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GR No. 198732

2013-06-10

PERLAS-BERNABE, J.

Driven by the foregoing considerations, Congress crafted Article III of the same law in order to penalize child prostitution and other forms of sexual abuse. Section 5 thereof provides a definition of who is considered a "child exploited in prostitution and other sexual abuse." As illumined in Olivarez,[25] citing People v. Larin[26] and Amployo v. People,[27] the final version of the aforesaid provision was a product of various deliberations to expand its original coverage to cases where the minor may have been coerced or intimidated into sexual intercourse or lascivious conduct, not necessarily for money or profit, viz: The second element, i.e., that the act is performed with a child exploited in prostitution or subjected to other sexual abuse, is likewise present. As succinctly explained in People v. Larin:

GR No. 200529

2012-09-19

PEOPLE v. JUANITO GARCIA Y GUMAY

REYES, J.

When the offended party is under 12 years of age; and (3) That the offended party is another person of either sex.[21]

GR No. 180914

2010-11-24

PEOPLE v. DOMINGO DOMINGUEZ

LEONARDO-DE CASTRO, J.

(3) That the offended party is another person of either sex.[39]

GR No. 180914

2010-11-24

PEOPLE v. DOMINGO DOMINGUEZ

LEONARDO-DE CASTRO, J.

The award by the Court of Appeals of moral damages to AAA in the amount of Thirty Thousand Pesos (P30,000.00), for each count of acts of lasciviousness, is appropriate, in the same way that moral damages are awarded to victims of rape even without need of proof because of the presumption that the victim has suffered moral injury, rests on settled jurisprudence.[52] We also deem that AAA is further entitled to an award of civil indemnity in the amount of Twenty Thousand Pesos (P20,000.00), for each count of acts of lasciviousness.[53] The amount of exemplary damages should also be increased from the Twenty-Five Thousand Pesos (P25,000.00) awarded by the Court of Appeals, to Thirty Thousand Pesos (P30,000.00), for each count of acts of lasciviousness, considering the presence of the aggravating circumstance of relationship in the commission of the crime. Exemplary damages should be awarded "in order to deter fathers with perverse tendencies and aberrant sexual behavior from preying upon their young daughters."[54]

GR No. 168103

2010-08-03

PEOPLE v. ALEJANDRO RELLOTA Y TADEO

PERALTA, J.

Clearly, all the elements of the offense are present. The actions of appellant on January 31, 1994, i.e., laying AAA on the sofa and kissing and touching her private parts are, by definition, lascivious or lewd, and based on AAA's testimony, the intimidation from appellant was in existence and apparent. Section 5 of R.A. No. 7610 does not merely cover a situation of a child being abused for profit, but also one in which a child engages in any lascivious conduct through coercion or intimidation.[49] As case law has it, intimidation need not necessarily be irresistible.[50] It is sufficient that some compulsion equivalent to intimidation annuls or subdues the free exercise of the will of the offended party.[51] This is especially true in the case of young, innocent and immature girls who could not be expected to act with equanimity of disposition and with nerves of steel.[52] Young girls cannot be expected to act like adults under the same circumstances or to have the courage and intelligence to disregard the threat.[53]

GR No. 181036

2010-07-06

PEOPLE v. ADRIANO LEONARDO Y DANTES

PEREZ, J.

The elements of sexual abuse under the above provision are as follows: (1) the accused commits the act of sexual intercourse or lascivious conduct; (2) the said act is performed with a child exploited in prostitution or subjected to other sexual abuse; and (3) the child, whether male or female, is below 18 years of age.[47]

GR No. 175528

2009-09-30

PO3 BENITO SOMBILON v. PEOPLE

LEONARDO-DE CASTRO, J.

In the case of Amployo v. People,[13] the Court expounded on the definition of the term lewd, thus: The term "lewd" is commonly defined as something indecent or obscene; it is characterized by or intended to excite crude sexual desire. That an accused is entertaining a lewd or unchaste design is necessarily a mental process the existence of which can be inferred by overt acts carrying out such intention, i.e., by conduct that can only be interpreted as lewd or lascivious. The presence or absence of lewd designs is inferred from the nature of the acts themselves and the environmental circumstances. What is or what is not lewd conduct, by its very nature, cannot be pigeonholed into a precise definition. As early as U.S. v. Gomez we had already lamented that -

GR No. 185723

2009-08-04

PEOPLE v. EDWIN MEJIA

CHICO-NAZARIO, J.

That the offended party is another person of either sex.[23]

GR No. 176265

2008-04-30

PEOPLE v. JOSE MAGBANUA Y MORIÑO

TINGA, J,

The Court further awards moral damages for the act of lasciviousness committed against AAA in the amount of P20,000.00 pursuant to Article 2219[34] of the Civil Code,[35] and civil indemnity in the amount of P20,000.00.[36]

GR No. 178061

2008-01-31

PEOPLE v. JOHN MONTINOLA

CARPIO, J.

Under Section 32 of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 7610, lascivious conduct includes the intentional touching, either directly or through clothing, of the genitalia and inner thigh, with an intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person. In Navarrete,[46] the Court held that a child is deemed subjected to other sexual abuse when the child indulges in lascivious conduct under the coercion or influence of any adult. In Amployo v. People,[47] the Court held that: [I]ntimidation need not necessarily be irresistible. It is sufficient that some compulsion equivalent to intimidation annuls or subdues the free exercise of the will of the offended party. This is especially true in the case of young, innocent and immature girls who could [sic] not be expected to act with equanimity of disposition and with nerves of steel. Young girls cannot be expected to act like adults under the same circumstances or to have the courage and intelligence to disregard the threat. All three elements are present in the instant case: (1) Montinola caressed AAA's right thigh, slipped his hand under her shorts, and touched her vagina; (2) AAA indulged in lascivious conduct under Montinola's coercion; and (3) AAA was below 18 years old.

GR NO. 173491

2007-11-23

EDWIN CABILA v. PEOPLE

CARPIO MORALES, J.

For an accused to be convicted of child abuse through lascivious conduct on a minor below 12 years of age, "the requisites for acts of lasciviousness under Article 336 of the RPC must be met in addition to the requisites for sexual abuse under Section 5 of Rep. Act No. 7610."[14]

GR NO. 147913

2007-01-31

CLEMENT JOHN FERDINAND M. NAVARRETE v. PEOPLE

(b) Those who commit the act of sexual intercourse or lascivious conduct with a child exploited in prostitution or subjected to other sexual abuse: Provided, That when the victim is under twelve (12) years of age, the perpetrators shall be prosecuted under Article 335, paragraph 3, for rape and Article 336 of Act No. 3815, as amended, [or] the [RPC], for rape or lascivious conduct as the case may be: Provided, That the penalty for lascivious conduct when the victim is under twelve (12) years of age shall be reclusion temporal in its medium period. Under this provision, when the victim is under 12 years old, the accused shall be prosecuted under either Article 335 (for rape) or Article 336 (for acts of lasciviousness) of the RPC. Accordingly, although an accused is charged in the information with the crime of statutory rape (i.e., carnal knowledge of a woman under twelve years of age[23]), the offender can be convicted of the lesser crime of acts of lasciviousness, which is included in rape.[24]

GR No. 163866

2005-07-29

ISIDRO OLIVAREZ

YNARES-SANTIAGO, J.

The child, whether male or female, is below 18 years of age.[13] Section 32, Article XIII, of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of R.A. 7610 defines lascivious conduct as follows:[T]he intentional touching, either directly or through clothing, of the genitalia, anus, groin, breast, inner thigh, or buttocks, or the introduction of any object into the genitalia, anus or mouth, of any person, whether of the same or opposite sex, with an intent to abuse, humiliate, harass, degrade, or arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person, bestiality, masturbation, lascivious exhibition of the genitals or pubic area of a person.[14] (Emphasis supplied)

	GR No. 198732 2013-06-10	CHRISTIAN CABALLO v. PEOPLE PERLAS-BERNABE, J.
Driven by the foregoing considerations, Congress crafted Article III of the same law in order to penalize child prostitution and other forms of sexual abuse. Section 5 thereof provides a definition of who is considered a "child exploited in prostitution and other sexual abuse." As illumined in Olivarez,[25] citing People v. Larin[26] and Amployo v. People,[27] the final version of the aforesaid provision was a product of various deliberations to expand its original coverage to cases where the minor may have been coerced or intimidated into sexual intercourse or lascivious conduct, not necessarily for money or profit, viz: The second element, i.e., that the act is performed with a child exploited in prostitution or subjected to other sexual abuse, is likewise present. As succinctly explained in People v. Larin:
	GR No. 200529 2012-09-19	PEOPLE v. JUANITO GARCIA Y GUMAY REYES, J.
When the offended party is under 12 years of age; and (3) That the offended party is another person of either sex.[21]
	GR No. 180914 2010-11-24	PEOPLE v. DOMINGO DOMINGUEZ LEONARDO-DE CASTRO, J.
(3) That the offended party is another person of either sex.[39]
	GR No. 180914 2010-11-24	PEOPLE v. DOMINGO DOMINGUEZ LEONARDO-DE CASTRO, J.
The award by the Court of Appeals of moral damages to AAA in the amount of Thirty Thousand Pesos (P30,000.00), for each count of acts of lasciviousness, is appropriate, in the same way that moral damages are awarded to victims of rape even without need of proof because of the presumption that the victim has suffered moral injury, rests on settled jurisprudence.[52] We also deem that AAA is further entitled to an award of civil indemnity in the amount of Twenty Thousand Pesos (P20,000.00), for each count of acts of lasciviousness.[53] The amount of exemplary damages should also be increased from the Twenty-Five Thousand Pesos (P25,000.00) awarded by the Court of Appeals, to Thirty Thousand Pesos (P30,000.00), for each count of acts of lasciviousness, considering the presence of the aggravating circumstance of relationship in the commission of the crime. Exemplary damages should be awarded "in order to deter fathers with perverse tendencies and aberrant sexual behavior from preying upon their young daughters."[54]
	GR No. 168103 2010-08-03	PEOPLE v. ALEJANDRO RELLOTA Y TADEO PERALTA, J.
Clearly, all the elements of the offense are present. The actions of appellant on January 31, 1994, i.e., laying AAA on the sofa and kissing and touching her private parts are, by definition, lascivious or lewd, and based on AAA's testimony, the intimidation from appellant was in existence and apparent. Section 5 of R.A. No. 7610 does not merely cover a situation of a child being abused for profit, but also one in which a child engages in any lascivious conduct through coercion or intimidation.[49] As case law has it, intimidation need not necessarily be irresistible.[50] It is sufficient that some compulsion equivalent to intimidation annuls or subdues the free exercise of the will of the offended party.[51] This is especially true in the case of young, innocent and immature girls who could not be expected to act with equanimity of disposition and with nerves of steel.[52] Young girls cannot be expected to act like adults under the same circumstances or to have the courage and intelligence to disregard the threat.[53]
	GR No. 181036 2010-07-06	PEOPLE v. ADRIANO LEONARDO Y DANTES PEREZ, J.
The elements of sexual abuse under the above provision are as follows: (1) the accused commits the act of sexual intercourse or lascivious conduct; (2) the said act is performed with a child exploited in prostitution or subjected to other sexual abuse; and (3) the child, whether male or female, is below 18 years of age.[47]
	GR No. 175528 2009-09-30	PO3 BENITO SOMBILON v. PEOPLE LEONARDO-DE CASTRO, J.
In the case of Amployo v. People,[13] the Court expounded on the definition of the term lewd, thus: The term "lewd" is commonly defined as something indecent or obscene; it is characterized by or intended to excite crude sexual desire. That an accused is entertaining a lewd or unchaste design is necessarily a mental process the existence of which can be inferred by overt acts carrying out such intention, i.e., by conduct that can only be interpreted as lewd or lascivious. The presence or absence of lewd designs is inferred from the nature of the acts themselves and the environmental circumstances. What is or what is not lewd conduct, by its very nature, cannot be pigeonholed into a precise definition. As early as U.S. v. Gomez we had already lamented that -
	GR No. 185723 2009-08-04	PEOPLE v. EDWIN MEJIA CHICO-NAZARIO, J.
That the offended party is another person of either sex.[23]
	GR No. 176265 2008-04-30	PEOPLE v. JOSE MAGBANUA Y MORIÑO TINGA, J,
The Court further awards moral damages for the act of lasciviousness committed against AAA in the amount of P20,000.00 pursuant to Article 2219[34] of the Civil Code,[35] and civil indemnity in the amount of P20,000.00.[36]
	GR No. 178061 2008-01-31	PEOPLE v. JOHN MONTINOLA CARPIO, J.
Under Section 32 of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 7610, lascivious conduct includes the intentional touching, either directly or through clothing, of the genitalia and inner thigh, with an intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person. In Navarrete,[46] the Court held that a child is deemed subjected to other sexual abuse when the child indulges in lascivious conduct under the coercion or influence of any adult. In Amployo v. People,[47] the Court held that: [I]ntimidation need not necessarily be irresistible. It is sufficient that some compulsion equivalent to intimidation annuls or subdues the free exercise of the will of the offended party. This is especially true in the case of young, innocent and immature girls who could [sic] not be expected to act with equanimity of disposition and with nerves of steel. Young girls cannot be expected to act like adults under the same circumstances or to have the courage and intelligence to disregard the threat. All three elements are present in the instant case: (1) Montinola caressed AAA's right thigh, slipped his hand under her shorts, and touched her vagina; (2) AAA indulged in lascivious conduct under Montinola's coercion; and (3) AAA was below 18 years old.
	GR NO. 173491 2007-11-23	EDWIN CABILA v. PEOPLE CARPIO MORALES, J.
For an accused to be convicted of child abuse through lascivious conduct on a minor below 12 years of age, "the requisites for acts of lasciviousness under Article 336 of the RPC must be met in addition to the requisites for sexual abuse under Section 5 of Rep. Act No. 7610."[14]
	GR NO. 147913 2007-01-31	CLEMENT JOHN FERDINAND M. NAVARRETE v. PEOPLE
(b) Those who commit the act of sexual intercourse or lascivious conduct with a child exploited in prostitution or subjected to other sexual abuse: Provided, That when the victim is under twelve (12) years of age, the perpetrators shall be prosecuted under Article 335, paragraph 3, for rape and Article 336 of Act No. 3815, as amended, [or] the [RPC], for rape or lascivious conduct as the case may be: Provided, That the penalty for lascivious conduct when the victim is under twelve (12) years of age shall be reclusion temporal in its medium period. Under this provision, when the victim is under 12 years old, the accused shall be prosecuted under either Article 335 (for rape) or Article 336 (for acts of lasciviousness) of the RPC. Accordingly, although an accused is charged in the information with the crime of statutory rape (i.e., carnal knowledge of a woman under twelve years of age[23]), the offender can be convicted of the lesser crime of acts of lasciviousness, which is included in rape.[24]
	GR No. 163866 2005-07-29	ISIDRO OLIVAREZ YNARES-SANTIAGO, J.
The child, whether male or female, is below 18 years of age.[13] Section 32, Article XIII, of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of R.A. 7610 defines lascivious conduct as follows:[T]he intentional touching, either directly or through clothing, of the genitalia, anus, groin, breast, inner thigh, or buttocks, or the introduction of any object into the genitalia, anus or mouth, of any person, whether of the same or opposite sex, with an intent to abuse, humiliate, harass, degrade, or arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person, bestiality, masturbation, lascivious exhibition of the genitals or pubic area of a person.[14] (Emphasis supplied)

ALVIN AMPLOYO Y EBALADA v. PEOPLE