G.R. No. 117472 - PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. LEO ECHEGARAY Y PILO, ACCUSED-.

Ruling

WHEREFORE, judgment is hereby rendered finding accused LEO ECHEGARAY Y PILO guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of RAPE as charged in the complaint, aggravated by the fact that the same was committed by the accused who is the father/stepfather of the complainant, he is hereby sentenced to suffer the penalty of DEATH, as provided for under RA. No. 7659; to pay the complainant Rodessa Echegaray the sum of P50,000.00 as damages, plus all the accessory penalties provided by law, without subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency, and to pay the costs." [1] We note, however, that the charge had been formulated in this manner: " C O M P L A I N T The undersigned accuses LEO ECHEGARAY Y PILO of the crime of RAPE, committed as follows: That on or about the month of April 1994, in Quezon City, Philippines, the above-named accused, by means of force and intimidation, did then and there, wilfully, unlawfully and feloniously have carnal knowledge of the undersigned complainant his daughter, a minor, 10 years of age, all against her will and without her consent, to her damage and prejudice. CONTRARY TO LAW." [2] Upon being arraigned on August 1, 1994, the accused-appellant, assisted by his counsel de oficio, entered the plea of "not guilty." These are the pertinent facts of the case as summarized by the Solicitor-General in his brief: "This is a case of rape by the father of his ten-year old daughter. Complainant RODESSA ECHEGARAY is a ten-year old girl and a fifth-grader, born on September 11, 1983. Rodessa is the eldest of five siblings. She has three brothers aged 6, 5 and 2, respectively, and a 3-month old baby sister. Her parents are Rosalie and Leo Echegaray, the latter being the accused-appellant himself. The victim lives with her family in a small house located at No. 199 Fernandez St., Barangay San Antonio, San Francisco Del Monte, Quezon City (pp. 5-9, Aug. 9, 1994, TSN). Sometime in the afternoon of April 1994, while Rodessa was looking after her three brothers in their house as her mother attended a gambling session in another place, she heard her father, the accused-appellant in this case, order her brothers to go out of the house (pp. 10-11, ibid.). As soon as her brothers left, accused-appellant Leo Echegaray approached Rodessa and suddenly dragged her inside the room (p. 12, ibid). Before she could question the appellant, the latter immediately removed her panty and made her lie on the floor (p. 13, ibid.). Thereafter, appellant likewise removed his underwear and immediately placed himself on top of Rodessa. Subsequently, appellant forcefully inserted his penis into Rodessa's organ causing her to suffer intense pain (pp. 14-15, ibid.). While appellant was pumping on her, he even uttered: 'Masarap ba, masarap ba?' and to which Rodessa answered: 'Tama na Papa, masakit' (p. 16, ibid.). Rodessa's plea proved futile as appellant continued with his act. After satisfying his bestial instinct, appellant threatened to kill her mother if she