PEOPLE v. BELEN

PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Plaintiff-Appellee vs. LUDIGARIO BELEN y MARASIGAN, Accused-Appellant
G.R. No. 215331
January 23, 2017

Facts:

On February 2, 2006, appellant was charged with qualified rape under Article 266-A (1) (a), in relation to Article 266-B (6) (1) of the Revised Penal Code, as amended by Republic Act (RA) No. 8353 and in further relation to Section 5 (a) of RA 8369. The prosecution presented AAA, Police Senior Inspector Dean C. Cabrera (PSI Cabrera), the medico-legal officer of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Crime Laboratory, and BBB, AAA's mother.

AAA testified that she was 8 years old in 1999 and that appellant is the husband of her mother but they were not married; and that they were all then living in Purok I, Buntong Palay, San Mateo Rizal. At 4 o'clock in the afternoon of July 1999, she was playing outside their house when she was called by appellant to go inside the house. Once inside, appellant locked the door and poked a knife at her and ordered her to remove her clothes to which she complied. She was instructed by the Appellant to bend over and he inserted his penis into her vagina. Thereafter, appellant placed himself on top of her, moving up and down while she was crying. The rape incident happened for about half an hour in her mother's room.

On the second week of July 1999 about 7 o'clock in the evening of, while her mother was at work and she was then sitting at home, appellant entered the house and told her to undress to which she complied as he threatened her not to make noise or tell her mother. For the second time, Appellant raped her for about half an hour while she was crying. This incident happened several times more which only stopped when her grandmother took her to her uncle's house in Divisoria. It was only in 2005, when confronted by her mother as to the truth that she was raped by appellant, that she had finally told her that she had been repeatedly sexually molested by appellant.

PSI Cabrera testified that he conducted a physical and genital examination on AAA on December 8, 2005 as requested by the Chief of Police of San Mateo, Rizal.  He stated that the finding of laceration on the hymen would hardly give any proof to the number of times that a sexual abuse had taken place.

Appellant denied the charges and claimed that AAA is the daughter of BBB, his live-in partner with whom he separated in 1999;26 that in 1999, his mother-in-law brought AAA, who was then 7 years old, to Manila to study, and did not visit her since then. On December 20, 2010, the RTC rendered its Decision finding the accused Ludigario Belen y Marasigan guilty of the crime charged of two count of simple rape which was also affirmed by the Court of Appeals on July 2014.


Issue:

Whether or not the Accused-Appellant is guilty beyond reasonable doubt for the crime charged of two counts of simple rape.


Ruling:

The Accused-Appellant is guilty beyond reasonable doubt for the crime charged of two counts of simple rape. Article 266-A, paragraph (1) of the Revised Penal Code, states the elements of the crime of rape as follows: Article 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: a) 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.

The Court scrutinized the records of this case and are convinced that appellant had carnal knowledge of AAA with threat and intimidation, thus, against her will and without her consent. AAA categorically declared that in two separate instances, appellant had inserted his penis into her vagina while she was crying.

Therefore, the instant appeal is DISMISSED. The Decision dated July 11, 2014 of the Court of Appeals is AFFIRMED with MODIFICATION that the award of civil indemnity, moral damages and exemplary damages should all be increased to P75,000.00 for each count of rape.