G.R. No. 185389 - PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. BENJIE RESURRECCION, ACCUSED-. D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE, the Court finds the accused GUILTY of the crime of simple rape only beyond reasonable doubt and accordingly sentences him to the penalty of RECLUSION PERPETUA with all its accessories penalties and to pay the offended party the sum of P50,000.00 as damages and the costs of this suit. [11] Unfazed, Benjie appealed the RTC decision to the Court of Appeals. In a Decision dated 24 March 2008, the Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction of Benjie and the penalty imposed. It, however, modified the award of damages by ordering him to pay P50,000.00 as civil indemnity and P50,000.00 as moral damages. The dispositive part of the Decision of the Court of Appeals states: WHEREFORE, the appealed Decision of the Regional Trial Court, Branch 8 in Malaybalay City finding appellant Benjie Resurreccion guilty beyond reasonable doubt of Rape, is AFFIRMED WITH MODIFICATION, in that appellant is further ORDERED to pay AAA the amount of P50,000.00 as civil indemnity, in addition to the amount of P50,000.00 as moral damages. [12] Hence, the instant recourse. Benjie contends that the RTC erred in convicting him of rape, considering that the prosecution failed to present evidence to warrant a finding of conviction. Benjie strongly objects to the RTC's giving credence to the victim's testimony as to how the rape was committed, which, according to him, was improbable. Benjie insists that it is too difficult to imagine how he could have effectively had sexual intercourse with AAA considering that, as the latter testified, his left hand was covering her mouth and his right hand was pinning her down; thereby, he was left with no hand to neutralize the legs of the victim, which were violently kicking at him. Benjie insists that there is a great possibility that he did not commit the charge against him, since the medical findings reveal no traces of sperm cells in AAA's vagina. Likewise, Benjie stresses that AAA's parents had ill motive in accusing him, since the imputation came right after he was being suspected of stealing their money. To ascertain the guilt or innocence of the accused in cases of rape, the courts have been traditionally guided by three settled principles, namely: (a) an accusation for rape is easy to make, difficult to prove and even more difficult to disprove; (b) in view of the intrinsic nature of the crime, the testimony of the complainant must be scrutinized with utmost caution; and (c) the evidence of the prosecution must stand on its own merits and cannot draw strength from the weakness of the evidence for the defense. [13] Since the crime of rape is essentially one committed in relative isolation or even secrecy, it is usually only the victim who can testify with regard to the fact of the forced coitus. [14] In its prosecution, therefore, the credibility of the victim is almost always the single and most important issue to deal with. [15] If her testimony meets the test of credibility, the accused can justifiably be convicted on the basis