G.R. No. L-73116 February 29, 1988
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. PRIMITIVO AVANZADO, SR., accused-appellant.

FACTS

The prosecution’s case, as credited by the trial court, established that on July 14, 1983, appellant Primitive Avanzado, Sr., then almost 70 years old, called nine-year-old Jennifer Gudez into his house. Inside a ground-floor room, he stripped her panty, applied pomade to her vagina and his penis, and then had carnal knowledge of her. Jennifer felt pain and did not shout because a handkerchief was placed over her mouth and she feared the appellant. She noticed bleeding afterwards. The appellant wiped her vagina, gave her 25 centavos, and she went home. The incident was later revealed to a neighbor, Delia Avenido, and eventually to Jennifer’s mother, Adelfa Gudez, who had been working in Manila. A medical examination six weeks later revealed “multiple old lacerations” of Jennifer’s hymen.
The defense presented a different scenario, asserting the crime’s commission was inherently improbable. Witnesses testified that at the alleged time, the appellant’s store on the ground floor was open and busy with customers and neighbors. People were playing pingpong outside, and a neighbor was doing laundry at a well behind the store. The defense argued it was impossible for the rape to have occurred unnoticed in such a public and accessible location.

ISSUE

The core issue is whether the trial court erred in convicting the appellant of rape based on the credibility of the prosecution witnesses and evidence, despite the defense’s claims of material inconsistencies, improbability due to the time and place, and the implications of the medical findings.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction. The Court upheld the trial court’s assessment of witness credibility, finding no material contradictions in Jennifer’s straightforward and candid testimony. The defense of alibi and impossibility was rejected. The Court ruled that the busy nature of the location did not render the crime impossible, as lust is no respecter of time and place, and the act could have been committed quickly in a room within the house. The appellant’s advanced age was also deemed irrelevant to the crime’s commission. Regarding the medical findings, the Court accepted the physician’s explanation that the healing period for hymenal lacerations varies and the description “old lacerations” was consistent with the incident occurring six weeks prior. The Court emphasized that in rape cases, the accused may be convicted on the sole basis of the complainant’s testimony if credible, as it was here, and where she has no improper motive. The civil indemnity was increased to P20,000.00 in accordance with prevailing jurisprudence.