G.R. No. 123099 - PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. CRISANTO OLIVER, ACCUSED-. D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE, this Court finds CRISANTO OLIVER guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of RAPE, and hereby sentences said accused to suffer the penalty of RECLUSION PERPETUA with all the accessory penalties provided by law and to pay the victim the sum of THIRTY THOUSAND PESOS (P30,000.00) by way of moral damages." [8] Hence, this appeal filed directly with this Court. [9] The Facts Version of the Prosecution The Office of the Solicitor General [10] submits the following version of the facts: "At about 8:00 o'clock in the evening of January 8, 1995, Erlinda Olivario answered the call of nature at the back of their house in Tandarura, Ligao, Albay. "After relieving herself, Erlinda headed for the kitchen to wash. Her jogging pants and panty were still rolled down to her knees. "On her way to the kitchen, Erlinda recognized appellant who suddenly came from behind, embraced and dragged her to a grassy portion, some ten (10) meters away from the house. "At the grassy portion, Erlinda was pushed down by appellant who immediately pulled off her jogging pants and panty. Appellant used the jogging pants to wrap the victim's head, thereby covering her face. "Appellant forcibly made Erlinda lie down, after which, he mounted her and had sexual intercourse with her. "Afterwards, appellant taunted Erlinda to choose between life and death. The latter opted for life because she ha[d] a family to consider. Thereafter, appellant fled. "With appellant gone, Erlinda ran to the house of her mother-in-law. She was still half-naked with only her checker[e]d blouse on. She told her mother-in-law that she was raped by appellant. "Erlinda's mother-in-law sent for [her] son who was then on tanod duty in the pavilion where there was a dance. Thus, together with the other tanods, the victim's husband arrived, and from there, proceeded to the place of the incident to investigate. "The next day, the Barangay Captain called for appellant. During the confrontation, the latter denied the accusation. The case was then referred to the police authorities for further investigation. "On January 10, 1995, Erlinda was examined at the Pio Duran Memorial District Hospital by Dr. Cornelio Villanueva. The physical examination yielded the following results: `On physical examination, patient was noted to have abrasion, 1 cm., nasal ridge, R; abrasion, 1 [c]m., zygomatic area, L; and abrasion, 2 cm., anterior aspect L, auricular area. On IE, vagina introitus admits two fingers. No lacerations noted. Vaginal smear done.'" [11] Version of the Defense In his Brief, [12] appellant sets up the defense of alibi and alleges the following: "The accused-appellant xxx knows Erlinda Olivario, being also from Barangay Tandarura, Ligao, Albay, his house being approximately around 300 meters away from the house of Erlinda. That xxx [at] 8:00 o'clock to 9:00 o'clock in the evening of January 8, 1995, he was at home, entertaining guests as it was the eve of Barangay Fiesta, and at around 9:30 in the evening