G.R. No. 132133 - PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. WILLIAM ALPE Y CUATRO.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE, in view of all the foregoing findings that the prosecution was able to prove the guilt of accused William Alpe beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of rape, judgment is hereby rendered whereby said accused is sentenced to suffer the penalty of death and to pay the private complainant moral damages in the amount of FIFTY THOUSAND (P50,000.00) PESOS. With costs against the accused." [1] The accusatory Information [2] against appellant reads as follows: "That sometime in the month of January, 1995, in the Municipality of Gainza, Province of Camarines Sur, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, by means of violence and intimidation, did then and there wilfully, unlawfully and feloniously have carnal knowledge of his daughter Mary Joy Alpe y San Juan, then 14 years of age, against her will." When arraigned on July 8, 1997, appellant, with the assistance of counsel pleaded "not guilty." [3] In due course, appellant was tried and found guilty of qualified rape. The Solicitor General summarized the evidence for the prosecution thusly: [4] "Appellant William Alpe and his wife, Virginia Alpe, and their four (4) children, namely, private complainant Mary Joy, the eldest, who was 14 years old at that time, and her younger siblings, Michael, Lorena and William, Jr., reside at their one-room affair house at Barangay Namuat, Gainza, Camarines Sur. "Sometime in January 1995, around 3:00 o'clock in the morning, the Alpes were asleep at their house, with the spouses on one mat, and their four (4) children on another mat. "Suddenly, private complainant Mary Joy was awakened when she felt that appellant was beside her, removing her clothes, and caressing her breast and private parts. Appellant, who was only wearing a T-shirt and was naked from the waist down, then placed himself on top of her and inserted his penis into her vagina, and did a push and pull movement. She experienced extreme pain and described that it felt like she was dying when he inserted his penis into her sexual organ. She tried to extricate herself from appellant but she failed. Appellant warned her not to tell anybody, not even her mother, otherwise he would kill her and the other members of the family. She managed to call her mother who was just about an arm length away and shouted `mother, my father is beside me.' Mary Joy's shout jolted her mother, Virginia, from her sleep. The latter rose up slowly as her knees trembled upon seeing that her husband was lying on top of their daughter, Mary Joy. She clearly saw them as the room was illuminated by the small lamp that was kept lighted throughout the night. Then she pulled appellant away from Mary Joy. Upon doing that, appellant pushed her towards the floor causing her to land on her back. Then appellant got hold of a piece of wood and struck her with it, twice. Then they [quarreled] and argued with each other. When she asked appellant if he had been sexually abusing their daughter, h