G.R. No. 137842 - PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. DANILO

Ruling

WHEREFORE, in view of the foregoing, the Court hereby finds accused DANILO CATUBIG Y HORIO GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of Rape defined and penalized under Article 335 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended by Republic Act No. 7659, and hereby sentences him to suffer the penalty of DEATH, and to pay private complainant Dannilyn Catubig the amount of Fifty Thousand Pesos (P50,000.00) as moral damages." [3] With the imposition of the death penalty by the trial court, the records were elevated to this Court for automatic review. In his brief, appellant submitted thusly: "1. The lower court erred in finding the accused guilty of the crime of rape in violation of Article 335 of the Revised Penal Code as amended by Republic Act 7659. "2. The lower court erred in not taking into consideration the fact that the information was defective for failure to state that the accused is the father of the victim and that the victim was under 18 years [of] age at the time of the commission of the alleged rape." [4] Private complainant Dannilyn Catubig narrated how she was repeatedly abused by her own father; she testified: "Q Now, after your sisters and brother [went] to the house of your aunt, what did your father do? "A He instructed me to go inside the room. "Q How many rooms were there in your house? "A Only one. "Q Did you go to the room per instruction? "A Yes, sir. "Q And what happened inside the room? "A My father entered the room. "Q And when your father entered the room, what did he do next? "A He removed my short [pants] and my panty. "Q What was your position at that time when your father removed your short pants and panty? "A I was lying. "Q When you entered the room, did you lie immediately? "A No, I just sat. "Q How come as you claimed a while ago, you were lying when your father removed your short pants and panty? "A Once I entered the room, I was sitting then he removed my short [pants] and panty. "Q You said upon entering the room, you sat and while sitting, all of a sudden your father removed your short pants and panty while already lying at that time, how come you were lying when according to you, you were sitting inside the room? "A I was sitting first and he instructed me to lie down. "Q While you were sitting inside the room and you were instructed by your father to lie, what comes to your mind? "A That he will rape me. "Q How did you come to know that? "A He was raping me before, doing that before. "Q In other words, that was not the first time your father raped you on that particular date? "A No, sir. "Q When was the first time, if you remember? "A When I was still in grade 1. "Q How many times were you raped by your father? "A I can no longer remember how many it was - several. "Q When was the last time your father raped you? "A November 27. "Q Now, when your father removed your short pants and panty, what did he do next? "A He removed his brief and shirt. "Q After removing his brief and shirt, what did he do? "A He [laid] on