G.R. No. 181083 - PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. HERMINIGILDO SALLE SOBUSA, ACCUSED-. D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE, based on the foregoing, the court finds the accused Herminigildo Sobusa Guilty Beyond Reasonable Doubt for the crime of Rape committed [against] the person of his stepdaughter [AAA] under Art. 266-A, par. (1) of the Revised Penal Code. The court also finds that the crime of Rape committed by the accused Herminigildo [S]obusa falls within the aggravating/qualifying circumstances as stated in par. (1) of Art. 266-B of the Revised Penal Code. Considering that the crime of Rape falls under the aforementioned aggravating/qualifying circumstances under par. (1), the court hereby imposes on the accused Herminigildo Sobusa the supreme penalty of DEATH. The accused is further directed to indemnify the complainant [AAA] for the offense committed on her person in the amount of P75,000.00 and the amount of P50,000.00 as moral damages. [10] The appeal was directly filed before this Court. The accused-appellant filed his Brief [11] on October 20, 2004 while the plaintiff-appellee filed its Brief [12] on March 30, 2005. In a Resolution [13] dated July 19, 2005, we transferred this case to the Court of Appeals for appropriate action conformably with our ruling in People v. Mateo . [14] The appellate court affirmed with modification the judgment of the trial court. The accused-appellant was sentenced to suffer a reduced penalty of reclusion perpetua , ordered to pay an increased amount of moral damages, and further ordered to pay exemplary damages in favor of the private offended party, thus: WHEREFORE, premises considered, the Decision of the Regional Trial Court dated October 1, 2003 finding accused-appellant Herminigildo Sobusa guilty beyond reasonable doubt of qualified rape is AFFIRMED with MODIFICATION that the penalty of death imposed on accused-appellant is reduced to reclusion perpetua . He is also ordered to pay private complainant [AAA] (to be identified through the Information in the instant case), the amounts of P75,000.00 as civil indemnity, P75,000.00 as moral damages and P25,000.00 as exemplary damages. Costs against accused-appellant. [15] This case was then elevated to us for a final review. In a Resolution [16] dated February 13, 2008, we required the parties to submit their respective supplemental briefs. The parties, however, manifested that they have exhausted their arguments before the courts below and, thus, will no longer file any supplemental brief. [17] Accused-appellant insists on the same error he raised before the appellate court: THAT THE COURT A QUO GRAVELY ERRED IN FINDING THAT THE GUILT OF THE ACCUSED-APPELLANT FOR THE CRIME CHARGED HAS BEEN PROVEN BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT. Accused-appellant asserts that the charge of rape against him was merely prodded by AAA's relatives who were not in good terms with him as they did not approve of his marriage with AAA's mother. He alleges that he treated his stepdaughter, AAA, as his very own daughter and denies having raped her. Accused-appellant also points out that he could not h