G.R. No. 179712 - PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. EFREN MAGLENTE Y CERVANTES ACCUSED-.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE , premises considered, judgment is hereby rendered finding accused EFREN MAGLENTE Y CERVANTES GUILTY BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT of the crime of RAPE as defined and penalized under Art. 266-A par. 1 in relation to Art. 266-B 6 th par. No.1 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended in further relation to R.A. 8367 and sentencing him to suffer the penalty of DEATH and to indemnify the private complainant AAA in the amount of P50,000.00 as indemnity ex-delicto in addition to the amount of P50,000.00 as moral damages and to pay the costs. Let the records of this case be forwarded to the Court of Appeals for automatic review. Accused Efren Maglente y Cervantes is hereby ordered to be committed to the Bureau of Corrections, Muntinlupa City for service of sentence. [15] The appellant filed an appeal before the Court of Appeals docketed as CA-G.R. CR-HC No. 02181. [16] The Court of Appeals affirmed the findings of the trial court that the appellant was guilty beyond reasonable doubt. It pronounced that the private complainant's testimony and her demeanor during her testimony demonstrated the truth of her statements. Private complainant's delay in reporting the alleged abuse was attributed by the appellate court to the sense of helplessness and fear engendered by the perpetrator's close relationship to the victim. Furthermore, it ruled that the DNA test of the private complainant's child is not indispensable to the prosecution for rape, especially since the private complainant no longer knew the whereabouts of her child. However, in view of the effectivity of Republic Act No. 9346 entitled "An Act Prohibiting the Imposition of Death Penalty in the Philippines," [17] it amended the penalty imposed by the RTC to reclusion perpetua . It also modified the damages awarded by the trial court by increasing the award for civil indemnity to P75,000.00, and moral damages to P75,000.00; and adding an award of exemplary damages in the amount of P25,000.00 due to the qualifying circumstance of minority and relationship. [18] In the Decision dated 27 June 2007, the fallo reads: WHEREFORE , the decision of the trial court in Crim. Case No. 6295 is hereby AFFIRMED with MODIFICATION . Efren Maglente y Cervantes is sentenced to reclusion perpetua with no possibility of parole. Appellant is further ORDERED to indemnify AAA in the amount of P75,000 as civil indemnity, P75,000 as moral damages and P25,000 as exemplary damages. [19] Hence, the present petition where the appellant reiterates the sole assignment of error, to wit: THE COURT A QUO GRAVELY ERRED IN FINDING THE ACCUSED-APPELLANT GUILTY BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT FOR THE CRIME OF RAPE. After carefully examining the records of this case, this Court finds that this appeal must be denied. In the crime of rape, the credibility of the private complainant's testimony is determinative of the outcome of rape cases for the reason that when an alleged victim of rape says that she was violated, she says in effect all that is nec