G.R. No. 144429 - THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. NORBERTO ORANI Y DULOG, ACCUSED-.

Ruling

WHEREFORE, in view of the foregoing, the Court finds the accused, NORBERTO ORANI y DULOG, guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of Rape penalized under Sec. 1 of Article 335 as Amended by R.A. 7659 and hereby sentences him to suffer the penalty of RECLUSION PERPETUA. Accused is further ordered to pay the victim, JENELYN NUYAD, the amount of FIFTY THOUSAND PESOS (P50, 000.00) as indemnity ex delicto. [2] In his appeal to this Court, the convicted accused gave the following assignment of errors: I THE TRIAL COURT GRAVELY ERRED IN FINDING THE ACCUSED-APPELLANT GUILTY BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT OF THE CRIME OF RAPE DESPITE THE INSUFFICIENCY OF THE PROSECUTION EVIDENCE. II THE TRIAL COURT LIKEWISE ERRED IN DISREGARDING THE DEFENSE INTERPOSED BY THE ACCUSED-APPELLANT. [3] In most rape cases, like here, the Court is confronted with the issue of credibility, a task that is not always easy to discharge because it is left, almost invariably, with only the testimony of the accused and the complainant to rely on, virtually admitting of no other direct evidence. Thus, the Court is often constrained to take the word of the trial court, and it is only when matters of significance and substance have apparently been overlooked [4] that the findings of the trial court are re-examined and even at times discarded. The case at bar poses no problem in the application of this long established general rule of giving respect to the trial court in its evaluation. Despite her young age, Jenelyn was clearly straightforward in narrating her ordeal before the court below. She testified: Q Madam witness on November 27, 1996 at noon where were you? A I was inside our house, sir. Q Again, where is your house located? A Lapu-lapu, Ineangan, Dupax del Norte, sir. Q On November 27, 1996 at noon time did you see or ever met this Norberto Orani? A Yes, sir. Q Where have you seen this Norberto Orani? A Inside the house, sir. Q Whose house was that? A At our house, sir. Q In what particular part of your house did you see Norberto Orani? A In the room, sir. Q And you were also in the room at that time? A Yes, sir. Q Were you the only two persons inside the room? A Yes, sir. Q While the two of you were in the room that day of November 27, 1996, what happened next? A He [laid] me down, sir. Q And what did you do when he [laid] you down? A I shouted, sir. Q What did Orani do when you shouted? x x x x x x x x x A He covered [my mouth] with his hand, sir. Q After covering your mouth with his hand, what else did he do to you? A He undressed me, sir. Q You said he undressed you, what did he remove from you? A My shorts, sir. Q And after removing your shorts, were you still wearing anything? A No more, sir. Q You have no more panty? A No more, sir. Q After Orani removed your shorts, what did Orani do also? A He undressed himself also, sir. Q When you said undress, what did he remove from himself? A His shorts, sir. Q After removing his shorts was he s