PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE, VS. EMETERIO MEDINA Y DAMO, ACCUSED-APPELLANT.

People versus Medina

The Case

This is the People of the Philippines against Emeterio Medina y Damo, a criminal appeal from a conviction for rape. The accused was charged with having carnal knowledge of a four-year-old girl, the daughter of his own cousin, whom she called Uncle Teriong. The case matters to a reviewee because it gathers in one decision the core rules of statutory rape: that the age of the victim, not force or intimidation, is the operative element; that a medical examination is not indispensable; that the testimony of a child victim is entitled to full weight and credit; and that the penalty carries the qualification that it be served without eligibility for parole.

Procedural History

The accused was charged by information filed with the Regional Trial Court of Laoag City, Branch 11. A warrant of arrest was issued but was not served because the accused could not be contacted, and the case was archived with an alias warrant. He remained at large for six years until he was arrested in November 2007. Upon arraignment he pleaded not guilty, and trial followed, with the prosecution presenting the victim, her mother, a medical records officer, and two physicians, and the defense presenting the accused alone. In a decision dated September 22, 2011, the trial court found him guilty beyond reasonable doubt of qualified rape, sentenced him to reclusion perpetua, and ordered him to pay 75,000 pesos as civil indemnity, 75,000 pesos as moral damages, and 25,000 pesos as exemplary damages. The accused appealed directly to the Supreme Court, assigning as errors the sufficiency of the evidence and the credence given to the victim's testimony.

Facts

The victim was born on December 31, 1995, and was four years old at the time of the incident. She lived with her family in a barangay where the accused, a neighbor and the first cousin of her father, also lived, about ten meters away. On the morning of May 9, 2000, her mother sent her to buy vinegar at a nearby store. On the way, the accused pulled her by the right hand into his house and led her to a room with a bed.

He made her lie on her back, removed her pants and undergarments, removed his own pants, and inserted his penis into her vagina. She felt pain and cried. She did not shout because he told her that if she shouted, he would thrust a ballpen into her mouth. When he was done, he put her clothes back on. She did not proceed to the store but went home and told her mother what had happened. Her mother did not believe her at first, but believed her when she said that a liquid like milk had come out of the accused's penis.

The next day, May 10, 2000, the victim was medically examined, and a fresh vertical laceration on the hymen was found, along with inflammation and a predominance of infectious organisms. The accused eluded arrest for six years and was taken into custody only in November 2007, when the victim's mother reported that he had returned home. At pre-trial, the parties stipulated on the court's jurisdiction, the identity of the accused, the victim's birth date, her age of four years, four months and nine days on the date of the incident, the accused's presence in Laoag City that day, their being neighbors, the existence of the medical results, and the fact that the victim's father is the first cousin of the accused.

Issues

• Whether or not the trial court erred in finding the accused guilty beyond reasonable doubt of rape despite the prosecution's alleged failure to prove his guilt.
• Whether or not the trial court erred in giving weight and credence to the private complainant's testimony, which the accused assailed as inconsistent and incredible.

Applicable Provisions

Republic Act Number 8353, the Anti-Rape Law of 1997, defines when rape is committed by carnal knowledge, and the decision quotes it as follows:

a) Through force, threat or intimidation; b) When the offended party is deprived of reason or otherwise unconscious; c) By means of fraudulent machination or grave abuse of authority; and d) When the offended party is under twelve (12) years of age or is demented, even though none of the circumstances mentioned above be present.

Paragraph (d) is the heart of the case, because the victim was under twelve years of age, which makes the crime statutory rape and removes force from the elements.

Article 266-B of the Revised Penal Code, as amended by Republic Act Number 8353, fixes the penalty, and the decision quotes it in part:

ART. 266-B. Penalties. -- Rape under paragraph 1 of the next preceding article shall be punished by reclusion perpetua.

This provision supplies the penalty of reclusion perpetua that the trial court imposed and that the Supreme Court affirmed, with the qualification against parole.

Ruling

On the first issue, the Court held that the evidence established statutory rape. The victim was only four years old at the time, as shown by her certificate of live birth and admitted at pre-trial, and the Court stressed the settled rule that if the victim is under twelve years of age, force need not be proven, for it is not an element of statutory rape. Even so, the Court noted that the victim's testimony positively proved the threat that a ballpen would be thrust into her mouth if she shouted. On the argument that no one noticed the act because there were many houses and people around, the Court answered with the settled doctrine that lust is no respecter of time and place, and added that a four-year-old victim cannot be expected to have the behavioral response of a grown woman during and after her defilement.

On the medical argument, the Court held that a medical examination is not an indispensable element in prosecutions for rape, so the non-presentation of the examining physician was not fatal, especially since she was already out of the country. The Court quoted the rule that the absence of medical findings does not disprove rape, that the slightest penetration of the labia consummates the offense, and that when a woman testifies that she has been raped, she says all that is needed to signify that the crime has been committed. In any event, the findings of a fresh hymenal laceration and inflammation, explained by the physician who examined the specimen as manipulation of the vagina, confirmed the victim's account.

On the second issue, the Court held that the victim's testimony was credible. She identified the accused in open court as Uncle Teriong, and her positive identification prevailed over the accused's self-serving claim of ill motive on the part of her parents. The Court invoked the doctrine that testimonies of child victims are normally given full weight and credit, since youth and immaturity are generally badges of truth and sincerity. The accused's denial and alibi, uncorroborated by independent evidence, could not overcome the categorical testimony of the victim, and the trial court's assessment of credibility was entitled to the highest respect because it had observed the witnesses' demeanor on the stand.

On the penalty, the Court held that reclusion perpetua should be imposed without eligibility for parole pursuant to Article 266-B, as amended. It affirmed the awards of 75,000 pesos as civil indemnity and 75,000 pesos as moral damages, but increased the exemplary damages from 25,000 pesos to 30,000 pesos.

Doctrine

Statutory rape is committed when the offended party is under twelve years of age, even though none of the circumstances of force, threat, intimidation, deprivation of reason, or fraudulent machination be present. Force is therefore not an element, and need not be proven, when the victim's age is established.

A medical examination is not an indispensable element in the prosecution of rape. The absence of medical findings does not disprove the crime, the slightest penetration of the labia consummates it, and the medical certificate is merely corroborative. What is important is that the testimony of the complainant is clear, unequivocal and credible.

Testimonies of child victims are given full weight and credit, because youth and immaturity are badges of truth and sincerity. Positive identification by the victim prevails over the accused's uncorroborated denial and alibi, and the trial court's assessment of credibility is generally viewed as correct and entitled to the highest respect.

Lust is no respecter of time and place, and a child victim cannot be expected to react as a grown woman would.

Disposition

The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction of Emeterio Medina y Damo for rape, modified only in that the penalty of reclusion perpetua shall be without eligibility for parole and the exemplary damages are increased to 30,000 pesos.

Remember This

Memorize the line that when the victim is under twelve years of age, force need not be proven because it is not an element of statutory rape. Examiners use this case to test the elements of statutory rape, the rule that a medical examination is not indispensable, and the credence given to the testimony of a child victim.