THIRD DIVISION
G.R. No. 192428, April 20, 2016
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. ELPEDIO CASTAÑAS Y ESPINOSA Accused-Appellants.
D E C I S I O N
PEREZ, J.:
Before us for review is the Decision1 of the Court of Appeals, Nineteenth Division in CA-G.R. CR-HC No. 00014 dated 31 March 2009, which dismissed the appeal of appellant Elpedio Castañas y Espinosa and affirmed with modification the Judgment2 of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Naval, Biliran, Branch 16, in Criminal Case No. N-2295, finding appellant guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of Statutory Rape.
In line with the ruling of this Court in People v. Cabalquinto,3 the real name and identity of the rape victim, as well as the members of her immediate family, are not disclosed. The rape victim shall herein be referred to as A A A, and her mother as BBB.
Appellant was charged with the crime of rape in an Information, the accusatory portion of which reads as follows:
chanRoblesvirtualLawlibrary
That on or about the 12th day of JANUARY, 2004, at about 10:30 o'clock in the morning, more or less, at Brgy. Banlas, Municipality of Maripipi, Biliran Province, Philippoines (sic), and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, said accused, actuated by lust and taking advantage ofthe innocence of [AAA], a 4-year old minor Day Care Pupil, did then and there brought the latter to the house of a certain Esok, and thereafter accused wilfully, unlawfully and feloniously laid her down and he, in turn took off his pants and underwear, laid on top of said minor [AAA] against her, to her damage and prejudice.Appellant pleaded not guilty to the crime charged. Trial on the merits ensued.
CONTRARY TO LAW with the aggravating circumstances of abuse of superior strength and that victim is a minor child 4 years of age.4ChanRoblesVirtualawlibrary
Awake, concious (sic), coherent, ambulatory and not in CP distress.During direct examination, Dr. Albeda explained that AAA's vaginal opening was reddish due to friction or hematoma from an object which could include a sexual organ. There was tenderness at the hymenal area as an examination of which caused AAA to complain; which examination yielded positive results for presence of spermatozoa. Dr. Albeda opines that someone forced himself into AAA's female anatomy but could not penetrate due to its smallness in size and thus the discharge outside it. There was trauma on the labia minora and spermatozoal specimen was found in the hymenal area, by the mouth of the vagina, on the face of the labia minora.8
Pelvic Exam: (+) hypermia (sic) at both labial, minor folds.
(+) tenderness at hymenal area with slight application of cotton buds
POSITIVE for Spermatozoal Examination.7ChanRoblesVirtualawlibrary
WHEREFORE, premises considered, this [c]ourt finds the accused Elpedio Castañas Y Espinosa GUILTY in Criminal Case No. N-2295; hereby imposing upon him the penalty of DEATH by lethal injection.On intermediate review, the Court of Appeals rendered the assailed decision affirming with modification the trial court's judgment, to wit:
The accused shall pay [AAA] the amount of P75,000.00 as moral damages and to further pay P50,000.00 in civil indemnity for the rape committed.10ChanRoblesVirtualawlibrary
WHEREFORE, in view of all the foregoing, the assailed Decision of the Regional Trial Court dated November 30, 2004 finding accused-appellant Elpedio Castañas y Espinosa guilty beyond reasonable doubt of Rape is hereby AFFIRMED with MODIFICATION. Accordingly, accused-appellant is sentenced to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua and is ordered to indemnify AAA the amounts of P75,000.00 as civil indemnity, P75,000.00 as moral damages and P25,000.00 as exemplary damages.11ChanRoblesVirtualawlibraryAppellant filed the instant appeal. In a Resolution12 dated 04 August 2010, appellant and the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) were asked to file their respective supplemental briefs if they so desired. OSG manifested that it was adopting its brief filed before the appellate court13 while appellant filed his Supplemental Brief14 in which he insists that if he indeed raped AAA, such a violent act would have left a physical sign or mark.
Article 266-A. Rape; When and How committed. - Rape is committed -Statutory rape is committed by sexual intercourse with a woman below twelve (12) years of age regardless of her consent, or the lack of it to the sexual act. Proof of force, intimidation, or consent is unnecessary. These are not elements of statutory rape as the absence of free consent is conclusively presumed when the victim is below the age of twelve. At that age, the law presumes that the victim does not possess discernment and is incapable of giving intelligent consent to the sexual act. To convict an accused of the crime of statutory rape, the prosecution carries the burden of proving; (1) the age of the complainant; (2) the identity of the accused; and (3) the sexual intercourse between the accused and the complainant.15
1. By a man who shall have carnal knowledge of a woman under any of the following circumstances:x x x x
- Through force, threat or intimidation;
- When the offended party is deprived of reason or otherwise unconscious;
- By means of fraudulent machination or grave abuse of authority; and
- When the woman is under twelve (12) years of age or is demented, even though none of the circumstances mentioned above be present.
Article 266-B. Penalties - Rape under paragraph 1 of the next preceding article shall be punished by reclusion perpetua.
x x x x
The death penalty shall also be imposed if the crime of rape is committed with any of the following attendant circumstances:
x x x x
5) When the victim is a child below seven (7) years old;
x x x x
Even during cross-examination, AAA clearly testified, to wit:
Q [AAA], do you know a certain "Pedio"? A Yes, Sir. Q 0 Please point him out if he is inside this office [.] A A That man. (Witness pointing to a man who when asked of his name answered Elpedio Castañas) Q Personally, how do you call him? A Tatay Pedio. Q What did your Tay Pedio do to you? A "Guinhupit ako." (Meaning: "He sexually abused me.") Q Who sexually abused you? A Tay Pedio. x x x x Q On January 12, 2004, do you remember what your Tay Pedio do to you? A Yes, Sir. Q What did your Tay Pedio do to you? A I was undressed by him. Q In whose house? A In the house of Uncle Isok. Q After your Tay Pedio undressed you, what did he do to you? A I was sexually abused.21
The medical report and the testimony of the examining physician, Dr. Albeda, confirm the truthfulness of the charge. Appellant, however, only confesses to having had an ejaculation near AAA's female anatomy but denies having sexual contact or intercourse with AAA. He asserts that the absence of hymenal lacerations supports his statements.
Q [AAA], when you said you were sexually abused by Pedio, you mean to tell this [c]ourt that he touched your vagina? A Yes, Sir. Q And that time when your Tay Pedio touched your vagina, your panty was in its place? A No more. Q Who removed your panty? A Tay Pedio? Q And in your affidavit [AAA], you also mentioned that your Tay Pedio kissed your vagina? A Yes, Sir. Q And that time when your Tay Pedio kissed your vagina, your panty was still in its place? A No more. x x x x Q And your Tay Pedio did no other act except touching and kissing your vagina? A He sexually abused me, he succeeded in having sexual intercourse with me. Q That was after he touched your vagina? A Yes, Sir. Q [AAA], was there anybod[y] who told you what to say to this [c]ourt? A None Sir.22
Appellant contends that the information tailed to specify the acts which constituted the crime. It is too late in the day for him to assail the insufJiciency of the allegations in the information. He should have raised this issue prior to his arraignment by filing a motion to quash. Failing to do so, he is deemed to have waived any objection on this ground pursuant to Rule 117, Section 9 (formerly Section 8) of the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure x x xHerein, if there was any missing allegation of carnal knowledge, the Court believes the appellant had been adequately informed of the nature and the cause of the accusation against him by the initial complaint filed against him together with the supporting affidavits of the witnesses and the medical examination of AAA. Thus:
x x x x
In People v. Palarca, the accusatory portion of the information failed to specifically allege that the rape was committed through force or intimidation, although the prosecution was able to establish by evidence that the appellant was guilty of rape as defined under Article 266-A, paragraph (I) (a) of the Revised Penal Code. Similarly, the appellant failed to object to the sufficiency of the information or to the admission of evidence. In affirming his conviction, it was held that an information which lacks certain essential allegations may still sustain a conviction when the accused fails to object to its sufficiency during the trial, and the deficiency was cured by competent evidence presented therein27. (Emphasis supplied and citations omitted)
That on or about 10:30 o'clock in the morning of January 12, 2004, at Barangay Banlas, Maripipi, Biliran, Philippines and within the preliminary jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused with deliberate intent, with lewd designs approached AAA, 4 years old, Day Care Pupil, and bring it to the house of one Esok did then and there willfully, unlawfully and feloniously had sexual intercourse with the victim which was against her will.28ChanRoblesVirtualawlibraryNotably, appellant has belatedly first raised this issue on appeal. He failed to raise this before the trial court. Relevantly, appellant neither interposed objection to the prosecution's presentation of evidence of carnal knowledge. In fact, he actively participated during trial and was able to present his defense evidence.
Endnotes:
1Rollo, pp. 2-15; Penned by Associate Justice Priscilla J. Baltazar-Padilla with Associate Justices Franchito N. Diamante and Edgardo L. Delos Santos concurring.
2 Records, pp. 43-54; Presided by Presiding Judge Enrique C. Asis.
3 533 Phil. 703 (2006).
4 Records, p. 21.
5 TSN, 6 October 2004, pp. 2-6.
6 TSN, 13 October 2004, pp. pp. 11-18.
7 Records, p. 4.
8 TSN, 13 October 2004, pp. 2-11.
9 TSN, 27 October 2004, pp. 2-7.
10 Records, p. 54.
11Rollo, p. 14.
12 Id. at 20-21
13 Id. at 31-33.
14 Id. at 37-40.
15People v. Mingming, 594 Phil. 170, 186 (2008).
16People v. Pascua, 462 Phil. 245, 252 (2003).
17People v. Aguilar, 628 SCRA 437, 447 citing People v. Corpuz, 517 Phil. 622, 636-637 (2006).
18 TSN, 13 October 2004, p. 12 and Records, p. 32.
19 TSN, 6 October 2004, p. 2.
20 Records, p. 51.
21 TSN, 6 October 2004, pp. 2-4.
22 TSN, 6 October 2004, pp. 4-6.
23 See People v. Campuhan, 385 Phil. 912, 921 (2000).
24 CA, rollo, p. 45.cralawred
25People v. Navarro, 460 Phil. 565, 575 (2003).
26 448 Phil. 287(2003).cralawred
27 Id. at 298.
28 Records, p. 1.
29People v. Gambao, G.R. No. 172707, 1 October 2013, 706 SCRA 508.
30 G.R. No. 202124, 5 April 2016.
31People v. Vitero, G.R. No. 175327, 3 April 2013, 605 SCRA 54, 69.