G.R. No. 105010 September 3, 1993
People of the Philippines, plaintiff-appellee, vs. Ronnie Cortes y Duano and Domingo Lajos y Dela Cruz, accused-appellants.

FACTS

Accused-appellants Ronnie Cortes and Domingo Lajos were charged with Rape with Homicide before the Regional Trial Court of Masbate. The information alleged that on September 17, 1990, in Monreal, Masbate, they conspired to have sexual intercourse with Nonieta Lepitin against her will and thereafter attacked, stabbed, and hacked her, causing her death. Both pleaded not guilty. The prosecution presented eyewitness Fructoso Dignos, a farmer, who testified that around 5:00 PM on said date, while grazing his carabao about ten meters away, he saw appellants holding the struggling victim. Lajos held her hands while Cortes tore off her panty and raped her. After Cortes momentarily released her, the victim stood up, only to be stabbed by Cortes with a machete about seven times. Lajos then pulled out his bolo and hacked her three times until she fell. Dignos reported the incident to the victim’s father and a barangay councilor three days later. The victim’s father, Manuel Lepitin, confirmed his daughter’s disappearance and that Cortes had been courting her. Dr. Florendo Granado conducted a post-mortem examination and found twelve wounds on the victim’s body, including a 3 cm. laceration at the 6:00 o’clock position of the vagina. The defense relied on alibi. Cortes claimed he was sick at home on the date of the incident. Lajos claimed he was at Cortes’s house smoking copra. Bernita Espinosa, Lajos’s adoptive mother, testified he was at their house in Togoron. The trial court convicted both appellants of Rape with Homicide and sentenced each to Reclusion Perpetua and ordered them to pay P50,000 to the victim’s heirs. Hence, this appeal.

ISSUE

Whether the trial court erred in convicting accused-appellants of the crime of rape with homicide based on the prosecution’s evidence.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s decision. The Court held that the positive identification by eyewitness Fructoso Dignos, who knew both appellants and the victim, was credible and sufficient to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt. His testimony was clear, consistent, and withstood cross-examination. The delay of three days in reporting the incident was satisfactorily explained by his fear. The defense of alibi was weak and could not prevail over positive identification. The medical findings, particularly the vaginal laceration and multiple hematoma on the thighs, corroborated the rape. The number, nature, and location of the wounds indicated a determined effort to kill, proving homicide. Conspiracy was established as both appellants acted in concert to rape and kill the victim; Lajos’s act of holding the victim’s hands was indispensable cooperation in the rape, and both participated in the hacking. The penalty of Reclusion Perpetua and the award of indemnity were affirmed.