G.R. Nos. 139341-45 - PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. ERNESTO FERNANDEZ.

Ruling

WHEREFORE, IN VIEW OF ALL THE FOREGOING consideration[s], the accused Ernesto Fernandez a.k.a. Tang-ked is hereby found GUILTY of the five (5) criminal cases for Rape for which he is charged and he is hereby sentenced in all the five (5) cases to suffer the extreme penalty of DEATH; to pay the complainant Yolanda Fernandez damages in the amount of P50,000.00 in each case or P250,000.00 and to pay the cost of the proceedings. [2] The Information for Criminal Case No. A-3177 [3] dated November 29, 1996, reads as follows: [4] That on or about the 2nd day of October, 1995, in the Municipality of Sto. Tomas, Province of La Union, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, being then the father and person-in-charge of the custody and care of the offended party, with lewd design, did then and there willfully, unlawfully and feloniously have sexual intercourse with the offended party Yolanda Fernandez, a minor then fourteen (14) years old, to her damage and prejudice. [5] The four (4) other Informations (Criminal Case Nos. A-3274, [6] A-3275, [7] A-3276 [8] and A-3277, [9] all dated January 17, 1997) indicted appellant for the same crime against the same victim on four different dates, October 3, 4 and 15 -- all in 1995 -- and in or about the month of April 1996. Appellant was arraigned twice, first on July 29, 1997 [10] for Criminal Case No. A-3177; and the second on September 17, 1997 [11] for Criminal Case Nos. A-3274 to A-3277. In both instances, appellant, with the assistance of his counsel de parte, [12] pleaded not guilty. [13] After pretrial and trial in due course, the lower court rendered its assailed Decision. The Facts Version of the Prosecution In its Brief, [14] the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) summarized the facts in the following manner: Private complainant Yolanda Fernandez is the illegitimate daughter of appellant Ernesto Fernandez and Percilita Garcia. Percilita Garcia, on the other hand, is appellants step-daughter, being the daughter of his common-law wife Espirita Costales with her first husband, who was then living with appellant in Namonitan, Sto. Tomas, La Union, when she was raped and impregnated by appellant. On October 10, 1982, Percilita Garcia, who was then 18 years old, gave birth out of wedlock to appellants child, complainant Yolanda Fernandez, in appellants house in Namonitan, Sto. Tomas, La Union. After giving birth to Yolanda, Percilita went to live in her brother Ernesto Garcias house, also in Namonitan, until she went to Manila in 1984 and stayed there for good, leaving Yolanda to the care and custody of appellant and her mother Esperita. Since birth, Yolanda lived with her father, appellant Ernesto Fernandez, and her grandmother Espirita Costales, appellants common-law wife, in appellants house in Namonitan, Sto. Tomas, La Union. She went to school at Cupang Elementary School in Namonitan, which was a walking distance from their house. She was i