G.R. No. 175327 - PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. EDMUNDO VITERO, ACCUSED-.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE, Premises Considered, judgment is rendered finding the accused EDMUNDO VITERO GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of committing the crime of RAPE for one (1) count as such crime is defined and punished by Article 266-A, paragraph 1, sub-paragraph a, in relation to Article 266-B, fifth paragraph, sub-paragraph 1, The Revised Penal Code, As Amended by Republic Act No. 8353, and this Court hereby imposes on him the supreme penalty of DEATH. As his civil liability, he shall pay the victim [AAA] the amount of 75,000 pesos as civil indemnity, the amount of 50,000 pesos as moral damages, and the amount of 25,000 pesos as exemplary damages. He shall pay the costs of suit. For the other remaining five (5) counts of rape, finding reasonable doubt, this Court finds the [accused-appellant] EDMUNDO VITERO NOT GUILTY, and hereby ACQUITS him of such criminal charges. Elevate the entire record[s] of the six (6) above-entitled cases to the Honorable Supreme Court for automatic review and judgment by such Court en banc pursuant to Article 47 of The Revised Penal Code, As Amended by Section 22 of Republic Act No. 7659. [10] The entire records of the cases were brought before us, but we transferred the same to the Court of Appeals in a Resolution [11] dated August 24, 2004, pursuant to our ruling in People v. Mateo . [12] The Court of Appeals summarized the evidence of the prosecution, to wit: Edmundo Vitero, accused, and [BBB] were married on April 5, 1984. Out of the marriage, they begot six (6) children, four (4) girls ([AAA], the eldest, [CCC], [DDD] and [EEE]) and two (2) boys ([FFF] and [GGG]). In September 1996, accused and BBB separated. She left the conjugal home bringing with her [CCC], [EEE], and [GGG] and established her own residence at Barangay [XXX], Polangui, Albay. [AAA], [DDD] and [FFF] were left to the custody of the accused. They transferred to the house of the parents of the accused at Barangay [XXX], Ligao City, Albay. The said house, a one-storey structure has two (2) rooms. One room was occupied by the parents of the accused while the other was occupied by accused and his three children. Sometime in the month of April 19 [9] 8, at around 7 oclock in the evening, [AAA], then already thirteen (13) years old, having been born on April 30, 1985, was sleeping in their room with the accused, her sister [DDD], and her brother [FFF]. [AAA] slept in the extreme right portion of the room, immediately beside the wall separating their room from that [of] her grandparents. To her left was the accused followed by [DDD] and [FFF]. [AAA] was roused from her sleep when she felt somebody on top of her. When she opened her eyes, she saw her own father mounting her. After stripping [AAA] naked, accused brought out his penis and inserted it into [AAAs] vagina and made a pumping motion. At the same time, he was kissing her lips and neck and fondling her breasts. [AAA] felt searing pain and her vagina bled. She started to cry, but he was unmoved and warned h