G.R. No. 184704 - PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. LEODEGARIO BASCUGIN[1] Y AGQUIZ, ACCUSED-.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE, premises considered, the Court finds accused Leodagario Bascugin y [Agquiz] GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of rape with homicide, defined and penalized under Art. 266-A and 266-B of the Revised Penal Code, as amended by Republic Act No. 8353, in relation to Republic Act No. 7659 and without considering any mitigating and/or aggravating circumstances, hereby imposes upon him the supreme penalty of DEATH. He is further ordered to indemnify the heirs of [AAA] the sum of P100,000.00, to pay the same heirs the amount of P50,000.00 by way of moral damages and to pay the costs. In view of the imposition of the death penalty, the case was forwarded to the CA for review. The Ruling of the CA On appeal, Bascugin argued that there was no evidence of force, threat, or intimidation during sexual intercourse; thus, there was no rape. The human blood from his clothes which matched the blood type of AAA does not prove that he killed the latter. Also, he asserted that his confession when he pleaded guilty should have been expunged from the records since he withdrew said plea and substituted it with a plea of "not guilty." The CA upheld Bascugin's conviction. The appellate court concurred with the trial court's finding that there was sufficient circumstantial evidence pointing to him as the culprit. Moreover, he admitted in open court that he raped and killed AAA. This judicial admission constitutes evidence of high order, not only because it is presumed that a deliberate confession to a crime is prompted by truth, but also because such admission was supported by medical findings of sexual intercourse between the accused and the victim, and resistance by the victim. [16] The appellate court, however, modified the ruling by ordering imprisonment and adding temperate damages and increasing the amount of moral damages, as follows: It having been established beyond any shadow of a doubt that appellant raped [AAA] and killed her on the occasion thereof, the mandatory penalty of death is inescapable. However, with the effectivity of Republic Act No. 9346 which prohibits the imposition of the death penalty, the penalty of reclusion perpetua , without eligibility for parole, should instead be imposed on accused-appellant. The trial court correctly awarded P100,000.00 as civil indemnity to the heirs of [AAA] commensurate with the seriousness of the said complex crime. Likewise, the heirs of [AAA] are entitled to temperate damages in the amount of P25,000.00, despite the paucity of evidence as to actual damages, inasmuch as it is reasonable to expect that they incurred expenses for the coffin, burial and food during the wake. Moreover, in line with prevailing jurisprudence, the award of moral damages in the amount of P50,000.00 should be increased to P75,000.00. WHEREFORE , the Decision appealed from is AFFIRMED with MODIFICATION by imposing on accused-appellant Leodegario Bascuguin y Agquiz the penalty of reclusion perpetua, without eligibility for