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PEOPLE v. LARRY CACHAPERO Y BASILIO

This case has been cited 8 times or more.

	GR No. 181473 2013-11-11	PEOPLE v. DONEY GADUYON Y TAPISPISAN DEL CASTILLO, J.
Appellant seeks to discredit "AAA's" testimony by insisting that he could not have raped the latter in the evening of August 22, 2002 since the whole family was in their house that day. This assertion is undeserving of credence due to our constant pronouncement that a bare assertion cannot prevail over the categorical testimony of a victim.[72] Even if corroborated by appellant's mother, the same does not deserve any weight since courts usually frown upon the corroborative testimony of an immediate member of the family of an accused and treat it with suspicion. The close filial relationship between the witness and the accused casts a thick cloud of doubt upon the former's testimony.
	GR No. 176609 2008-12-18	FERNANDO ESTABAS MAHAWAN v. PEOPLE CHICO-NAZARIO, J.
We agree with petitioner that Paradero is not entitled to exemplary damages, but we differ in his reason for the disallowance thereof. Exemplary damages may be awarded only when one or more aggravating/qualifying circumstances are alleged in the information and proved during the trial.[54] In the instant case, no aggravating/qualifying circumstance was alleged in the information. Hence, the award of exemplary damages by the RTC and the Court of Appeals is unwarranted.
	GR No. 177822 2008-06-17	PEOPLE v. HILARIO OPONG Y TAÑESA CHICO-NAZARIO, J.
Exemplary damages may be awarded only when one or more aggravating circumstances are alleged in the information and proved during the trial.[65] One of the circumstances which aggravate/qualify the crime of rape is when the victim is a minor and the offender is a parent, ascendant, stepparent, guardian, relative by consanguinity or affinity within the third civil degree, or the common-law spouse of the parent of the victim.[66] The minority of the rape victim and her relationship with the offender must be both alleged in the information and proved during the trial in order to be appreciated as an aggravating/qualifying circumstance.[67]
	GR No. 175275 2008-02-19	EMILIO CAMPOS v. PEOPLE YNARES-SATIAGO, J.
It must be emphasized that while denial and alibi are legitimate defenses in rape cases, bare assertions thereof cannot overcome the categorical testimony of the victim.[17] For the defense of alibi to prosper, the accused must not only prove his presence at another place at the time of the commission of the offense, but he must also demonstrate that it would be physically impossible for him to be at the locus criminis at the time of the commission of the crime.[18] In People v. Grefaldia,[19] we held:Alibi is one of the weakest defenses. It is easy to fabricate and difficult to disprove. For the defense of alibi to prosper, the accused must establish with clear and convincing evidence not only that he was somewhere else when the crime was committed but also that it was physically impossible for him to have been at the scene of the crime at the time it was committed. Appellant failed to conclusively show that it was physically impossible for him to be at the scene of the crime at the time of its commission. [20]
	GR NO. 174060 2007-06-25	PEOPLE v. LITO BEJIC Y ANTONI CHICO-NAZARIO, J.
In rape cases, while denial and alibi are legitimate defenses, bare assertions thereof cannot overcome the categorical testimony of the victim.[37] As the appellant failed to substantiate his defenses of denial and alibi, the emphatic and plausible testimonies of AAA and BBB must prevail.
	GR NO. 147913 2007-01-31	CLEMENT JOHN FERDINAND M. NAVARRETE v. PEOPLE
Moreover, courts are inclined to lend credence to the testimony of children of tender years. The revelation of an innocent child whose chastity has been abused deserves full credit, as her willingness to undergo the trouble and the humiliation of a public trial is an eloquent testament to the truth of her complaint.[44] In so testifying, she could have only been impelled to tell the truth.[45]
	GR NO. 172322 2006-09-08	PEOPLE v. RENE SANTOS TINGA, J.
Counsel for the defense attempted, albeit futilely, to impeach the credibility of the victim.[29] We have held time and again that testimonies of rape victims who are young and immature, as in this case, deserve full credence considering that no young woman, especially one of tender age, would concoct a story of defloration, allow an examination of her private parts, and thereafter pervert herself by being subject to a public trial if she was not motivated solely by the desire to obtain justice for the wrong committed against her. It is highly improbable for an innocent girl of tender years like the victim, who is very naive to the things of this world, to fabricate a charge so humiliating not only to herself but also to her family. Stated succinctly, it is beyond the mind-set of a six-year old child, like the offended party herein, to fabricate a malicious accusation against appellant if the crime did not truly transpire.[30] Verily, when a guileless girl of six credibly declares that she has been raped, she has said all that is necessary to prove the ravishment of her honor.[31]
	GR NO. 168168 2005-09-14	PEOPLE v. EDGARDO DIMAANO PER CURIAM
It is likewise well established that the testimony of a rape victim is generally given full weight and credit, more so if she is a minor. The revelation of an innocent child whose chastity has been abused deserves full credit, as her willingness to undergo the trouble and the humiliation of a public trial is an eloquent testament to the truth of her complaint. In so testifying, she could only have been impelled to tell the truth, especially in the absence of proof of ill motive.[20]