G.R. Nos. 148673-75 - PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. FLORENCIO ABANILLA Y RIVERA.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE , the accused, FLORENCIO ABANILLA y RIVERA, is found guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the three (3) counts of aggravated rape under Articles 266-A and 266-B of the Revised Penal Code, and he is hereby sentenced to suffer the supreme penalty of death for each of the charges in these cases, with costs. He is further ordered to indemnify Lorena Abanilla with the sum of P50,000 for each of the three offenses or a total of P150,000 as moral damages. In convicting appellant, the trial court found the following facts to have been duly established: [4] The accused, forty four (44) years old, has been a widower for four (4)years. He was a carpenter and came home in the evening often drunk. In June of 1999, as well as in the second and last weeks of October 1999, the accused came home in Pulot Itaas, Batangas City drunk. At around 10:00 o'clock in the evening he laid beside her daughter, Lorena, who was sleeping. Lorena was then 17 years old for [she was] born on October 3, 1982. He touched her private parts, removed her shorts and pant[y], undressed himself and laid on top of her. He inserted his penis into her vagina causing her pain. He then made the up and down movement and ejected something hot from his penis. He told Lorena not to make any noise since her siblings were sleeping in the same room. He warned her not to tell anyone about the incident because, if she did, he would kill her. Out of fear Lorena did not report to anyone but on April 1, 2000, Modesta Ebora, Lorena's godmother who noticed Lorena's enlarged breasts, hips and abdomen, tried to talk to the latter who related that the accused was the one responsible for her condition. On April 3, 2000, while the accused was having a hair cut, Lorena reported to SPO4 Natividad who arrested the accused. Lorena was examined by a physician and an Ultra Sound examination was done on her which confirmed her pregnancy. On July 14, 2000, Lorena gave birth to a baby boy (see letter of Social Worker, p. 45 of record). Appellant denied raping his daughter and counters with the following statement of facts in his brief: [5] Accused FLORENCIO ABANILLA denied having raped his daughter during the incidents charged in the information. On June 12, 1999, he worked as a carpenter on a house built in their barangay in Pulot Itaas, Batangas City. His companions at their residence were his eight (8) children and a brother-in-law. In October 1999, he got a job at Tiera Verde, necessitating him to stay thereat for two (2) weeks. He labeled the charges made by her daughter as fabrications, and instigated by the relatives of her deceased wife due to a land dispute. He likewise averred that her daughter receives male visitors at their house (TSN, October 2, 2000, pp. 4-10). The evidence for the prosecution consisted of the testimonies of four witnesses, namely: Lorena Abanilla , the complainant herself; Modesta Ronquillo , the complainant's godmother; Dr. Buenaventura Magboo , the physician who examined the compl