ROSALINDA D. MORALES, COMPLAINANT, VS. RENATO LOTUACO AND AGUSTIN A. ALONZO, DEPUTY PROVINCIAL SHERIFFS OF THE CFI, NUEVA ECIJA AT CABANATUAN CITY, RESPONDENTS.

Renato Lotuaco and Agustin A. Alonzo, Deputy Provincial Sheriffs of the Court
of First Instance of Nueva Ecija at Cabanatuan City were accused of grave
misconduct by Rosalinda D. Morales who alleged in her verified complaint that
respondent Lotuaco, in conspiracy with Agustin Alonzo and one Marianita Batac,
succeeded in having sexual intercourse with her against her will.  She claimed
that at about 11:30 in the morning of January 2, 1979, she was forced to get
into a car in front of the CFI building in Cabanatuan City with the aid of
Alonzo and Marianita Batac, and was brought to the O’Patso Restaurant where
Lotuaco, through force and intimidation, succeeded in having sexual intercourse
with her.  Five days thereafter, at about 10:00 o’clock in the morning, Lotuaco,
in connivance with Marianita Batac, forced her to ride in Lotuaco’s car and
brought her to the Sawali Restaurant in Cabanatuan City.  Complainant alleged
that Lotuaco, through force and intimidation, again succeeded in having sexual
intercourse with her against her will in one of the rooms of said restaurant.

Respondents Lotuaco and Alonzo, in their respective comments dated February
19 and 20, 1979, denied the charges in the complaint.  The respondents stated
that a criminal complaint for rape committed under the same facts and
circumstances, was filed against them and Marianita Batac in the Office of the
City Fiscal of Cabanatuan City (CFO Case No. 2033-79) but was dismissed for lack
of prima facie evidence on December 20, 1979.

Agustin Alonzo died on May 16, 1981 , hence the only remaining respondent is
Renato Lotuaco.

The Honorable Bienvenido C. Vera Cruz, Executive Judge of the CFI of Nueva
Ecija, conducted a formal investigation and he reported the following:

“The evidence for the complainant is to the effect that Rosalinda Morales, a
fairly attractive girl of seventeen, was in her house at Zulueta Street,
Cabanatuan City in the morning of January 2, 1979, when a friend and former
classmate, Marianita Batac, came by.  The latter asked Rosalinda to accompany
her to the CFI building to see Renato Lotuaco who had offered her a job as a
manicurist and beautician in a cosmetology class at Liwag Colleges.  Being
jobless at the time, Rosalinda’s curiosity was aroused.  She there­fore acceded
to her friend’s request.

“Arriving at the CFI building at about 10:00 o’clock in the morning of that
same day, they met Renato who invited them to the Yasmin Canteen located just
across the CFI building.  Renato and Marianita seated themselves in one table
while Rosalinda sat nearby but in another table.  Agustin Alonzo whom Marianita
likewise introduced to Rosalinda in that occasion stood by the counter.  The
conversation between Marianita and Renato commenced but beyond hearing distance
of Rosalinda.

“A few minutes thereafter, when Renato and Marianita were through conversing
with each other, Rosalinda told them she wanted to go home.  Being still early,
Renato invited Rosalinda to join them for lunch.  Rosalinda obliged but not
without first being practically dragged by her friend Marianita into a car
belonging to Renato.

“When everyone was already on board the car, Renato on the wheels and Agustin
seated in front beside him, the two girls occupying the rear seat, the car sped
away towards the direction of the road leading to Palayan City.

“Along the highway some few kilometers from Cabanatuan City was the O’patso
restaurant which, because of the numerous private rooms alongside each other,
each with an individual garage, was plainly and simply a ‘motel’.  On reaching
the place, the four entered a room located at the end.  Once inside, they
ordered food and soft drinks.  As Rosalinda had no appetite at the time, having
attended a wake the night before, she merely took a bottle of soft drinks.

“The lunch over, Agustin left the room, followed by Marianita, thus leaving
only Renato and Rosalinda inside.  Rosalinda made an attempt to leave the room
but Renato pulled her.  Rosalinda cried but Renato gave her a fist blow in her
abdomen as a result of which, Rosalinda felt weak.

“Taking advantage of the situation, Renato started to undress Rosalinda.  As
Rosalinda was then wearing a dress with a zipper at the back, Renato first
unzipped her dress.  Thereafter, and after removing Rosalinda’s clothes, Renato
then removed her bra by unhooking it at the front and lastly, her panty.  Renato
then started to undress himself as he stood in front of Rosalinda who was then
lying in bed.  Thereafter, Renato placed himself on top of Rosalinda and
commenced the act of sexual intercourse.  As she was then feeling weak because
of a sleepless night during the wake the night before, aggravated by the stomach
blow she suffered a while ago, and notwithstanding her resistance and her
shouting, Renato succeeded in consummating his sexual desire.

“Rosalinda could do nothing but cry and Renato could only say that it was
useless for her to do so.  He told her to dress up.  She did so by going inside
the comfort room.  At this juncture, Renato called for Agustin and Marianita who
were just outside the room.  After paying their bill, they boarded the same car
and proceeded towards Cabanatuan City where, in front of the East Central School
along the Cagayan Valley road, the two girls alighted and waited for a passing
tricycle.  Before they parted ways, Rosalinda confronted her friend Marianita,
asking her why she did that to her.  There was only a resounding silence from
Marianita.

“Rosalinda went home on her own but a few days thereafter, her friend
Marianita was back in her house to tell her that Renato wanted to talk to her. 
It was then about 7:30 o’clock in the morning.  When Rosalinda bluntly told
Marianita that she refused to talk to Renato , Marianita left but returned half
an hour later.  This time Marianita told her that she would not leave and would
keep coming back unless she acceded.  Rosalinda stood firm.  Marianita left
again but not without coming back some fifteen minutes later.  This time,
Marianita’s invitation was more threatening in the sense that Rosalinda would
not be allowed to rest and that they would kill her parents.  Because of this,
Rosalinda had to accede.

” Renato was already waiting in his car beside the CFI building when
Rosalinda and Marianita arrived.  Marianita told Rosalinda to get inside the
car.  Off they left, the three of them, this time to a place called Sawali
restaurant located along the Cagayan Valley road some five kilometers north of
Cabanatuan.  On reaching the place, the three entered a cottage although Renato
had to force her to get down while Marianita had to push her inside.  Only
Renato and Rosalinda went inside the cottage while Marianita remained outside. 
Rosalinda was crying, saying that she thought Renato merely wanted to talk with
her.  Renato remarked that this would be the last time he would disturb her. 
Thus-another sexual intercourse was consummated.  Renato ordered food thereafter
but ate alone as Rosalinda kept on crying.  After paying his bill, Renato and
the two girls boarded the car and left.

“As in the first encounter, Renato exerted not much effort in undressing
Rosalinda.  Before Rosalinda’s very eyes, Renato undressed himself, completely
naked.  Rosalinda’s dress was such that the buttons were merely snapped at the
front side.  It was therefore with ease that Renato was able to undress
Rosalinda who was then seated in a sofa.  After removing Rosalinda’s dress,
Renato then removed her bra.  Rosalinda was by now standing and despite her
struggle, Renato succeeded in removing her bra.  Renato thereafter pushed
Rosalinda in bed and subsequently removed her panty.  Renato then placed himself
on top of Rosalinda and the sexual intercourse com­menced to Renato’s
satisfaction.

“After the intercourse, Renato and Rosalinda dressed up.  They boarded a car
and with Marianita, headed for the city proper where, in the vicinity of the
Catholic church, Rosalinda and Marianita alighted.  Marianita took her home this
time.

“Several months passed and in August 1979, Rosalinda felt pain in her
stomach.  She was brought by her mother to the Provincial Hospital of Cabanatuan
City where, after an x-ray examination, it was discovered that she was already
pregnant and on the family way.  On that same day, Rosalinda gave birth to a
child who died three days thereafter.  It was during this occasion when
Rosalinda had to divulge to her mother that her pregnancy was caused by Renato
in conspiracy with her friend Marianita and one Agustin Alonzo.  It was also on
this day when Rosalinda denounced Renato and his alleged accomplices before the
Philippine Constabulary at Cabanatuan City.

“Admitting that he did engage Rosalinda in sexual intercourse on two
different occasions, Renato stoutly denied that he employed force or
intimidation on these two occasions.  It was not in January 1979 but sometime in
September or October 1978, so Renato declared, during lunch time at noon but not
earlier, when he committed the sexual intercourse – but all these for a fee of
P250.00 on each occasion.  He insisted that Rosalinda was a ‘call girl’ or a
woman who sold her flesh for a fee.  The sexual intercourse therefore, so Renato
concluded, was committed with her consent.

“The guilt or innocence of respondent Renato Lotuaco evidently rests on
Rosalinda’s credibility and the weight to be given, if at all, to her testimony.

“Several factors militate against complainant’s credibility in the light of
the following observations:

” Renato was candid enough to admit that he did commit sexual intercourse
upon Rosalinda but claimed that no force or intimidation was ever employed by
him.  On the contrary, they were committed with her consent and for a fee of
P250.00 during each intercourse.

“Indeed, the testimony of Rosalinda with respect to force and intimidation
leaves much to be desired.  At the outset, she claimed that Renato and company
forced her to board his car which was then in front of the Yasmin restaurant
across the CFI building.  Next, she stated that she boarded the car because she
was assured she would be brought home.  Finally, she declared that because her
companion Marianita was also joining them, she too decided to accede to Renato’s
request that they had lunch together.

“While Rosalinda claimed that she was dragged into the car by Marianita,
giving the impression at first blush that she was forced to board Renato’s car,
she later on explained that she was merely persuaded by Marianita ‘because it
has been our way as friends that whenever we are going somewhere else, there are
occasions when we persuaded each other.’ ( tsn, Feb. 9, 1982, p. 21)

“With Renato at the wheels, Alonzo seated beside him in front, and the two
girls at the back seat, all four sped away from the vicinity of the CFI
building.  Instead, however, of turning right upon reaching the Cagayan Valley
road towards the direction of Zulueta street where Rosalinda’s residence was
located along which abound several eating places, the car turned left at the
highway and thereafter turned right towards the direction of Palayan City where
no eating place was known to exist.  Rosalinda could have then sensed that they
were bound for an isolated place, opposite the direction leading to their
residence.  She did nothing nor say anything.  Neither did she call the
attention of her companions, Marianita in particular.  Upon arriving at the
O’Patso restaurant which as complainant described abound with adjacent rooms,
complainant never showed any concern either.  To be sure, they did not enter a
dining hall.  On the contrary, they entered a private room at the end which had
its own private bath and a bed.  At this point, Rosalinda should have realized
that this was not an eating place; she never showed any sign of fear or
apprehension.  She even drank a bottle of soft drinks when food was served
inside the room.  Not long thereafter, Marianita and Agustin Alonzo left the
room leaving only her and Renato behind.  At this point again, all that she
allegedly did was to attempt to open the door from inside the room but claimed
she could not, again giving the impression that the door could not be opened
from the inside.  At this juncture, she claimed that Renato boxed her in her
abdomen and pulled her towards the bed.  She knew that Alonzo and Marianita were
just in the garage adjacent to their room.  She claimed that she shouted.  The
airconditioner was not functioning at the time and if it was true she did shout,
the roomboys would have been alarmed and a scandal created.

“Neither was there any imminent danger to her life, for admittedly, Renato
was not armed at the time.  He had neither a knife nor a gun.  He never
displayed any weapon to cow her into submission.

“It was with ease that Renato was able to undress her completely.  First it
was her dress that Renato removed; then her bra which Renato unhooked in front. 
She was then lying in bed allegedly feeling weak.  Before her very eyes, Renato
in turn undressed himself.  He stood beside her completely naked.  Thereafter,
the intercourse commenced without any serious protestation nor any serious act
of resistance.

“Not long thereafter, and when the intercourse had already been consummated,
Marianita and Alonzo who were then outside the room came in.  But who opened the
door for them?  It was Renato.  It was he who unlocked the door from inside the
room, the very same door which Rosalinda could not unlock and open prior to the
intercourse.

“There was no argument at all when all four were once again inside the room. 
As a matter of fact, all four boarded Renato’s car which sped towards the city
of Cabanatuan.  Somewhere in the East Central School along the Cagayan Valley
road, Rosalinda and Marianita alighted from the car and parted ways by boarding
different tricycles.  Rosalinda could only ask Marianita why she could do that
to her but appeared re­signed when Marianita did not say anything.

“Rosalinda never reported the matter to the authorities, neither to her
parents nor to any of her relatives not until after another sexual intercourse
between her and Renato at the Sawali restaurant along the Cagayan Valley road
leading to Talavera, Nueva Ecija, some five kilometers north of Cabanatuan, four
or five days after the first intercourse at the O’Patso restaurant – not until
after several months when she could no longer hide her pregnancy.

“It was only on August 21, 1979, some seven months after January 1979 when
Rosa­linda decided to reveal everything.  She was then undoubtedly pregnant.  As
a matter of fact, she did give birth that very day when, because of stomach
pain, she was forced to submit herself to a medical examination in the company
of her mother at the provincial hospital in Cabanatuan City.  Despite the
non-arrival of her menstrual period for the past seven months, she claimed that
it was only on the date of her medical examination when she learned that she was
actually pregnant.  Because of the doctor’s assurance that there was nothing to
fear, she revealed and disclosed the name of Renato as the one responsible for
her pregnancy.  A complaint for rape was lodged by her at the PC headquarters
which was subsequently forwarded to the city fiscal’s office for investigation. 
The complaint was dismissed and it is significant to note that said dismissal
was affirmed on review by the Ministry of Justice in a resolution dated February
19, 1981, ‘on the ground that the testimony of the complainant cannot be given
credence.’

“Rosalinda’s testimony on the second alleged sexual assault at the Sawali
restaurant is likewise open to serious doubt.  Suffice it to state that
Rosalinda’s claim all the more weakens, instead of bolsters, the charge.  It is
indeed absurd that Rosalinda, over whom Renato exercised no influence at all,
and whose threats, assum­ing they were true, were merely coursed through her
friend Marianita, would again be subjected to another sexual assault, in broad
daylight, notwithstanding her opportunity to shout, or resist, or escape.

“Significantly, Rosalinda claimed that the alleged sexual assaults were
com­mitted in January, 1979 while Renato insisted that the same were committed
sometime in October, 1978.  This is not difficult to explain.  Had complainant
conformed to respondent’s theory, her giving birth in August, 1979 would have
been beyond the nine-month period or normal gestation.  To be sure, it would not
appear convincing that a pregnancy of nine months could escape unnoticed.  Be
this as it may, it is certainly the height of absurdity how a pregnancy of even
a period of only seven months could not have been noticeable, especially so when
complainant herself admitted that she did miss her menstrual period for the past
several months.

“By and large, complainant’s allegation of force and intimidation do not meet
the standards required to hold liable respondent Renato Lotuaco in particular. 
To be sure, such fear as that claimed by Rosalinda never existed at all.  No
weapon was ever used for the purpose of threatening her, if at all.  She had
every opportunity to escape or to shout, the two incidents having allegedly
occurred in broad daylight.  No serious resistance or vocal protestation against
the alleged sexual assault was offered at all by Rosalinda before, during and
after the incident.  There was absence of any torn apparel of complainant during
the two occasions.  There was failure to complain immediately after the alleged
incident.  Her testimony appears exaggerated, if not fabricated as to
essentials.  Such circumstances render the charge doubtful and cannot support a
finding of guilt.”

Judge Vera Cruz recommends that the complaint against Lotuaco be dismissed
for failure of the complainant to substantiate her claim by credible and
convincing evidence and that against Alonzo for having become moot and academic.

We agree with the investigator, for the reasons he has adduced in his report,
that the complainant has failed to substantiate her claim.  It would be the
height of naivete to believe her fantastic story which is profusely sprinkled
with improbabilities.

The case against Agustin A. Alonzo has to be dismissed not only because of
his death but also because it has been shown that he had no participation in the
alleged rape.  Although he has crossed the bar, he deserves to be exonerated,
not on the basis of a technicality, but because he was in fact blameless.

As to Renato Lotuaco he has admitted the fornication with the complainant
which has no relation to the discharge of his functions as a deputy sheriff nor
did it cause any public scandal.  However, since fornication is frowned upon
both morally and socially, a measure of condemnation is deservedly forthcoming.

WHEREFORE, Agustin A. Alonzo is exonerated from the
complaint while Renato Lotuaco is hereby reprimanded for his indiscretion.

SO ORDERED.

Barredo, (Chairman), Aquino, Guerrero, De Castro, and
Escolin, JJ.,concur.
Concepcion, Jr., J., is on leave.