Left neck area lateral and anterior area, partial transection extending into the vertebra
Left hand completely transected at the midpalmar area
Right thumb completely transected
Right hand partially transected at the palmar area, medial
Right wrist, partially transected anterior
Perineal and internal examination:Blood stained white underwear
Lacerated hymen at 3, 9 and 11 o’clock position
Whitish discharge sent to Arakan, Valley District Hospital Antipas, Cotabato for sperm analysis
CAUSE OF DEATH:Cardio-Respiratory Arrest secondary to hemorrhage secondary to multiple hacked wounds
WHEREFORE, the appeal is DENIED. The Decision dated September 30, 2009 of the Regional Trial Court, 12th Judicial Region, Branch 17 of Kidapawan City in Criminal Case No. 207-2000 is AFFIRMED with MODIFICATIONS that the penalty of RECLUSION PERPETUA is imposed without the possibility of parole. In addition to the P100,000.00 civil indemnity, moral and exemplary damages shall also be awarded in the amount of SEVENTY-FIVE THOUSAND (P75,000.00) PESOS and THIRTY THOUSAND (P30,000.00) PESOS, respectively. An interest at the rate of six percent (6%) period shall be applied to the award of civil indemnity, moral and exemplary damages from the finality of the judgment until fully paid.
SO ORDERED.18
It is settled that in the special complex crime of rape with homicide, both the rape and the homicide must be established beyond reasonable doubt. In this regard, we have held that the crime of rape is difficult to prove because it is generally unwitnessed and very often only the victim is left to testify for herself. It becomes even more difficult when the complex crime of rape with homicide is committed because the victim could no longer testify. Thus, in crimes of rape with homicide, as here, resort to circumstantial evidence is usually unavoidable.23Circumstantial evidence consists of proof of collateral facts and circumstances from which the existence of the main fact may be inferred according to reason and common experience.24 Section 4, Rule 133, of the Revised Rules of Evidence, as amended, sets forth the requirements of circumstantial evidence that is sufficient for conviction, viz:chanRoblesvirtualLawlibrary
SEC. 4. Circumstantial evidence, when sufficient. - Circumstantial evidence is sufficient for conviction if:ChanRoblesVirtualawlibraryThe RTC and CA found the following circumstantial evidence presented by the prosecution as sufficient for the conviction of appellant: First, witness Abag met the appellant on a shortcut road near the place where AAA’s dead body was found, at about the same time (5:30 p.m.) AAA went missing as she failed to return home that day, February 28, 2000; Second, appellant had scratches on his face and he was holding a lagaraw a type of bolo used in the rural areas, which was stained with blood, and he was restless and uneasy; Third, in the morning of the following day, February 29, 2000, AAA’s lifeless body was found with several hack wounds inflicted on her face, neck and extremities, one hand and one finger were totally severed; Fourth, the post-mortem examination conducted by Dr. Edu confirmed that AAA died from loss of blood due to multiple hack wounds, her underwear was blood-stained, she had hymenal lacerations and a whitish discharge was found in her vagina; Fifth, appellant had the motive to commit the crime against AAA considering that it was BBB’s son-in-law, Lito Miguel, who killed appellant’s father; and Sixth, appellant was evasive when being questioned on his knowledge of the identity of his father’s killer and the latter’s relationship to the family of AAA, and the amicable settlement executed by his mother in behalf of appellant’s family.
(a) There is more than one circumstance;
(b) The facts from which the inferences are derived are proven; and
(c) The combination of all the circumstances is such as to produce a conviction beyond reasonable doubt.chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
ART. 266-A. Rape, When and How Committed. – Rape is committed –On the other hand, Section 2 of R.A. No. 9346 or “An Act Prohibiting the Imposition of Death Penalty in the Philippines” provides:chanRoblesvirtualLawlibrary
1) By a man who shall have carnal knowledge of a woman under any of the following circumstances:ChanRoblesVirtualawlibrarya) Through force, threat or intimidation;
b) When the offended party is deprived of reason or otherwise unconscious;
c) By means of fraudulent machination or grave abuse of authority; and
d) When the offended party is under twelve (12) years of age or is demented, even though none of the circumstances mentioned above be present.
x x x x
ART. 266-B. Penalties. – Rape under paragraph 1 of the next preceding article shall be punished by reclusion perpetua.
x x x x
When by reason or on the occasion of the rape, homicide is committed, the penalty shall be death.
x x x x (Emphasis supplied)
SEC. 2. In lieu of the death penalty, the following shall be imposed:ChanRoblesVirtualawlibrary
(a) the penalty of reclusion perpetua, when the law violated makes use of the nomenclature of the penalties of the Revised Penal Code; or
(b) the penalty of life imprisonment, when the law violated does not make use of the nomenclature of the penalties of the Revised Penal Code.chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
Furthermore, Section 3 of R.A. No. 9346 provides, “[p]ersons convicted of offenses punished with reclusion perpetua, or whose sentences will be reduced to reclusion perpetua, by reason of this Act, shall not be eligible for parole under Act No. 4103, otherwise known as the Indeterminate Sentence Law, as amended.”
The CA thus correctly modified the RTC judgment by declaring that the penalty of reclusion perpetua is without the possibility of parole, in accordance with the law.
Conformably with People v. Gambao,26 we sustain the award of P100,000 as civil indemnity and increase the awards of moral and exemplary damages to P100,000 each. In addition, we award P25,000 to the victim’s heirs as temperate damages in lieu of unproven actual damages.27 The CA correctly added that damages assessed in this case shall be subject to interest at six percent (6%) per annum.
WHEREFORE, the appeal is DISMISSED. The Decision dated September 24, 2013 of the Court of Appeals-Cagayan de Oro City in CA-G.R. CR-HC No. 00805-MIN is hereby AFFIRMED with MODIFICATION in that the awards of moral and exemplary damages are increased to P100,000 each and that temperate damages of P25,000 is awarded to the heirs of AAA.
With costs against the accused-appellant.
SO ORDERED.cralawlawlibrary
Peralta,*(Acting Chairperson), Bersamin,**Perez,*** and Perlas-Bernabe,****JJ., concur.
Endnotes:
* Designated Acting Chairperson per Special Order No. 2071 dated June 23, 2015.
** Designated additional Member per Special Order No. 2081 dated June 29, 2015.
*** Designated Acting Member per Special Order No. 2084 dated June 29, 2015.
**** Designated Acting Member per Special Order No. 2072 dated June 23, 2015.
1 CA rollo, pp. 79-90. Penned by Associate Justice Renato C. Francisco with Associate Justices Romulo V. Borja and Oscar V. Badelles concurring.
2 Records, pp. 194-205. Penned by Executive Judge Francis E. Palmones, Jr.
3 “The Anti-Rape Law of 1997.”
4 Pursuant to Republic Act No. 9262, otherwise known as the “Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004” and its implementing rules, the real name of the victim, together with that of her immediate family members, is withheld and fictitious initials instead are used to represent her, both to protect her privacy. [People v. Cabalquinto, 533 Phil. 703, 709 (2006).]
5 Records, p. 2.
6 Also referred to as Ambag in some parts of the records.
7 Kabalantian in some parts of the records.
8Lagaraw n. long machete with a blunt end which curves downwards, used for rough clearing, picking up coconuts, and the like. (A Dictionary of Cebuano Visayan, compiled by John U. Wolff, Vol. II [L-Y], p. 547.)
9 TSN, January 10, 2001, pp. 4-6, 11.
10 Also referred to as Jonifer Tarantinao and Johnefer in some parts of the records.
11 TSN, January 10, 2001, pp. 6-8; TSN, February 21, 2001, pp. 4-15.
12 Records, p. 7.
13 TSN, March 21, 2001, p. 7.
14 Also referred to as Pilita elsewhere in the records.
15 TSN, July 7, 2008, pp. 5-8.
16 Id. at 8-27.
17 TSN, January 5, 2009, pp. 4-12.
18 CA rollo, p. 89.
19People v. Villaflores, G.R. No. 184926, April 11, 2012, 669 SCRA 365, 380.
20People v. Yatar, G.R. No. 150224, May 19, 2004, 428 SCRA 504, 521.
21People v. Sace, 631 Phil. 335, 343 (2010), citing People v. Navarro, Jr., 454 Phil. 728, 745 (2003).
22 596 Phil. 260 (2009).
23 Id. at 272.
24 Id., citing People v. Darilay, 465 Phil. 747, 767 (2004).
25People v. Guihama, 452 Phil. 824, 843 (2003), citing People v. Guarnes, 243 Phil. 665, 675 (1988).
26 G.R. No. 172707, October 1, 2013, 706 SCRA 508, 533.
27People v. Notarion, 585 Phil. 611, 624-625 (2008).chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary