G.R. No. L-39919. October 19, 1982
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE, VS. REYNALDO DE LA CRUZ Y BERIA, ALIAS BOY DE LA CRUZ, ACCUSED-APPELLANT.
ABAD SANTOS, J.:
Upon complaint filed by Milagros
P. Areola, the Provincial Fiscal of Cagayan charged
Reynaldo de la Cruz y Beria, alias Boy, before the
Court of First Instance of Cagayan of the crime of
rape in an information which reads as follows:
“That on or about June 27 and 28, 1973, in the municipality of
Ballesteros, province of Cagayan,
and within the jurisdiction of the Honorable Court, the said accused, Reynaldo
B. de la Cruz, alias Boy, with lewd design and by means of force and
intimidation and having deprived of reason or otherwise rendering unconscious
the offended party, did then and there wilfully, unlawfully
and feloniously have sexual intercourse with one Milagros P. Areola, against
her will and consent.”
When arraigned on November
20, 1973, the accused, assisted by a counsel de oficio, pleaded not guilty. However, judgment was rendered on July 24, 1974, convicting him of the
crime charged; sentencing him to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua; and ordering him to pay the costs of suit.
Hence,
this appeal.
The prosecution’s version
of the facts, as stated in the People’s brief, is as follows:
“Milagros Areola, the complainant herein, had her first
assignment as a public school teacher at Barrio San Juan, Ballesteros,
Cagayan (p. 25, t.s.n.,
Jan. 7, 1974, morning session). Being
her first time to go to barrio San Juan,
she, accompanied by her mother and Mr. Anso, Mr. Viloria and Maria Alonzo, went to the said barrio on June 20, 1973 before assuming her
position to orient herself of the place and to look for a suitable boarding
house (id.). The nearest house to the
barrio school where she was to teach was the house of Mrs. Miling
Bermudez about 100 meters away (p. 26, id.).
There were only two houses near the school, the other one being the
house of the accused, Reynaldo de la Cruz, which was about 40 meters away from
the house of Mrs. Bermudez (id.). Of
these two houses, the group chose the house of Mrs. Bermudez, aunt of Reynaldo,
as the boarding house of Milagros Areola (pp. 26-27, id.).
“Milagros reported to school for the first time on June 21, 1973 (p. 27, id.). On that same day, Mrs. Bermudez introduced to
her the accused (her nephew) and his parents and sisters (pp. 27-28, id.).
“In the afternoon of June
22, 1973, Milagros, accompanied by Herminia
de la Cruz (Reynaldo’s younger sister), went back to the Centro of Ballesteros to get her school supplies, to submit her
report of enrollment, and to procure her basic needs (p. 28, id.).
“On June 24, 1973,
Milagros and Herminia went to market and while they
were there, Herminia saw her brother Reynaldo and
asked him to go with her and Milagros (pp. 29-30, id.). In keeping with Filipino courtesy and hospitality, Milagros requested Herminia to invite Reynaldo to take his lunch at her
(Milagros) parent’s house in Centro, Ballesteros (p.
18, 30, id.). Although Reynaldo obliged
by going to the house of Milagros, he, however, did not eat his lunch there
because he left while Milagros was preparing lunch (id.).
“After lunch, Milagros and Herminia
went to the market to wait for a ride to Nararagan on
their way to San Juan. While waiting for a ride, Milagros saw
Virgie, her boardmate, and the mother of Reynaldo
(id.). They told her that they had not
eaten their lunch yet (id.). Milagros
invited them to her house but they declined (id.). Milagros then invited them for snack in the
market and there they ate halo-halo and cake (p. 31, id.). After taking half of her halo-halo, Milagros
went to pay the refreshment parlor owner about five meters away. Upon her return to the table, her companions
told her to eat her halo-halo, otherwise, they will
not also eat theirs. Milagros obliged
and finished her halo-halo, saying, ‘I have to eat it, because I have paid for
it.’ (p. 32, id.).
“Thereafter, the group, unable to wait for the Herminia Transit, hired two tricycles to bring them to Nararagan (pp. 32-33, id.).
They arrived in Barrio San Juan between 4:00
and 5:00 o’clock in the afternoon (p.
33, id.).
“Although she had headache and felt dizzy since the night of
June 24 after coming from Centro, Milagros reported for school on June 25, 1973 (pp. 33-34, id.). During recess, Reynaldo went to give her
coffee. She was surprised because it was
the daughter of her land-lady who used to serve her coffee at recess time. (id.). After drinking her coffee, her
condition became worse. (p. 35, id.).
“On June 26, 1973,
despite her worsening condition, Milagros continued to go to school. During recess, Reynaldo was again the one who
brought her coffee. Noticing bubbles in
her coffee, Milagros became suspicious and asked Reynaldo why there were
bubbles. The latter explained that the
water was boiling when he poured it on the coffee (id.). After drinking the coffee, she felt her body
becoming heavier (id.).
“On June 27, 1973,
Milagros again went to school, this time, with much difficulty. Like the previous days, Reynaldo again
brought her coffee during recess (pp. 35-36, id.). Unable to endure her condition any longer,
Milagros went home at 11:00 o’clock
in the morning before the regular disÂmissal time (p. 36, id.).
“Upon arrival at her boarding house, Milagros changed her
clothes, ate a light lunch and, after telling Virgie, Delia and Myrna, her
companions in the house, not to make any noise because she wanted to rest, she
went to bed (pp. 36-37, id.). While
resting, she noticed someone entered her room.
Thinking that it was one of her housemates, she paid no heed. Then she heard someone asked her if she had
already eaten her lunch. Noticing that
the person who made the inquiry was Reynaldo, Milagros requested him to go out
of the room beÂcause she was sickly and she wanted to rest (p. 37, id.). When she was about to catch
her sleep, ReyÂnaldo, without a shirt on, suddenly went on top of her. She struggled against and wrestled with ReyÂnaldo,
pleading to him to desist from doing what he intended to do. She shouted for help but nobody went to her
succor. With her state of health – Âfeeling
very weak and dizzy — Milagros was easily overpowered by Reynaldo who
succeeded in having sexual intercourse with her (pp. 37-39, id.).
“In the afternoon, Reynaldo threatened and forced Milagros to
go with him to his house. Her will
overpowered by the intake of drugs administered to her by the accused,
Milagros, acting like a robot, followed the wishes and orders of Reynaldo (Q
& A, No. 16, Exh. B). Her helplessness became greater when, upon
reporting the incident to her landlord, she received the following advice, ‘If
I were you, Ma’am, I would follow him because something wrong might happened
(sic) to you if you do not follow him and his wishes.’ Still deprived of
reason, coupled with the threats and intimidation of Reynaldo and her
helplessness, Milagros went with the accused.
Reynaldo, through the use of force, succeeded in having other sexual intercourses
with Milagros who was still weak and deprived of her mental faculties because
of the drugs previously administered to her (pp. 41-42, id.).
“In the evening of June 28, 1973, Milagros saw the barrio
captain and told him that Reynaldo forced her to follow him under threats and
intimiÂdation, to which the barrio captain answered, ‘Do not think of that
anymore my daughter, what you should think is how you would settle down.’ (p. 42, id.).
“On June 29, 1973,
Mr. Anso and a policeman fetched Milagros from the
house of Reynaldo and brought her to the District Supervisor’s Office where her
mother and the Supervisor were waiting.
She related to her mother and to the Supervisor her harrowing
experience. She told them that she was
ravished by the accused. (pp. 43-46, id.).
“On June 30, 1973,
Milagros and her mother went to the Ballesteros Emergency
Hospital but the doctor, a Sabatist, was not there, hence, they had to go back the
following day, July 1, 1973. Dra. Ester Arafiles, a Resident
Physician of said hospital, examined Milagros and found her to be weak and
disoriented, probably drugged with the use of barbituates,
opium and seconal.
She also found the hymen of Milagros lacerated at 3:00, 6:00 and 9:00 o’clock positions. (pp. 11, 47, id.; pp. 6-14,
t.s.n., Jan. 24, 1974; Exh. D).
“Having been ravished by the accused against her will and
consent, Milagros filed a complaint for rape before the Municipal Court of Ballesteros, CaÂgayan (Exh. A, p. 1, rec.).
“During the pendency of the present case the appellant was indicted and
convicted for kissing and fondling the breast of a married woman who is the
wife of his friend (pp. 3-5, 50-51, t.s.n., July 24, 1974). (Brief for the Appellee, pp. 3-9.)
The accused does not deny
having had sexual intercourse with the complainant on June 27 and 28,
1973. He however insists that the same
were consummated not only with the consent of the complainant but upon her own
initiative. His version of the facts is
as follows:
The accused and the
complainant came to know of each other when he went to the school where
the complainant was teaching and helped the latter sweep the classroom. He did not know the date as he was
illiterate. After they had swept the
floor and arranged the chairs, the complainant sat beside him and asked him of
his real name. He gave his name as
“Reynaldo de la Cruz” and in turn asked the complainant of her
name. The complainant answered: “I am called Mila at home, and I am
called Milagros Areola here in school.” After that short conversation, he
went home.
At noontime of the same
day, Reynaldo saw Milagros at her boarding house which was near his house. He was then sitting beside the stairs when
Milagros also saw him and waved her hands at him. He then went to her boarding house where she
offered him a cup of coffee. At first he
refused to drink the coffee but he drank it nevertheless because Milagros
said: “Since this is my first time
to offer you, why do you displease me.”
The next time Reynaldo saw
Milagros was when the former was walking in their yard while the latter was
peeling a pineapple in the kitchen of her boarding house. When Milagros saw Reynaldo, she again waved
her hands at him. Milagros then invited
Reynaldo to share the pineapple. Shortly
after they had eaten the pineapple, the landlady of Milagros prepared the
table. Milagros refused to eat if she
could not invite Reynaldo to eat with her.
Milagros then poured soup on a plate of rice and mixed it. She said to Reynaldo: “Let us see if you can eat this mixed
rice and soup I prepared.” She then took a spoonful of the mixture and fed
it to Reynaldo. Not to be outdone, Reynaldo got the spoon, filled it with the mixed rice
and soup and fed it to Milagros, saying:
“If you really care for me, then try also eating the same kind of
food that you gave me.” The owners of the boarding house who were in front
of them commented that they were like a newlywedded
couple. And to such comment Milagros
responded: “Would there be anything
wrong, brother and sister, if I can be pitted against Boy?”
The following day, Milagros again called for Reynaldo to ask for
the latter’s permission for his younger sister, Herminia,
to accompany her to Ballesteros. Reynaldo replied that while he was the eldest
in the family, they still had their parents so it would be better for Milagros
to get the permission from their parents.
Milagros agreed to get the permission from the parents of Reynaldo. She then requested Reynaldo to accompany them
to Nararagan where they could get a ride for Ballesteros. On their way to Nararagan Milagros asked
Reynaldo: “Why, Boy, are you not
still going to marry?” Reynaldo replied: “I am very eager Ma’am, but nobody would
like me because I am so wardly and I am difficult in
life.” Milagros said: “It is only because you do not want
it.” Reynaldo then commented:
“If I could only be pitted against you, then it would be very
good.” Milagros then told Reynaldo to go to Ballesteros
the coming Sunday. And Reynaldo replied: “I will come, Ma’am.”
It was still dark when Reynaldo started from their house in going
to Ballesteros.
Upon reaching Ballesteros, he stayed in front
of the plaza where Milagros and his sister, Herminia,
saw him. Milagros invited them to eat
their lunch in her house. He agreed but not before Milagros assured him
that she had no sisters in the house.
Milagros’ mother and grandparents were in their house when they
arrived. Milagros told Reynaldo to wait
in the sala while she cooked their lunch. But when Milagros was about to finish
cooking, her sisters arrived. Since
Reynaldo felt uncomfortable, he begged to be excused. Milagros allowed him to leave when he
promised that he would return for lunch.
But Reynaldo did not return; instead he went to a restaurant where he
was invited by some male teachers for a drinking spree.
Sometime thereafter, Reynaldo’s sister, Herminia,
arrived and told him: “Come now, Manong, said Manang Mila. She did not even take her lunch because you
were not there.” Reynaldo answered:
“Just go ahead. I could not
now come along with you because I am already drunk.” Herminia
then left and went to the tricycle where Milagros was waiting.
Shortly thereafter,
Reynaldo’s mother arrived and told him:
“You come at all costs, because she would not like to come and
teach if you do not come with me now.” Reynaldo replied: “You go ahead and I will follow.” A
barrio councilman then pushed Reynaldo so the latter was forced to follow his
mother. They went to the parking place
for trucks and there they met Milagros who invited them to a place where she
ordered “halo-halo”.
After they had eaten
their “halo-halo”, Milagros hired a tricycle where she, Reynaldo and Herminia rode in going to Nararagan. Upon reaching Nararagan,
Reynaldo unloaded the school supplies and placed them on the sled of his
younger brother who met them. The three
of them then walked home.
Upon reaching a muddy portion of the path leading to their
houses, Milagros taunted Reynaldo by saying:
“Will you carry me if you could really carry me.” Reynaldo
however refused to carry Milagros saying that he was ashamed because Milagros’
uncle, Alejandro Areola, was then south of them bulldozing. Milagros just said: “Oh, yes, it is really shameful.”
And they continued walking.
When they arrived at the boarding house of Milagros, Reynaldo
asked her to let him see her pictures.
Milagros then gave Reynaldo her album.
But when Reynaldo was scanning the album, Milagros grabbed it and
entered the room saying: “If you
want to see my pictures, come into the room.” Reynaldo entered the room
and sat on a divan. Milagros then gave
him the album. While Reynaldo was
looking at the pictures, Milagros changed her clothes and sat near
Reynaldo. She then told him: “Let us see if you can carry me.” Reynaldo accepted the challenge and carried
Milagros. He then kissed her on the
face. Milagros then said: “You go and see those things that you
placed on the sled and find out if they are wet or not. You will be responsible for them if they are
wet.” Reynaldo ran to meet his younger brother who was pulling the sled
and saw that the articles were not wet.
But he ran back to Milagros and told her: “Mila, your belongings are wet.”
Milagros hurriedly went down to see her
things and when she saw that they were not wet, she slapped Reynaldo on the
waist and said: “Liar, they are not
wet.” Reynaldo then carried the things upstairs and bade Milagros
goodbye. Milagros allowed him to go but
shortly, thereafter, she overtook him and gave him her picture with the
following inscription at the back:
“6-26-73
To Boy,
Let me know how much you may remember me.
Sisterly,
Mila”
Reynaldo next saw Milagros when he was fetching water and she was
taking a bath. That
same day, Milagros, thru Danny Bermudez (the son of her landlord), summoned
Reynaldo to her boarding house and once there requested him to wash her clothes
and to press her pant suit.
Then came the fateful noon of Wednesday. Reynaldo was sitting on the stairs of his
house when Milagros waved at him from the window of her boarding house. Responding to the call, Reynaldo went to
her. Milagros was already crying when
she said: “Tsk,
your smoking is even more precious than I am.” Reynaldo replied: “You have to excuse me. It is not easy for me to remove my vice.”
He then promised to stop smoking
but when Milagros did not seem to believe
him, he said: “So that I will be
able to prove to you, I will throw
away this pack of Marlboro cigarettes in my pocket.” Milagros then invited
him to go inside her room. And after
they entered the room, Milagros spread a mat, lay down and said: “Will you fan me?” Reynaldo was
fanning Milagros when the latter’s landlady (an aunt of Reynaldo) entered and
left the room. Milagros then said to
Reynaldo: “Come, let us
sleep.” Milagros kissed Reynaldo when the latter lay down beside her. Aroused and emboldened by Milagros’
aggressiveness, Reynaldo likewise kissed her and suggested that they had sexual
intercourse. Milagros asked
Reynaldo: “Will you not forsake
me?” Reynaldo answered: “At any time, I am ready to marry you.”
Milagros then said: “Before we do
these things, I am going to tell you one thing.
There was another man ahead of you and I am telling you so that you will
know.” Reynaldo replied: “It
is better that you tell me frankly, rather than concealing the same for after
all I will be able to detect it.” Reynaldo then asked Milagros to pull
down her panty. He then went on top of
her. After consummating the act,
Reynaldo said: “Let us get up and
eat.” And they ate at the kitchen of the boarding house.
After eating, Milagros said:
“I do not want to go and teach anymore. It is not easy to be walking there like a
duck.” But Reynaldo dissuaded her from missing her class so she dressed
and went to school while he proceeded home.
In the evening of that day, Reynaldo went to the boarding house
of Milagros to ask Milagros’ permission to go to Olongapo. Milagros did not want him to go despite his
assurance that he would stay in Olongapo only for a
short while. She even got a scissor and
tried to stab herself. Reynaldo grabbed
the scissor and pacified Milagros. He
then told her to wait for a while as he was just going to urinate. But
Milagros grabbed him by the tail of his shirt and did not let him go. She then got her things and went with
Reynaldo to the latter’s house.
Upon arrival at the house, Reynaldo’s mother asked Milagros: “Why did you come, my daughter, we may
be blamed for this.” Milagros
answered: “No, mother, I will be
responsible for this, perhaps we are destined for each
other.”
Shortly thereafter, the barrio captain (an uncle of Reynaldo),
along with some members of the council, arrived. The barrio captain told Milagros about the
consequences of her decision to live with Reynaldo. But Milagros said: “Never mind, that might have been
already my destiny. Even my aunties, all
of them got married. One of them was
married to a farmer, and the other is married to a drunkard, how much more with
Boy.” For his part, Reynaldo said:
“I did not yet want to settle down, Mr. Captain, but because she
was going to kill herself, I could not do anything. I have to bring her home already.” The
barrio captain then told Milagros:
“You should know better, ma’am.” The visitors then left and
Reynaldo and Milagros then slept together.
The following morning,
Milagros told Reynaldo: “Let us
have a secret marriage.” Reynaldo asked:
“Where?” He then suggested Aparri
but Milagros said: “I am afraid in Aparri because I have an uncle there.” They then
agreed to have their secret marriage in Laoag.
They were about to leave
for Laoag when Reynaldo’s parents told Milagros: “Even if that was the way things have
gone, give us the opportunity to talk with your parents so that they
will not blame us.” On that same morning, Reynaldo’s parents went to Ballesteros to talk to Milagros’ parents about the
matter. Reynaldo and Milagros put off
their plan to go to Laoag. Instead, Reynaldo brought Milagros, first, to
the house of his uncle, Jose Beria, and then to the
house of younger brother, Rogelio. When
the parents of Reynaldo arrived from Ballesteros they
said they would return to Ballesteros the following
Saturday and wait for Mila’s father before they get married.
The plan to go to Ballesteros the
following Saturday did not materialize because Mr. Anzo
(a co-teacher of Milagros), along with Mr. Rebanal (a
policeman), arrived to fetch Milagros.
“We learned that you have already married,
my daughter”, Mr. Anzo said. “Yes, sir, this could be the place where
I am destined to meet my fate”, Milagros replied. Mr. Anzo then
said: “You had a seminar last
Thursday and you did not come, that is why we came here to get you.”
Milagros agreed to go with Mr. Anzo who then
said: “Get all your clothings.” Milagros got some of her clothes but left
her other things. Mr. Anzo then said to the sister of Reynaldo: “Herminia, you
lend us a bag and I will place the clothings which
could not be contained in the suit case and I will carry them.” But
Milagros said: “No more, sir, I was
able to get all of it.”
Shortly thereafter, the parents of Reynaldo arrived. Milagros went to the kitchen and said: “Mother, father, you better come along
with us because it seems that they are taking me away. I do not care if Boy and I would be punished for, after all, we did what we wanted.” Reynaldo then
said: “Yes, but how could I come along when I have no money. My younger brother got the money I have to
buy merchandize.” Milagros then gave Reynaldo P25.00 saying: “Get this and use it in paying the fare
of those whom you will bring along to talk with my parents.”
Reynaldo told Mr. Anzo that they should
eat first before leaving but the latter refused and left with Milagros and the
policeman. Reynaldo ran following them
and was able to overtake them — as they were then trying to wait for him — at
the road going to barrio Cabayu. Milagros then told Reynaldo to buy some
biscuits and soft drinks as she was already hungry. Reynaldo bought some biscuits and a bottle of
Royal Tru Orange and offered them to Milagros. But Mr. Anzo started
his motorcycle and Milagros boarded it.
When Reynaldo tried to give the bottle of Royal Tru
Orange to Milagros, Mr. Anzo said: “No more, never mind the royal.”
And Milagros was able to get only the biscuits.
The evidence for the defense is not clear as to what transpired
thereafter except that it shows that Reynaldo, accompanied by his father and
uncle (the barrio captain), followed Milagros, Mr. Anzo
and the policeman, and that, subsequently, Reynaldo received a letter (Exh. “2”) from Milagros which was written in Ilocano. It reads:
“Ballesteros, Cagayan
July 5, 1973
Dear Boy,
Naawatko daguiti
inpaw-itmo agraman ti Uniform ko. Ngam ti manla pagsakitan ti nakemko
ket ti awan
a panagtalekmo kaniak. Ta dimo man la inkankano daguiti imbilinko ken ni
Nanangmo. Ken nadamagko pay nga planom kano manen
ti pumanaw. Idinto nga nagnunumuanyo kano kadaguiti nagannak kaniak nga urayen
tayo ti sangpet
ni Mayor.
Ket pangngaasim
kuma ta dika
pumanaw ken dika kuma agbutbuteng iti ania man a madamdamagmo ta awan ti kinagpaysuanna. Ad-adda
kadi payla ti pammatim iti
damdamag ngem iti siak. Ket no adda met laeng paÂnangipategm kaniak itedmo kuma tay relok ken tay tulÂbekko ta
dika kadla maasin aya nga
nakapimpimannak nga awan ti ar
waten nan. Ket dika kad pumanpanaw.
A! ipagpagapum kadi kaniak. Pangngaasim ta paipanmo kenni
Nang ta relok
ken tay tulbek. Ken agsingsingpetka
kuma unay Boy.
Ala ket kastan kumusta da amin
dita. Nangruna unay kenka.
Toy
Nagsurat,
Mila”
Translated into English,
the letter reads as follows:
“Ballesteros, Cagayan
July 5, 1973
Dear Boy,
I received the things that you sent including my uniform. But what hurts me is your lack of concern for
me. For you did not even bother about my
messages through your mother. And I also
learned that you are planning again to leave.
You have agreed before with my parents that we will wait for the arrival
of Mayor. I beg you to please do not
leave and I hope that you will not be afraid of anything that you hear because
they are not true. Do you have more
faith in what you hear than in me? And
if you still care for me, please give me my watch and my key for have you no
mercy on me who is so pitiful without anything to wear. And please do not leave, for my sake. I beg you to send through Mother my watch and
the key. And please be very good, Boy.
So long and regards to all of your there. Most especially to you.
The
writer,
Mila”
Of the two conflicting
versions, the trial court found that of the complainant to be more
credible. It reasoned out as follows:
“First, Milagros Areola is a public school teacher. By reason of her education, she is expected
to be possessed of that character that would set as an example to be emulated
by the people she comes in contact with.
Her character were things that have not been
destroyed by the defense. The
presumption stands that she is a reputable woman and possessed of virtuous
character. Such being the case, it is
not expected that she would accuse falsely a man like the accused to have
abused her honor. She would not stand
public trial, come to Court and expose herself to embarrassment, public
ridicule and probably censure. Among all
these, if the act complained of was not committed, it would not be easy to
think of a provinciana taking the value of her honor
lightly and telling publicly that she has been abused several times by a man
whom she did not love. The frankness and
candor under which she testified in Court are indicative of her intention and
purpose in filing this case, prosecuting the accused and testifying publicly as
to what happened to her. By so doing,
she has exposed herself to the indignation of members of the fairer sex. If she would have done so on fabricated
charges for after all she had everything to lose and nothing to gain by running
after a man like the accused. As aptly
observed and rated by the highest magistracy of the land that notwithstanding
the modern and western culture, the amiability of the Filipino womanhood has
still been retained. There may have been
a modification of the early Maria Clara but most of the virtues have
remained. By reason hereof, the
testimony of the offended party must be viewed in the light of their purpose in
bringing before the bar of justice the man who destroyed her honor.
“On second analysis, the Court would now venture on the
defense of the accused. As stated at the
threshold of this decision, it was the accused alone, who testified in his own
behalf. He presented a version which
tried to establish that he was a very shy man.
His shyness springs from the fact that he is an unlettered
individual. He had the highest respect
for the complainant, being a public school teacher in their barrio. As proof thereof, he was only too willing to
help the complainant whenever she would ask him to do so or he found a need for
it. Because of his respect, whenever the
complainant would wave at him and beckon to him to go near her, he would
readily run to her. As a matter of fact,
it was for this respect for the complainant that he rejected the original plan
for her to board in their house to avoid any possible repercussion of him and
her living together under the same roof.
Were it not for the complainant’s daring attitude, the encouragement
given to him and the attention that were showered upon him, the affairs between
them could have been avoided.
“This version of the accused makes the Court feel its unique
character. It was a story, too good to
be true. Unless of course the Court has
to stretch human credulity to change human behavior by making a woman after a
man but whatever it was, the fact remains that the accused never had any
intention or any desire to court the love of the complainant. He was only too willing to say that he is
ready to marry her. Such a statement
made clearer the ambition of the accused.
If the accused’s condition were to be equated
with the position of the woman, his looks equated with her personality, then it
would not be surprising why the incident actually happened. Any man with such inordinate ambition would
be willing to assume any risk and gamble everything,
after all he offers himself to be ready to answer for what he does by marching
to the aisles and bring her to the altar.
The incident complained of was not a remote possibility.” (Decision, pp. 21-24;
rollo, pp. 23-26.)
It then proceeded to rule that the crime of rape was committed by
the accused. This, despite its factual
findings that “(t)here was no force or
intimidation used” and that “(t)here was no physical resistance on
the part of the complainant” (Decision, p. 25; rollo,
p. 27). Its rationalization runs as
follows:
“x x x
(T)he lack of physical resistance has been explained by the victim by saying
that even if she wanted to resist, she could not do so beÂcause there was that
unexplained influence which overpowered her will. She was therefore subjected to some kind of
control which she could not explain. She
could not express resistance and refusal to submit thereto.
“The sexual intercourse was therefore committed in the state
of unconsciousness or subconscious mind which adversely affect
the will of the offended party.
Consequently, the Court feels and finds that the crime of rape on the
perÂson of the complainant Milagros Areola has actually been committed.” (Decision, p. 26; rollo, p. 28.)
The legal conclusion
reached by the trial court was that the accused was guilty of rape when he had
sexual intercourse with the complainant while the latter was deprived of
reason. Such legal conclusion was premised
upon its factual finding that the complainant was then under the influence of
drug which the accused placed in the coffee which the complainant took on the
25th, 26th and 27th of June, 1973. Thus,
the main issue to be resolved in this appeal is whether or not the trial court
erred in making such factual finding.
We have reviewed
carefully the evidence on record and found that the prosecution failed to prove
beyond reasonable doubt that at the time the accused had sexual intercourse
with the complainant, the latter was under the influence of drug which the accused placed in the coffee taken by the
complainant on the 25th, 26th and 27th of June, 1973. The only bases of the trial court in
concluding that the accused placed some drug in the coffee of the complainant
are: (1) the bubbles allegedly noticed
by the complainant on the coffee served to her by the accused on June 26, 1973;
and (2) the headache and dizziness allegedly felt by the complainant on June
25, 26 and 27, 1973.
Even assuming that the complainant had indeed noticed some
bubbles in the coffee served to her by the accused on June 26, 1973, the same has been sufficiently
explained by the comÂplainant herself when she testified as follows:
“q – And because of that, what did
you do?
a – I asked him why, and he told me the water
was boiling when he poured the coffee and it looked like that.”
(t.s.n., Areola, January 7, 1974, p. 35.)
The Solicitor General’s contention that “the bubbles created
by the boiling water could have been blown to nothingness by the time the
appellant arrived in school” has no factual basis. By the prosecution’s own account, the
complainant’s boarding house was only 100 meters away from her school. And it can easily be observed that the time
necessary to negotiate such distance is much shorter than what it takes for the
bubbles in a cup of coffee with boiling water to completely disappear.
With respect to the headache and dizziness allegedly felt by the
complainant on the 25th, 26th and 27th of June, 1973, to attribute the same to
the coffee taken by her on said dates would be unreasonable, to say the
least. The complainant herself admitted that her headache and dizziness
started even before June 25, 1973 — the day when the accused started to serve
her coffee. Thus, she testified as
follows:
“ATTY. COLLADO:
q – Were
you served coffee on previous days prior to June 25, 1973?
a – Yes,
sir.
q – Who served you?
a – The
daughter of Miling Bermudez, sir.
x x x x x
x x
x x
q – What
is your state of health on the 24th of June, 1973?
a – I
had headache, sir, and I felt dizzy.”
(t.s.n., Areola, January
7, 1974, p. 34. )
Upon
questioning by the trial court, the complainant also declared as follows:
“COURT:
q – 20, 21, 22 who was serving you coffee?
a – The
daughter of my landlady, sir.
q – On
the 25th, 26th and 27th, according to you, it was Reynaldo de la Cruz who was
already serving you coffee?
a – Yes,
sir.
q – On
the 25th, you already felt that you have some kind of trouble in your health?
a – Yes,
sir.
q
– That
feeling started to be entertained by you before Reynaldo de la Cruz gave you
coffee at recess time, is it not?
a – I
told that it began on the 24th in the evening, sir.
x x x x x
x x
x x
q – What
were the things that you felt on the 24th?
a – I
had headache and dizziness, sir.”
(t.s.n., Areola, January
7, 1974, pp. 33-35. )
Since the headache and dizziness of the
complainant started on the 24th while the accused began serving her coffee only
on the 25th, to attribute said headache and dizziness to the coffee served by
the accused would be to postulate the existence of the effect ahead of the
cause.
The trial court’s finding that the condition of the complainant
became worse everytime she took the coffee served by
the accused cannot be sustained. For,
why would the complainant continue taking the coffee if indeed her condition
worsened everytime she took the same? Besides, the claim that complainant’s
headache became worse on the 25th and her health poorer on the 26th and 27th is
belied by her own testimony that while she took Medicol
on the 24th, on the succeeding days, she stopped taking the same or any medicine for the relief of headache
and dizziness. Furthermore, she likewise
testified that she continued going to school.
There are other facts and circumstances of weight and substance
which the trial court overlooked and which make the version of the accused
appear more credible than that of the comÂplainant.
1.
The complainant testified that the
accused did not immediately leave her boarding house but had fanned her for
sometime after he had allegedly forced her to their first sexual intercourse at
noontime of June 27, 1973. Such testimony evokes the following
questions: Is it the natural tendency of
a guilty person to stay by the side of his victim for sometime after sexually
assaulting her? Or was the complainant
merely giving a ready excuse or explanation why it happened that the accused
had fanned her for sometime without her objection? Was she afraid that the defense would expose
her scheme of seduction by presenting a person who saw the accused fanning her
inside her room without her objection?
She knew very well that there were other persons in the boarding house
at that time, and, according to the accused on cross-examination, the complainant’s
landlady even entered the room while the accused was fanning the complainant.
2.
While complainant’s self-serving
testimony that she was merely forced to go with the accused to their house was
not corroborated by any single piece of evidence, the accused’s
version that the complainant voluntarily went with him because she did not want
him to leave for Olongapo finds some corroboration in
the letter (Exh. “2”) which the complainant
admittedly wrote and gave to the accused.
For, as heretofore quoted, the letter states, among others, that the
complainant learned that the accused was “planning again to
leave.”
3.
The contents of the letter itself
reveal that there was indeed a relationship of intimacy existing between the
complainant and the accused, as the latter claimed. For despite the fact that the letter was
written by the complainant in the presence of her mother and, consequently, she
had to conceal whatever intimate relationship she had with the complainant,
nonetheless, words of endearment abound in said letter. She even addressed the accused’s
mother as “Nang” or “Mother”.
4.
The testimony of the complainant
herself reveals the special attention she gave to the accused on the days prior
to their sexual interlude despite the fact that they had known each other only
for less than a week. Milagros testified
that she was introduced to Reynaldo on the 21st of June, 1973; that she invited him to her own
house for lunch on the 24th; and that she gave him her picture on the 26th.
5.
The circumstances under which the
complainant first claimed that she was raped by the accused were such that to
have acted otherwise would have been more prejudicial to her reputation as a
teacher and her honor as a single woman.
For, it must be noted that by the prosecution’s own account, the first
time that the complainant claimed that she was merely forced by the accused was
when she was confronted by her mother in the presence of her District
Supervisor, a co-teacher, and a policeman.
In such a situation, to admit that the complainant voluntarily went with
the accused to the latter’s house where they lived together as husband and wife
without first getting married was much more damaging to her honor than to claim
that she was raped and was merely compelled by the accused to live with him in
his house. The trial court’s observation
that “if the act complained of was not committed, it would not be easy to
think of a provinciana taking the value of her honor
lightly and telling publicly that she has been abused several times by a man
whom she did not love” would have been valid had it been possible for the
complainant to keep away from public knowledge the fact that she had already
slept with the accused in the latter’s house.
But such was not the case. For it
was already of public knowledge that the complainant and the accused had
already been living in the latter’s house as husband and wife without the
benefit of marriage; and the complainant was apparently left with no
alternative but to claim that she was merely forced by the accused.
Finally, that the complainant was merely using the criminal
complaint as leverage to compel the accused to marry her is not a remote
possibility. For while
the accused had verbally declared his willingness to marry the complainant, his
actuations revealed his hesitation to do so. On the very day that the accused and the
complainant had their first sexual intercourse (June 27, 1973), the accused had
already attempted to leave their place.
And as the letter of the complainant reveals, the accused was again
planning to leave at the time said letter was written (July 5, 1973) and the
complainant was thus pleading for him not to leave.
The foregoing facts and circumstances do not only show the
innocence of the accused; they show without doubt in Our
mind that he was the victim of a scheming seductress who tried to destroy him
rather than let him go. Indeed, life
imitates fiction for “Play Misty for Me” with Clint Eastwood recently
shown on Channel 7 has a scenario similar to the case at bar.
WHEREFORE, the decision of the Court of First Instance
of Cagayan, dated July 24, 1974, is hereby REVERSED and Reynaldo de la Cruz
y Beria is hereby acquitted of the crime of rape. Costs de oficio.
SO ORDERED.
Makasiar, (Chairman), Concepcion, Jr., Guerrero, De Castro, and Escolin, JJ., concur.
Aquino, J., in the result.