G.R. No. 208716 - PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. ELADIO B. LUMAHO ALIAS “ATTUMPANG,” ACCUSED-.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE, premises considered, the court finds accused guilty of rape under Article 266-A and 266-B beyond reasonable doubt and hereby sentences the accused of reclusion perpetua without the benefit of parole. The accused is further ordered to pay the private complainant AAA the amount of Seventy Five Thousand (P75,000.00) Pesos as indemnity; Fifty Thousand (P50,000.00) Pesos as Moral Damages and Twenty Five Thousand (P25,000.00) Pesos as Exemplary Damages. [17] In its ruling, the trial court found more credible the positive and straightforward testimony of AAA than the testimony of the defenses witness Bennog. It concluded that the alibi presented cannot stand against the categorical statement of AAA, that, it was her own father who sexually abused her when she went to visit him in his house. The Ruling of the Court of Appeals On 30 May 2013, the appellate court modified the ruling of the trial court as to the imposition of amount of moral and exemplary damages. The dispositive portion reads: FOR THE STATED REASONS , the September 5, 2011 Decision of the Regional Trial Court is AFFIRMED with MODIFICATION that accused-appellant ELADIO B. LUMAHO alias ATTUMPANG is sentenced to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua without the benefit of parole and is ordered to pay the offended party civil indemnity of Php75,000.00, moral damages of Php75,000.00 and exemplary damages of Php30,000.00. [18] The appellate court sustained the finding of credibility of AAA in her full recollection of the rape. AAA recounted the events vividly and narrated in open court how the accused Lumaho committed the bestial act of rape against her. Further, it dismissed the argument that the victims responses in open court were elicited from leading questions, thus, must be disregarded. The appellate court emphasized that the victim was only 7 years of age when the crime of rape was committed and was only 10-years-old when she testified in open court, thus, a leeway must be accorded in her narration. Nevertheless, the answers propounded failed to diminish her credibility especially as against the alibi presented by the defense. As to the penalty, the appellate court affirmed the imposition of the trial court of reclusion perpetua without the benefit of parole pursuant to Republic Act No. 9346. Finally, the award of moral and exemplary damages was increased to P75,000.00 and P30,000.00, respectively, in view of the prevailing jurisprudence. Our Ruling After a careful review, we affirm with modification the rulings of the trial court and Court of Appeals. Before this Court, the accused asserts alibi as its main argument. The accused likewise avers error on the part of the appellate court when it found the testimonies of AAA and BBB as credible and trustworthy to render the verdict of conviction against him. We find no merit in the appeal. Article 266-A, paragraph 1 of the Revised Penal Code describes how rape is committed: Rape, When and How Committed. Rape is committed