This case has been cited 3 times or more.
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2003-07-17 |
CORONA, J. |
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| Granted that the prosecution failed to prove that appellant employed force and intimidation upon his daughter, appellant's conviction by the trial court for the crime of rape is nevertheless affirmable. We have to bear in mind that, in incest rape, the minor victim is at a great disadvantage because the assailant, by his overpowering and overbearing moral influence, can easily consummate his bestial lust with impunity. As a consequence, proof of force and violence is unnecessary unlike where the accused is not an ascendant or blood relative of the victim. Thus, the failure of the victim to explicitly verbalize, as in this case, the use of force, threat, or intimidation by the accused should not adversely affect the case of the prosecution as long as there is adequate proof that sexual intercourse did take place. Here lies the wisdom of the principle first articulated in People vs. Erardo[17] and affirmed in People vs. Miranda[18] where this Court emphatically held that:Indeed, in cases of incestuous rape, the accused-appellant's moral ascendancy over the victim takes the place of the force and intimidation in rape. The force and intimidation is subjective and should be viewed in the context of the victim's perception and judgment at that time of the commission of the offense. Teresita testified that she submitted herself to the father because she was afraid that he might hurt her. She noticed that her father was drunk, knowing that he had a drinking spree in their house at that time. No words of threat were necessary because her father's presence and moral ascendancy was intimidating enough for Teresita not to resist his advances. The fact that Teresita failed to put up a strong resistance or shout for help cannot be considered consent. xxx In Philippine society, the father is considered the head of the family, and the children are taught not to defy the father's authority even when this is abused. They are taught to respect the sanctity of marriage and to value the family above everything else. Hence, when the abuse begins, the victim sees no reason or need to question the righteousness of the father whom she has trusted right from the start. The value of respect and obedience to parents instilled among Filipino children is transferred into the very same value that exposes them to risks of exploitation by their own parents. The sexual relationship could begin so subtly that the child does not realize that it is abnormal. Physical force then becomes unnecessary. The perpetrator takes full advantage of this blood relationship. Most daughters cooperate and this is one reason why they suffer tremendous guilt later on. It is almost impossible for a daughter to reject her father's advances, for children seldom question what grown-ups tell them to do. The above pronouncement was also lucidly explained in the leading case of People vs. Pagdayawon[19]: | |||||
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2003-07-17 |
CORONA, J. |
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| Q: And what did you feel when as you said your father inserted again his penis inside your vagina? A: Pain, sir.[11] While it may be true that complainant failed to categorically declare in her testimony that appellant employed force, threat or intimidation upon her, the records, however, provide sufficient proof that force and intimidation indeed attended both acts of rape. During the trial, the prosecution produced in evidence the sworn statement[12] executed and signed by the private complainant, Ailyn C. Servano, on June 17, 1998 before SPO2 Claudio B. Esmeralda, Jr. of the Lagonoy PNP Station in Camarines Sur. The sworn statement read in part: 4. Q. When and where that incidents you are referring to happened? | |||||
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2003-04-30 |
YNARES-SANTIAGO, J. |
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| Appellant's argument that the information in Criminal Case No. 99-330 is defective for its failure to state the approximate time of the commission of the crime is untenable. An information is valid as long as it distinctly states the elements of the offense and the acts or omissions constitutive thereof. The exact date of the commission of a crime is not an essential element of rape. Thus, in a prosecution for rape, the material fact or circumstance to be considered is the occurrence of the rape, not the time of its commission. The failure to specify the exact date or time when it was committed does not ipso facto make the information defective on its face.[6] In People v. Miranda,[7] we upheld the validity of the information which merely stated that the rape was allegedly committed "sometime in February 1988". | |||||