G.R. No. 129052 - PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. EUSEBIO TRAYA Y QUEMADA, ACCUSED-.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE, finding the accused guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of rape, he is hereby sentenced to suffer the maximum penalty of DEATH, including its accessory penalties, and to indemnify the offended party in the amount of P50,000.00." [1] The victim is accused-appellant's 16-year old daughter, Eulyn Traya. At the time of the offense, she and her 12-year old sister Liezl were living with the accused, a fruit vendor, in a one-room hut in Sirib, Calinan, Davao City. Their mother, the common-law wife of the accused, died in 1973. In August 1995, while Eulyn was sleeping beside Liezl and the accused, the latter crawled towards her, removed her dress, panty and bra and forced himself upon her. She resisted but he pinned her hands down. She tried to kick him but to no avail. She could only cry. After the sexual act was consummated, her father warned her not to tell anyone. Liezl saw her father ravishing Eulyn. She, however, did not help Eulyn for she feared her father. The sexual abuse against Eulyn was repeated several times. The accused would carry out his beastly act twice or thrice a week between 9:00 o'clock and 10:00 o'clock in the evening. Since then, he became suspicious whenever Eulyn would leave the house. He kept on warning her not to tell anyone about his dastardly act. In September 1996, Eulyn discovered she was pregnant. Her condition was noticed by her half-sister, Marites Guimlan. When Marites asked who the father of the baby was, Eulyn only cried. Marites informed the accused that Eulyn was pregnant but the latter shrugged the matter off. At that rime, Marites suspected that the accused was sexually abusing Eulyn, but she had no proof. On November 30, 1996, the accused had sexual intercourse with Eulyn again. Since her womb had already grown big, she had to lie on her side while the accused was abusing her. At 10:00 o'clock the next morning, Eulyn, assisted by a "hilot", [2] gave birth to a deformed child. [3] The baby died three days later. After the death of the baby, Liezl told Marites that the father of Eulyn's baby was their father. Marites went to the City Social Services Development Office (CSSDO) in Calinan and reported Eulyn's predicament. On December 5, 1996, CSSDO Officer Gilda Salvana accompanied her to the Calinan Police Precinct. There, they recounted what the accused had done to Eulyn. At 11:45 a.m., P03 Henry Galledo, the Desk Officer, dispatched P03 Achilles Bargio and Martino Adtoon to verify the report. At around 4:00 p.m., they returned with the accused who denied that he raped Eulyn. At around 4:30 p.m., Eulyn arrived at the police station and filed a complaint for rape against her father. [4] On December 9, 1996, the following information was filed against the accused by Prosecutor David W. Natividad, to wit: "The undersigned accuses the above-named accused of the crime of RAPE, under Art. 335 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended by Presidential Decree 7659, upon the instance of complainant Eulyn Tray