G.R. No. 176152 - PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. NIDO GARTE.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE, premises considered[,] judgment is rendered finding accused Nido Garte guilty [of] four (4) counts of the crime of Rape[,] defined and penalized under Art. 226-A in relation to subsec. 1, Art. 226-B, RPC or R.A. 8353. Accordingly, he is hereby sentenced to suffer death for each count of rape as charged in the four (4) informations docketed as Q-01-1061123, Q-01-106124, Q-01-106125 and Q-01-106126. He is further ordered to pay complainant for each count of rape the sum of P75,000.00 as civil indemnity (P. vs. Dinambing, 379 SCRA 107) or a total of P300,000 and the sum of P50,000.00, as moral damages for each count of rape , or a total of P200,000.00. With costs de oficio . [20] (Underscoring supplied) In convicting appellant, the trial court observed: In a clear, direct, positive, straightforward manner and continuous crying on the witness stand, complainant declared that she was ravished or raped four times by no less than her father. It has been said that a witness who testifies in a categorical, straightforward, spontaneous and frank manner and remains consistent on her accusation is a credible witness. Consequently, accused's denial of the crimes gains no significance at all. Similarly, the fact that the evidence for both the prosecution and the defense was bereft of any motive for the complainant to testify the way she did renders her a very credible witness. When there is no evidence to show that a witness was actuated by improper motive , her identification of the accused as the perpetrator of the crime should be given full faith and credit. Besides motive plays insignificant importance by the fact that accused was positively identified as the author of the crimes. It is worth stating also that complainant in relating her unforgettable experience in the hands of the accused cried continuously on the witness stand . To the mind of the Court this act of complainant, who was under solemn oath while on the witness stand is another strong badge of her credibility. The Supreme Court...ruled that the crying of the offended party on the witness stand narrating her horrible ordeals earmarks her credibility with the verity born out of human nature and experience. One thing more, it is doctrinal that no woman especially a young girl like the complainant, who has not been exposed to the intricacies of the world and in her right mind would cry rape by her father, allow the examination of her private parts, or subject herself and her family to the embarrassments and humiliation concomitant to the prosecution of the case unless her charges were true and her motive is her fervent desire to seek justice. Besides, the accusations of the complainant w[ere] corroborated by the medical finding that she is no longer in a virgin state. While medical finding on non-virginity of an offended party is not controlling on the truth of the accusation, the same has been repeatedly accepted by the Supreme Court as corroborating evidence on the crime of rape. Si