G.R. No. 123727 - PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. ANTONIO GASTADOR Y WAGAS, ACCUSED-. D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE, premises considered, the accused, ANTONIO GASTADOR Y WAGAS, is hereby found guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of rape with which he is charged in the herein Complaint and is accordingly sentenced to the penalty of reclusion perpetua, together with all the accessory penalties imposed by law. "As no evidence was presented to prove actual and/or moral damages, no award therefor can be made by this Court." [7] Hence, this appeal direct to this Court. [8] The Facts Version of the Prosecution In its Brief, [9] the Office of the Solicitor General [10] summarized the facts, as viewed by the prosecution, in this manner: "Complainant Crisanta Balonzo-Derosas, her common-law husband Marlito Derosas (a.k.a. Marlon) and their 1 1/2 months old daughter Marissa reside at 245 Esteve Extension, Commonwealth, Quezon City. "On May 1, 1994, at 1:00 o'clock in the afternoon, appellant, who is an uncle of Marlito, arrived at the said residence and inquired from Crisanta about Marlito. Crisanta informed him that Marlito had gone out for work in Bicutan early that day. "After getting a negative reply, appellant entered the house, placed the 'halaan' he was carrying on the kitchen table and went outside. After a short while, appellant returned bringing with him a bottle of Tanduay E.S.Q., which he drank until 6:00 o'clock in the evening. "Crisanta, on the other hand, went outside the house together with her baby and returned at about 6:00 o'clock in the evening. As she was about to lay her baby on the bed, appellant suddenly approached her, pointed a knife at her neck and told her, 'Babae ka lang at wala dito and asawa mo, kayang-kaya kita.' She resisted appellant's advances by fighting him back. However, appellant punched her at the stomach causing her to lose consciousness while her baby slipped from her arms and fell into the bed. "When Crisanta regained consciousness, she found herself and appellant naked, with appellant on top of her doing the push and pull movement while pointing a knife at her neck. While appellant was raping her, Crisanta felt blood oozing from her vagina. She bled profusely and continued to bleed for three (3) more days after the incident. "During the ordeal, Crisanta kept silent since she feared for her and her baby's life. "After satisfying his lust, appellant warned Crisanta not to tell the incident to Marlito, otherwise, he [would] kill her and her family. Crisanta was left crying in anger and desperation. "At around 7:00 o'clock in the evening, Marlito arrived from work and saw appellant in their house. He was not surprised to see appellant since appellant [was] a relative who had visited them in the past. "Crisanta did not reveal her ordeal to Marlito since she was afraid that appellant might kill them. Marlito, however, noticed Crisanta's swollen eyes and when he asked her about it, she just cried. Crisanta then stood up to cook. Marlito noticed the bloodstains on Crisanta's short pants and on their bedsheet and when