G.R. No. 182457 - PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. ANTONIO ASPREC, BASALLO Y ACCUSED-.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE , the Court finds the accused Antonio Basallo y Asprec, GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of rape and is hereby sentenced to suffer the penalty of Reclusion Perpetua. Further, the accused is ordered to pay [ABC] the amount of Fifty Thousand (P50,000.00) Pesos as civil indemnity and Fifty Thousand (P50,000.00) Pesos as moral damages. [13] Contesting his conviction, appellant elevated his case to the Court of Appeals which denied his appeal and affirmed with modification the trial court judgment in a Decision dated May 11, 2007, the dispositive portion of which states: WHEREFORE , premises considered, the appeal is DENIED for lack of merit. The Decision dated 05 April 2004 and Order dated 05 July 2004 of the Regional Trial Court of Agoo, La Union, Branch 32 in Crim. Case No. A-3043 finding accused-appellant Antonio Basallo y Asprec guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of rape and sentencing him to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua and denying his motion for reconsideration, respectively, are AFFIRMED with the MODIFICATION that in addition to the awards of civil indemnity and moral damages in the amount of Php50,000.00 each, accused-appellant is further ordered to pay private complainant [ABC] the amount of Php25,000.00 as exemplary damages. [14] Thus, appellant filed the present appeal where he puts forward the following assignment of errors: I THE COURT OF APPEALS ERRED IN AFFIRMING THE CONVICTION OF THE ACCUSED-APPELLANT CONSIDERING THAT THE PROSECUTION HAS FAILED TO ESTABLISH, BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT, THE PRESENCE OF THE TWIN ELEMENTS OF CARNAL KNOWLEDGE AND FORCE OR INTIMIDATION. II THE COURT OF APPEALS ERRED IN TAKING JUDICIAL NOTICE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL CONCEPTS NOWHERE PROVEN OR SHOWN BY EVIDENCE IN THE TRIAL COURT PROCEEDINGS , IN ORDER TO CRAFT ITS OWN THEORY TO EXPLAIN THE COMPLAINANTS BEHAVIOR AFTER THE ALLEGED RAPE INCIDENT. III THE COURT OF APPEALS ERRED IN IMPOSING CIVIL INDEMNITY EX DELICTO , MORAL AND EXEMPLARY DAMAGES AS THE EVIDENCE ON RECORD DOES NOT ESTABLISH THE ACCUSED-APPELLANTS GUILT BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT. [15] Appellant contends that the prosecution failed to prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt. He hinges this assertion on the belief that carnal knowledge and force or intimidation, which are the two indispensable elements of the crime of rape under Article 335(1) of the Revised Penal Code that the prosecution alleges to be present in this case, were not established with moral certainty. According to him, the following circumstances found in this case militate against the existence of proof beyond reasonable doubt: (a) the absence of overt and determined resistance by ABC during the alleged rape incident; (b) the absence of attempts to escape by ABC despite various opportunities; and (c) ABCs conduct subsequent to the alleged rape incident which was glaringly contradictory to the natural impulses of a woman whose honor and person had been defiled. [16] Essentially, the focal issue