G.R. Nos. 139445-46 - PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. RODRIGO GONZALES Y OPENA, ACCUSED-.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE, premises considered, judgment is hereby rendered as follows: 1. In Criminal Case No. 18899-MN, the Court finds accused Rodrigo Gonzales y Opena guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of RAPE penalized under Art. 335 of the Revised Penal Code as amended by R.A. 7659 and hereby sentences him to suffer the penalty of DEATH; to pay Remelie Tria the amount of P75,000.00 as civil indemnity, P50,000.00 as moral damages and P35,000.00 as exemplary damages plus the cost of the suit; 2. In Criminal Case No. 18900-MN, the Court finds accused Rodrigo Gonzalez y Opena guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of RAPE (Republic Act No. 8353) and hereby sentences him to suffer the penalty of DEATH; to pay Remelie Tria the amount of P75,000.00 as civil indemnity, P50,000.00 as moral damages and P35,000.00 as exemplary damages plus the cost of the suit. Further, accused Rodrigo Gonzales y Opena is hereby ordered to acknowledge the filiation of [the] victim's offspring and to give support, the amount of which shall be determined after due notice and hearing. [13] Hence, this appeal. Accused-appellant contends tha THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN IMPOSING THE DEATH PENALTY SINCE THE CORRECT RELATIONSHIP OF THE ACCUSED WITH THE COMPLAINANT WAS NOT PROPERLY ALLEGED IN THE INFORMATIONS. [14] In his reply-brief, accused-appellant alleged another ground for the modification of the penalty imposed on him, to wit: that the prosecution has allegedly failed to sufficiently prove that complainant was less than 18 years of age at the time of the commission of the alleged rapes. [15] Considering that these cases are before the Court on automatic review, we will first consider whether the evidence is sufficient to support the trial court's finding that accused-appellant is guilty of the two counts of rape. Only if we find the evidence to be sufficient will we consider accused-appellant's contention relative to the imposition on him of the death penalty for each count of rape. In reviewing convictions for rape, this Court has been guided by the following principles: (1) that an accusation for rape is easy to make, difficult to prove, and even more difficult to disprove; (2) that in view of the intrinsic nature of the crime, where only two persons are usually involved, the testimony of the complainant must be scrutinized with utmost caution; and (3) that the evidence for the prosecution must stand on its own merits and cannot draw strength from the weakness of the evidence of the defense. [16] The Court has carefully gone over the records of these cases and finds nothing to justify a reversal of the trial court's findings. The prosecution was able to prove all the elements of rape committed through force or intimidation. In a clear, straightforward, and unaffected manner, complainant Remelie narrated in the trial court how her surrogate father twice succeeded in raping her through force and intimidation, let alone because of his moral ascendancy over her. Her testimon