411 Phil. 393
VITUG, J.:
"The undersigned accuses ALBERT NUBLA of the crime of Rape, committed as follows:
"That on or about the 26th day of March, 1996, in Quezon City, Philippines, the said accused by means of force and intimidation, to wit: by then and there wilfully, unlawfully and feloniously induced complainant to drink a glass of ice tea laced with drugs causing her to loss consciousness, and thereafter have carnal knowledge with the undersigned complainant against her will and without her consent."[1]
"GENERAL PHYSICAL EXAMINATION:Height: 156. cms.
Normally developed, fairly nourished, conscious, coherent, cooperative, ambulatory subject.
Breasts, developed, hemispherical, doughy, Areolae, brown, 3.9 cms. in diameter. Nipples, brown, 0.9 cm. in diamter.
"EXTRAGENITAL PHYSICAL INJURIES:
Contusions, brownish: infraclavicular area, right side, 1.5 x 1.0 cm; intermammary area, 1.0 x 1.0 cm.
"GENITAL EXAMINATION:
Pubic hair, fully grown, abundant. Labia majora and minora, coaptated. Fourchette, lax. Vestibular mucosa, pinkish. Hymen, tall, thick with old healed complete laceration at 9:00 o'clock position corresponding to the face of a watch, edges rounded, non-coaptable. Hymenal orifice admits a tube with moderate resistance. Vaginal walls tight. Rugosities, prominent.
"CONCLUSIONS:
1.) The above described extragenital physical injuries were noted on the body of the subject at the time of examination.
2.) Old healed hymenal laceration present."[2]
"x x x accused Nubla stated that complainant called him by phone at his office at about 7:00 to 7:30 o'clock in the evening on March 26, 1996. Aines told him she had some problems to discuss and asked him to meet her at Wendy's Nagtahan. He hesitated and told her he had some work to do, but she insisted on meeting him to talk about her personal problems. Coming from his office, he went directly to Wendy's Nagtahan arriving there at about 8:15 o'clock in the evening. Finding that Aines was not around, he decided to go home and proceeded to the road to call a taxi. When he was about to flag a taxi, Aines arrived without any companion. He was then in his barong tagalog with glasses, beeper, phone and organizer. Aines was carrying a cellular phone and a beeper. She suggested that they go to a place where they could talk, Wendy's being at that time crowded. He suggested a place owned partly by a childhood friend. She agreed. They then proceeded to the `Naked Ears' bar at Dapitan St., a block away from his residence. The bar was cozy, there were tables designed to accommodate 2 to 3 persons, there was a bar tender, a DJ's booth, lights centered on each table and spotlights. The bar was half-filled to capacity. The time was 9:00 o'clock when they entered the bar. They called the waiter. He ordered a pitcher of beer while Aines ordered a glass of iced tea. He asked her about her problems, but she did not discuss them. She just kept on smiling and telling him that she liked the place. She asked him if he goes there often and he told her not too often, but only when he feels unwinding and needed time to relax. She was so light hearted, jolly and kept on admiring the place.
"As the hours went by he suggested to Aines that she call her parents, brothers or sisters. She said `it was alright, don't think about it'. She told him, however, that she knew some guys in the bar as friends of his brother and she did not want them to see her in the bar. At about 10:30 o'clock he told her it was getting late and he needed to take a rest. He told her it was time to go out of the bar and he would get a taxi for her. She replied `hindi mo ba ako pipigilan?'. Her mood then suddenly changed. She became irritated because he insisted on going home. She told him `I just wanted to be with you'. They then flagged down a taxi. He instructed the driver to bring them to Pandacan. When he told her he would take her home, she insisted she did not want to go home. Then she began to shout. Upon reaching Gov. Forbes, he instructed the driver to bring them to a decent place where they could rest. The taxi brought them to an apartelle along E. Rodriguez St. While in the taxi, they were seated at the back seat. Aines was fully conscious. She knew what was happening. She did not want to go home. They arrived at the apartelle at about 11:00 o'clock P.M. Aines alighted first and proceeded directly to the apartelle. He was left behind to pay the taxi fare. They met a security guard who asked them if they were going to check in. When they said, yes, the guard opened a logbook and he signed a page thereof. They proceeded to a lobby where they were met by a lady who was the cashier of the place. He told her they would stay for only a few hours. He paid P250.00. A roomboy with toiletries and towels led them to their room located in the 2nd and 3rd floor. They used the stairs. The roomboy opened the lights, and put on the air- conditioner and asked them if they needed anything else. He told him the room was good enough and asked him to leave. He then asked Aines if she wanted anything to eat. She said she was still full. He lied on the bed and told Aines she may watch the TV if she wanted to. He asked her to call her parents or anybody to inform them of her whereabouts. She said her phone was running low of battery. He suggested she could use his phone. She declined saying it was `okey'. He then took off his shoes and put his things on the table. Aines was then seating at the edge of the bed. He finally fell asleep and was in that state for about one hour. He was awakened when he noticed the complainant caressing him and kissing him on the neck. He was at first shocked, but later on being only human, he was carried away. After a while they both undressed. She then approached him and started kissing him again and went on top of him. She started trying to insert his private organ into her private organ. She was pumping her body and leaning her breast towards his face. He was carried away and responded. Afterwards, they took their showers and went to sleep after some conversation. She told him she wished she had a boyfriend like him. He told her she is no longer a virgin. She admitted he was the second or third person to have sex with her. The first man in her life was her boyfriend Angel, Aines told him. A picture of Angel was shown to him. He told her what happened should really not have happened. Aines said there was no problem as they both like it. She assured him that her auntie was really interested in buying a car.
"They woke up at past five o'clock in the morning. He told Aines he needed to go home and change clothes and report back for work. They left the apartelle and flagged down a taxi. He alighted first near his residence. He gave Aines P200.00 for the taxi fare."[3]
"WHEREFORE, PREMISES CONSIDERED, JUDGMENT is hereby rendered finding the accused Albert G. Nubla guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of rape committed against Romelita T. Martinez and he is hereby sentenced to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua and to pay civil indemnity to the private complainant in the amount of P50,000.00, moral damages in the amount of P50,000.00, and exemplary damages in the amount of P25,000.00, plus cost."[4]
"First Assignment of Error:
"The Honorable Trial Court seriously erred in concluding that `(t)he Court is convinced with moral certainty that accused took advantage of the complainant when she was not in control of her mental faculties' or when she was `unconscious' or `semi-conscious' (Page 12, second paragraph, and page 13, third paragraph, Decision dated November 26, 1998), despite the clear lack of MEDICAL and MATERIAL EVIDENCE to prove such allegation when the same could easily have been secured immediately after the alleged incident.
"Second Assignment of Error:
"The Honorable Trial Court seriously erred in finding and concluding that `(t)he accused found it necessary to use some form of violence'. (Page 12, second par., appealed Decision)
"Third Assignment of Error:
"The Honorable Trial Court seriously erred in convicting the accused despite the testimony of private complainant not being impeccable and true throughout.
"Fourth Assignment of Error:
"The Honorable Trial Court seriously erred in convicting the accused on the ground that the version of the prosecution is more credible than that of the defense.
"Fifth Assignment of Error:
"The Honorable Trial Court seriously erred in convicting the accused and adjudging him to pay the damages stated in the appealed Decision."[5]
"Q What did you order? "A A glass of iced tea because I am not hungry at that time. And for him, he ordered a pitcher of beer. "Q What did you do inside that bar? "A When we were already inside the bar and our orders were taken, he was very uneasy, he would be standing and excusing himself every now and then. "Q What did you do? "A When the order was given since I was so thirsty, I was able to sip one third of the glass of iced tea. "Q What happened next after that? "A After ten minutes approximately, I felt dizzy but not so serious. "Q Will you please explain what exactly did you feel when you said you were dizzy? "A I felt pain in my head. "Q What happened next? "A I just thought that I was tired because I have just taken my final examination. "Q What transpired next? "A I just excused myself and told him that I will go to the comfort room because I had a headache. "Q How long did you stay in the comfort room? "A Fifteen minutes more or less, sir. "Q And when you returned, your iced tea was still on your table? "A Yes, sir. "Q What happened next? "A He was silent that time and he said, so the brochure is now with you and also the price lists. You just relay it to your friend. "Q What happened next? "A I was really dizzy. I was pleading with him telling him to bring me home. "Q What did he do? "A He did not listen to me and he said he just ordered another pitcher of beer. According to him, `sayang'. "COURT: "Q Does he know where you home is? "A No, sir. "Atty. Ulep: "Q What happened next? "A I could hear that he was telling me many things about himself which is far from the business. "Q What did you do after that? "A I was again begging him to bring me home because I knew that my family is already worried about me because that was already 9:15. "Q Did he listen to your pleas? "A He did not, he said that just consume your iced tea and relax, anyway I will bring you home. "Q When you said yes, you consumed the whole glasses of iced tea. "A Yes, sir. "Q What happened next? "A After I consumed the glass of iced tea, I felt more dizzy. "Q Could you tell us exactly what do you mean by more dizzy? "A More dizzy in the sense that I really wanted to sleep and I felt my body is weak. "Q What did you do then? "A I was already thinking of other reason because I really wanted to go home that time. "Q What happened next? "A What I did, I told him, `can't you see those people at the other table, they are already drunk and one of them there is the barkada of my brother and if he sees me and he will tell my brother, I will be scolded'. "Q What did he say? "A He said, `is he a friend of your brother and just for a moment, I will just drink this remaining beer and I will bring you home.' "Q What happened next after that? "A He already asked me to stand and when I stood up, I almost fell but he helped me. "Q What transpired next? "A When we went out the bar, he called a taxi and he told the driver to bring us to Sta. Mesa. "Q What did you say? "A I said Pureza and he said yes. "Q What happened next? "A He said I will bring you home, don't worry just relax. "Q What happened next? "A When we alighted from the taxi, I really could not take it anymore but he assisted me. I just feel that we are climbing the stairs. I just assumed that maybe he just brought me to the house of my friend Pinky since he had been in that house before because that house of Pinky when you entered it, you will see a stair. "Q What was the condition of your body at that time? "A Very weak. "Q What happened next? "A When he opened the door, when I saw the bed, I just directly lie down on the bed. "Q After that what happened? "A I don't know anymore what he did to me. "Q What time was that when you already lie down on the bed, if you know? "A I cannot remember anymore. "Q What time did you wake up, if you know? "A He woke me up, it was already bright, maybe about 5:30 in the morning. "Q What did you notice when you woke up? "A I was still dizzy. "Q What else? "A When I looked at my side, I was surprised because he was there on my side. "Q What else did you notice? "A I was naked, both of us were naked. I had a blanket and I noticed I had no clothes. "Q Did you talk to the accused at that time? "A Yes, sir. "Q What did you tell him? "A I asked him why are you here. What did you do to me. "Q What did he tell you? "A He told me just put on your clothes and I still have some things to attend to. And then he told me, if you want, you can still stay here anyway, this is paid for the whole day. "Q What did you tell him? "A I did not stay behind even if I still could not do it, I tried to dress up and put on my clothes. "Q What did you feel at that time? "A While I was dressing up I feel pain on my buttocks. "Atty. Ulep: May we make of record that the witness is crying. "COURT: Yes. "Atty Ulep: "Q What did you feel or see in your body? "A When I face the mirror I noticed that I have plenty of kissmarks on my breast and on my lap. "Q What else? "A After that he called a taxi, then he told me to alight at Wendy's Nagtahan. "Q You said a while ago that you feel pain on your buttocks? "A Yes, sir. "Q Where else in your body did you feel pain? "A On my private organ. "Q What happened next after you were brought to Wendy's Nagtahan? "A I went home alone and the people were staring at me because I had plenty of kissmarks. I just really wanted to go home. "Q Did you in fact go home? "A Yes, sir. "Q Who met you in your house? "A My mother. She asked me where I came from last night. "Q What did you tell her? "A I do not know what to say. "Q What did you do? "A I just locked myself inside my room. "Q For how long did you lock yourself? "A For a long time. "Q What did you do after that? "A I did not have the courage to open up the matter to my mother about what he did to me. "Q What did you do then? "A After lunch I went to the house of my friend Pinky. "Q What did you tell Pinky, if any? "A I told her about what happened to me. "Q What did she tell you? "A It was Pinky who called my mother and narrated to my mother what happened. "Q What happened next? "A The following day, my parents fetched me. "Q What did they do after that? "A They brought me to the NBI. "Q What did you do there? "A I had myself examined. "Q After that what happened next? "A I could not believe that after all that I trusted him, `eh, winalanghiya niya ako'. "Q When you said him, you are referring to? "A Albert Nubla. "Q What happened next after that? "A I called him after that. "Q What did you tell him? "A I asked him why he did it to me. He hit me below the belt. "Q What do you mean? "A He had sexual intercourse with me. "Q What did he say? "A He said, `I will be stupid if I will be bringing you to an apartelle without touching you'. "Q What do you mean touching you? "A Having sex with me. "Q What did you tell him after that? "A I told him to explain my parents why he did it to me. "Q What did he say? "A He said, `I am busy'. "Q That's all what he said? "A Yes, sir, then he banged the phone. "Q What did you do then after that? "A I waited for the result of my medico legal examination. "Q What did you find out in that medical examination? "A It is one hundred percent possible that he touched me."[8]
"While no chemical analysis was conducted on the blood of the complainant immediately after the incident, the Court believes that the physical manifestations that complainant was drugged consisting of dizziness, bodily weakness and strong desire to sleep were proven during the trial. Although complainant was able to walk to the apartelle, she had a hazy memory of what was going on as she remembered only the stairs and no more. It was only in the morning that she realized she was in an apartelle. Her hazy recollection of what happened to her explains why she committed minor inconsistencies in her statements, particularly before the NBI."[9]
"Unlike the usual cases wherein the rape victim is forcibly abused by the offender while conscious, Romelita was drugged to sleep and was raped while unconscious. Thus, when she woke up the following morning after the incident she was still dizzy and had no remembrance of what happened or what appellant did to her in the apartelle. Confused and unsure about what really happened, compounded by her shock to find appellant by her side and naked like her, all that Romelita could utter was to ask appellant what he did to her. And because she was still physically and mentally not well, which disabled her from fully comprehending her situation, it is not strange that she did not immediately show outrage at appellant but just wanted to get safely home.
"When she got home, Romelita did not have the courage to open up the matter to her mother when the latter asked her where she had been. Romelita was ashamed and unbelieving that appellant, whom she barely knew, could do such a thing as have sexual intercourse with her. She revealed the matter however on the same day to her friend Pinky de Luna, who in turn informed her parents about it (TSN, 11/13/96, pp. 24-25). After her NBI examination, Romelita called up appellant and asked him why he hit her below the belt or had sexual intercourse with her, but he only replied that it would have been stupid if he brought her to an apartelle without touching her (id., p. 26).
"Indeed, there is no reason to doubt Romelita's version of the incident. If her story had only been contrived, she would not haven been so composed and consistent throughout her entire testimony in the face of intense and lengthy interrogation (People vs. Perez, 296 SCRA 17). Notably, she cried as she recounted the morning after the incident when it dawned on her that appellant whom she met only twice but trusted, had most probably abused her sexually. This further bolsters the credibility of the rape charge (People vs. Ramos, 296 SCRA 559). And since there is no showing that she was impelled by any improper motive in making the accusation against appellant, her complaint is entitled to full faith and credit (People vs. Gementiza, 285 SCRA 478)."[16]
"Accused sought to convince the Court that the sexual encounter between him and the complainant was her own wish and liking, apparently to compel him to take her as his mistress. Accused would want the Court to believe that complainant was probably a gold digger masquerading under the name `Aines Salonga' who demanded money from him and asked him to accompany her to go shopping so that she could buy some clothes for herself. She told him she always wanted to be with him to talk about her personal problems. She admitted to him she had sexual intercourse before with her boyfriend Angel. Her former boyfriend, he claimed he was told, took her jewelries and other valuables and pawned them to buy drugs.
"Even granting that some of the alleged derogatory information about the complainant were true and complainant flirted with him, the accused did not have the license to take advantage of her unconsciousness or semi-conscious state of mind and have sexual intercourse with her without her consent. The Court is convinced with moral certainty that accused took advantage of the complainant when she was not in control of her mental faculties. The alleged frequent calls of the complainant, although denied by her, do not destroy her credibility, but tends to buttress her claim that she was the aggrieved party in the incident in question.
"While no chemical analysis was conducted on the blood of the complainant immediately after the incident, the Court believes that the physical manifestations that complainant was drugged consisting of dizziness, bodily weakness and strong desire to sleep were proven during the trial. Although complainant was able to walk to the apartelle, she had a hazy memory of what was going on. She remembered only the stairs and no more. It was only in the morning that she realized she was in an apartelle. Her hazy recollection of what happened to her explains why she committed minor inconsistencies in her statements, particularly before the NBI.
"The accused also sought to convince the Court of his sense of righteousness when he allegedly reminded the complainant of the propriety of calling her mother or brother to inform them of her whereabouts when it was getting late and they were still together. In short, he would want the Court to believe that he was a responsible and caring person. The crucial test of his sense of righteousness, however, was in the taxi after the date at the bar. At this point, if he had no criminal intention, he could have insisted on bringing the complainant home considering that, according to him, she was becoming irritated and she shouted when he told her he would bring her home. The strong probability is that she was really not feeling well and the decision to bring her to an apartelle was entirely his own. Their taxi ride after the date at the bar was in the mind of the Court the last straw in carrying out his criminal design. When he found himself alone in the apartelle with a young woman, it is incredible that he tried to avoid any sexual contact with her considering the series of circumstances which tend to indicate that he masterfully planned his encounter with her on that fateful night. His allegation that he was very tired and fell asleep and was awakened only when complainant started kissing him and pumping her body against his body does not fit well with the fact that their encounter was only their second meeting and there was no evidence to indicate that she was desperate in having sex with him. On the contrary, the contusions which were still visible when she was examined by the NBI Medico Legal officer is indicative of the violence which the complainant was subjected to satisfy the sexual hunger of the accused.
"The offer of money in the amount of P25,000.00 by the wife of the accused indicates a strong consciousness of guilt for no party would offer to `settle' a criminal case if there was no truth to the accusation. Considering the amount involved, the Court believes that the offer to settle was a family decision made at this instance of the accused. The fact that complainant angrily rejected the offer indicates that her motive of filing the instant case was not to extort money from the accused but to vindicate the injustice done to her."[19]