414 Phil. 542
QUISUMBING, J.:
CRIM. CASE NO. IR-3450
That during the year 1988 in Barangay La Purisima, Iriga City, and within the jurisdiction of the Honorable Court, the said accused did, then and there willfully, unlawfully and feloniously have carnal knowledge of complainant Analiza C. Barbosa who was then eleven (11) years old, on nine (9) separate occasions, against her will and by means of violence and intimidation, to the damage and prejudice of said complainant in such amount as maybe proven in court.
CONTRARY TO LAW.[1]CRIM. CASE NO. IR-3448
That in or about November 1992 in Barangay La Purisima, Iriga City, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the said accused, by means of violence and intimidation, did, then and there willfully, unlawfully and feloniously have carnal knowledge of complainant Analiza C. Barbosa, a girl of 15 years, against her will, to the damage and prejudice of said complainant in such amount as may be proven in court.
CONTRARY TO LAW.[2]CRIM. CASE NO. IR-3449
That on or about February 6, 1993 in Barangay La Purisima, Iriga City, and within the jurisdiction of the Honorable Court, the said accused, by means of violence and intimidation, did, then and there, willfully, unlawfully and feloniously have carnal knowledge of complainant Analiza C. Barbosa, a girl of 15 years, against her will, to the damage and prejudice of said complainant in such amount as may be proven in court.
CONTRARY TO LAW.[3]CRIM. CASE NO. IR-3451
That on or about May 8, 1993 in Barangay La Purisima, Iriga City, and within the jurisdiction of the Honorable Court, the said accused, by means of violence and intimidation, did, then and there willfully, unlawfully and feloniously have carnal knowledge of complainant Analiza C. Barbosa, a girl of 15 years, against her will, to the damage and prejudice of said complainant in such amount as may be proven in court.
CONTRARY TO LAW.[4]
WHEREFORE, premises considered, the Court finds the accused, FELICITO BARBOSA y TURALLO -
1. In Criminal Case No. IR-3450, guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of rape defined and penalized under Article 335 of the Revised Penal Code prior to its amendment by Rep. Act 7659, as charged in the information and despite the presence of one (1) aggravating circumstance, and the absence of any mitigating circumstance, hereby sentences the said accused to suffer in prison the penalty of RECLUSION PERPETUA, and to pay the private offended party, ANALIZA C. BARBOSA, the sum of P50,000.00 as moral damages;
2. In Criminal Case No. IR-3448, guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of rape defined and penalized under Article 335 of the Revised Penal Code, prior to its amendment by Rep. Act 7659, as charged in the information, and despite the presence of one (1) aggravating circumstance and the absence of any mitigating circumstance, hereby sentences the said accused to suffer in prison the penalty of RECLUSION PERPETUA, and to pay the private offended party, ANALIZA C. BARBOSA, the sum of P50,000.00 as moral damages;
3. In Criminal Case No. IR-3449, guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of rape defined and penalized under Article 335 of the Revised Penal Code, prior to its amendment by Rep. Act 7659, as charged in the information and despite the presence of one (1) aggravating circumstance and the absence of any mitigating circumstance, hereby sentences the said accused to suffer in prison the penalty of RECLUSION PERPETUA, and to pay the private offended party, ANALIZA C. BARBOSA, the sum of P50,000.00 as moral damages;
4. In Criminal Case No. IR-3451, guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of rape defined and penalized under Article 335 of the Revised Penal Code, prior to its amendment by Rep. Act 7659, as charged in the information and despite the presence of one (1) aggravating circumstance and the absence of any mitigating circumstance, hereby sentences the said accused to suffer in prison the penalty of RECLUSION PERPETUA, and to pay the private offended party, ANALIZA C. BARBOSA, the sum of P50,000.00 as moral damages.
In all the aforesaid cases, to reimburse Juana Malate of the sum of P11,200.00 as attorney's fee and litigation expenses, and to pay the cost of suit.
The accused, FELICITO BARBOSA y TURALLO shall serve the foregoing four (4) prison terms successively or one after the other, subject to the provisions of the fourth, fifth and sixth paragraphs of Article 70, of the Revised Penal Code, as amended.
The accused shall be credited with the period of preventive imprisonment that he may have undergone during the pendency of these cases in accordance with law.
SO ORDERED.[5]
...[P]rivate offended party, Analiza C. Barbosa, was born on February 6, 1978. Her father is Julio Abad and her mother is Juliana C. Barbosa. Her parents were not married, so that she was registered in the Local Civil Registrar of Manila as Analiza Cornelio. When she was already five (5) years old, her mother, Juliana Cornelio married the accused, Felicito Barbosa. She continued using the surname Cornelio until she reached Grade 2. Then her mother instructed her to use the surname Barbosa, instead of Cornelio. Since then she has been using the said surname "Barbosa" and she calls her stepfather, Felicito Barbosa "Papa". Sometime in 1988 (she cannot remember the month) her mother went to Manila twice. The second time she went to Manila, her mother stayed there for a month. It was already March 1988 when she returned. She, together with her half sister Analyn who was then only one (1) year old, having been born on January 19, 1987, was left with her stepfather, the herein accused. They stayed at the house of the parents of her stepfather situated at La Purisima, Iriga City, because the latter were also in Manila at that time. The three of them, (Analiza, Analyn and Felicito Barbosa) slept only in one room and on one bed. On the third night after her mother left for Manila and they were already sleeping, she woke up and noticed that her short pants was already removed. Her stepfather was standing beside the bed where she was sleeping. He was holding a "Batangas knife" which was closed and which was poked at her side. When she saw these things she cried but the accused told her not to make any noise and not to tell her mother or he will kill her and he will not send her to school anymore. She then stopped crying as she was afraid of what the accused has said. The accused then told her to remove her panty which she did. The accused removed his shorts, reached for an oil from the kitchen which was adjacent to the bedroom and after applying oil into her vagina, the accused laid on top of her and inserted his organ into her organ. Analiza tried to push the accused because she did not like what the accused was doing as she felt pain. The accused, however, was too heavy for her and she did not succeed in dislodging him from his position on top of her. The accused stayed on top of her for about two (2) minutes. He then went to the sala, on her part, she put on her panty and short pants and kept on crying until she fell asleep. She further testified that during that period of one (1) month, the accused repeatedly abused her almost every night.
When her mother returned, Analiza Barbosa did not tell her about the abuses committed by her stepfather because her stepfather repeatedly warned her not to tell her mother, otherwise, he will kill her. But in the middle of 1990 Analiza ran away and stayed with her classmate, Quennie Sanglay. After one (1) week her mother and stepfather went to the house of Sanglay to fetch her. She refused to go with them. The following day her mother and grandmother went back to fetch her. Her grandmother asked her why she refused to go with her mother and stepfather. In answer, she told her grandmother of the abuses she suffered from her stepfather. Her mother and grandmother brought her to San Nicolas, Iriga City, where she stayed with her aunt Evelyn Cornelio. After one week she was brought to Manila to stay with her natural father, Julio Abad. She stayed there up to October 1992 and then she returned to Iriga City as her stepmother kept on scolding her. In Iriga City she again stayed in the house of her aunt Evelyn Cornelio at San Nicolas, Iriga City. After one week her mother got her again. Her mother told her that her stepfather will no longer abuse her. However, as soon as she was again with her mother and stepfather at their residence at La Purisima, Iriga City the evidence show that, in more or less the same pattern and circumstances and while her mother was out of town or just outside their house, her stepfather continued abusing her.
In November 1992, Analiza's mother again went to Manila. She stayed there for about two (2) weeks. She returned before the Barangay Fiesta of La Purisima on December 7. Her half sister, Analyn, was with her mother. On the third night after her mother left, Analiza was watching television at the sala of their house at La Purisima, Iriga City at about 6:00 o'clock in the evening and she fell asleep. When she woke up she noticed that her shorts and panty were already removed. Her stepfather, the herein accused, was standing beside her. She asked him why he removed her shorts and panty. He answered that he will repeat what he had done to her before, and further told her to lie down and not to make any noise otherwise he would kill her. She told him that she will not lie down for she did not want to be repeatedly abused. The accused then got a knife from the kitchen and showed it to her. She then laid down and the accused placed himself on top of her and inserted his organ into her vagina. He stayed on top of her for about three minutes. Then the accused left.
February 6, 1993 was the 15th birthday of Analiza. The previous month, January 1993, her mother together with Analyn, again went to Manila to fetch Aljon, nephew of her stepfather. Upon her suggestion, her mother invited Jonah Ocine, a girl of seven years old, cousin of Analiza, to sleep in their house with her while her mother was away. Jonah, however, stayed only for three days and she left. And so, Analiza found herself alone again, with her stepfather, in their house at La Purisima, Iriga City. On that day, February 6, 1993, while Analiza was sleeping in the only bedroom in their house, at around midnight she noticed that her panty and shorts were already removed and her stepfather was standing beside the bed where she was sleeping. He was holding a knife which he poked at her waist. He told her that he will do again what he did to her before. He told her again not to tell her mother, otherwise, he would kill her. He then removed his short pants and laid on top of her, Analiza tried to push him but he told her if she will not stop pushing him, he will kill her. He inserted his penis into the vagina of Analiza. Then he left and went to the sala.
On May 8, 1993, complainant was at their house at La Purisima, Iriga City. At about 8:00 o'clock in the evening of that day she was lying down on the sofa at the sala of their house. She was alone. Her mother was at the house of her mother-in-law, helping in preparing "ibos" (suman in Filipino) to be placed in the refrigerator and cooked the following day. These "ibos" will be served during the baptism of the nephew of her stepfather on the fiesta of San Nicolas, on May 10, 1993. Analyn was with her mother. The accused then arrived. He told her to remove her shorts and panty as he again will do to her what he did before. After some hesitation, Analiza obeyed as she was afraid since appellant was again holding the "balisong" which the accused used to poke at her side during the previous times he abused her. The accused then laid on top of her on that sofa. He inserted his organ into the organ of Analiza. He stayed on top of her for about two (2) minutes and then left her, but he stayed in the house.
On May 10, 1993, complainant went to the house of her grandmother, Juana Malate to attend the Barangay fiesta of San Nicolas. After the fiesta she refused to go back to La Purisima, with her mother and stepfather. She told her grandmother and her other relatives that the accused continues to abuse her....[6]
In Criminal Case No. IR-3450, the accused presented his wife, Juliana C. Barbosa. She testified that the complainant, Analiza lied when she said that she was raped by the accused in 1988 while she (Juliana) was in Manila, because she did not go to Manila the whole year of 1988. She was all the time in their house in La Purisima, Iriga City. When accused testified, he denied that he raped Analiza in 1988 and corroborated his wife's testimony that she did not go to Manila in 1988.
In Criminal Case No. IR-3448, accused has similar defense. He and his wife testified that the testimony of Analiza that she was raped by the accused in November 1992 at their residence in La Purisima, Iriga City, while Juliana Barbosa, her mother, was in Manila, was a lie, because Juliana Barbosa did not leave for Manila in November 1992. She was always in their house at La Purisima, Iriga City. Moreover, the accused further argued in his memorandum that this rape (in November 1992) could not have happened because at 6:00 o'clock in the afternoon, when the crime took place, people were still up and around. The house where it happened is very near several houses. It was by a pathway leading to the river. Analyn was just downstairs and Analiza's friend, Benelyn, just went to the house of the father of his stepfather. She may return at any time. And yet, Analiza did not cry out.x x x
In Criminal Case No. IR-3449, the defense of the accused is to the effect that he could not have raped Analiza on February 6, 1993, at their house in La Purisima, Iriga City, as she claimed in her testimony, because he went to Manila on February 1, 1993 and stayed there until February 16, 1993. His alibi was corroborated by his wife and his mother, Bibiana Barbosa.
In Criminal Case No. IR-3451, the defense put up was that the accused could not have raped Analiza on May 8, 1993 at about 8:00 o'clock in the evening because Analiza was at the church attending El Shaddai prayer meeting. She was there from 5:00 o'clock in the afternoon to 10:00 o'clock in the evening. The accused was in the town of Bula, Camarines Sur, delivering candies. [H]e left about 8:00 o'clock in the morning and returned to Iriga City at 5:00 o'clock in the afternoon. He was with his wife, Juliana, his cousin, Clemens [Turallo] and Judith Ibarreta. This alibi of the accused was provided by Joan Turallo, niece of the accused Juliana C. Barbosa, wife of the accused Clemens Turallo, cousin of the accused and Bibiana Barbosa, mother of the accused.[9]
I
...BASING ITS DECISION OF CONVICTION OF APPELLANT IN ALL FOUR (4) CASES ON THE BASIS OF ITS OBSERVATION ON THE MANNER AND DEMEANOR OF THE COMPLAINANT WHILE TESTIFYING;II
...NOT BELIEVING THE TESTIMONY OF ACCUSED-APPELLANT AS CORROBORATED BY THE WITNESSES;III
...RELYING ON THE TESTIMONY OF THE WITNESSES FOR THE PROSECUTION RATHER THAN ON WEIGHING THE EVIDENCES DURING THE TRIAL IN FAVOR OF THE APPELLANT.[10]
ART. 335. When and how rape is committed.--Rape is committed by having carnal knowledge of a woman under any of the following circumstances.
1. By using force or intimidation;
2. When the woman is deprived of reason or otherwise unconscious; and
3. When the woman is under twelve years of age or is demented.
The crime of rape shall be punished by reclusion perpetua.
Whenever the crime of rape is committed with the use of a deadly weapon or by two or more persons, the penalty shall be reclusion perpetua to death.
When by reason or on the occasion of the rape, the victim has become insane, the penalty shall be death.
When the rape is attempted or frustrated and a homicide is committed by reason or on the occasion thereof, the penalty shall be reclusion perpetua to death.
When by reason or on the occasion of the rape, a homicide is committed, the penalty shall be death.
The death penalty shall also be imposed if the crime of rape is committed with any of the following attendant circumstances:
1. When the victim is under eighteen (18) years of age and the offender is a parent, ascendant, step-parent, guardian, relative by consanguinity or affinity within the third civil degree, or the common-law spouse of the parent of the victim.
2. When the victim is under the custody of the police or military authorities.
3. When the rape is committed in full view of the husband, parent, any of the children or other relatives within the third degree of consanguinity.
4. When the victim is a religious or a child below seven (7) years old.
5. When the offender knows that he is afflicted with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) disease.
6. When committed by any member of the Armed Forces of the Philippines or the Philippine National Police or any law enforcement agency.
7. When by reason or on the occasion of the rape, the victim has suffered permanent physical mutilation. (As amended by Sec. 11, R.A. 7659.)