G.R. No. 118828 & 119371 February 29, 2000
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. HENRY LUGARTO Y PETILLA and ERNESTO CORDERO y MARISTELA @ “Booster,” accused-appellants.

FACTS

On August 2, 1994, the body of seven-year-old Angel Alquiza was discovered inside a sack floating on a flooded street in Binondo, Manila. An autopsy revealed she died from multiple stab wounds and traumatic injuries, including a massive laceration from her vagina to her anus, skull fractures, and missing eyes. Investigation revealed that on the night of August 1, Angel had gone to buy food from a nearby store but never returned. Witness accounts and police follow-up led to the appellants, Henry Lugarto and Ernesto Cordero. Evidence showed the child was last seen near an area where Cordero parked his pedicabs. One pedicab, suspiciously abandoned and covered, was linked to the appellants.
The appellants were charged with rape with homicide. The Regional Trial Court initially convicted them and imposed reclusion perpetua. Upon a petition for certiorari by the Office of the Solicitor General, the Supreme Court directed the trial court to impose the correct penalty, which is death, given the nature of the crime. The trial court complied, issuing an amended sentence, leading to this automatic review.

ISSUE

Whether the guilt of the appellants for the special complex crime of rape with homicide was proven beyond reasonable doubt, warranting the imposition of the death penalty.

RULING

Yes, the Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and the imposition of the death penalty. The Court meticulously reviewed the evidence and found the prosecution’s case airtight. The appellants were positively identified and linked to the crime through credible witness testimonies and circumstantial evidence that formed an unbroken chain leading to the inescapable conclusion of their guilt. The nature of the child’s horrific injuries, particularly the genital mutilation, conclusively established the element of rape that preceded the killing.
The legal logic for affirming the death penalty is rooted in the applicable law at the time, Article 335 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended by Republic Act No. 7659 . The crime committed was the special complex crime of rape with homicide. When homicide occurs as a consequence of or on the occasion of rape, the law prescribes a single indivisible penalty of death. The trial court’s initial imposition of reclusion perpetua was a legal error, as the law mandates death when the victim is under eighteen (18) years of age and the homicide is qualified. The Supreme Court, in its earlier resolution in G.R. Nos. 119987-88, correctly ordered the amendment of the penalty. The crime’s aggravating circumstances, including the victim’s tender age, evident premeditation, and the particular cruelty exhibited, further justified the supreme penalty. The conviction was thus affirmed in toto.