G.R. Nos. 144523-26 - PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. FLORENTINO QUIJANO SR..D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE, judgment is hereby rendered: "a) finding the accused, Florentino Quijano, Sr. guilty of the crime of Rape beyond reasonable doubt in Criminal Case No. 2261; "b) finding the accused, Florentino Quijano, Sr. guilty of the crime of Rape beyond reasonable doubt in Criminal Case No. 2262; "c) finding the accused, Florentino Quijano, Sr. guilty of the crime of Rape beyond reasonable doubt in Criminal Case No. 2263; "d) finding the accused, Florentino Quijano, Sr. guilty of the crime of Rape beyond reasonable doubt in Criminal Case No. 2264; "e) hereby sentencing Florentino Quijano, Sr. the penalty of death in each count; "f) ordering Florentino Quijano, Sr. to indemnify AAA in the sum of P100,000.00 as moral damages, without subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency; and "g) ordering Florentino Quijano, Sr. to indemnify AAA the sum of P50,000.00 as civil indemnity for each count of rape." [2] Four similarly worded Informations [3] charged appellant with rape as follows: "That on or about and sometime in 1994, in the Municipality of Bauang, Province of La Union, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused by means of force and intimidation and actuated by lust, did then and there willfully, unlawfully and feloniously have sexual intercourse with his daughter AAA an 18 year old girl against her will and consent, to the damage and prejudice of the offended party." [4] With the assistance of his counsel, [5] appellant pleaded not guilty during his arraignment on October 13, 1999. In due course, he was tried and convicted of four counts of qualified rape. The Facts Version of the Prosecution The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) summarizes the evidence for the prosecution in this wise: "At the time she testified in 2000, AAA (private complainant, for brevity) was 18 years old. "From 1994 to 1996, private complainant was residing in Acao , Bauang, La Union with her mother Lucia , sister Florita , and eight (8) brothers. During this period, private complainant was abused more or less five times a week in the single bedroom of their house by her father, Florentino Quijano, Sr. "Private complainant told her mother that appellant repeatedly ravished her, but the latter was not able to do anything since she was afraid of him. Even her brothers and her sister Florita knew of the incidents of rape. She noted that there were times when Florita and her brothers were about to enter the room, appellant and private complainant had just left and private complainant was crying. "Private complainant did not inform other people about the repeated sexual abuse by her father for fear of appellant. When the incidents of rape took place, x x x Lucia was at the market, Florita was working, while her brothers were sent out by her father. Appellant would pull private complainant who could not resist because of fear. Every time she was abused by appellant, private complainant just cried. During the times when Florita