G.R. No. 123075 ; October 8, 2001
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. PEDRO NUELAN y LUDOVICE, accused-appellant.

FACTS

Accused-appellant Pedro Nuelan was charged with three counts of rape committed against his thirteen-year-old daughter, Margie. The informations detailed incidents on January 1, February 27, and March 4, 1994, in their home in Paracale, Camarines Norte. Initially, a plea bargain was attempted, leading to the dropping of one case in exchange for guilty pleas to the other two. However, the trial court, upon a searching inquiry, found the accused’s plea to be improvident, as he mistakenly believed the charges were only for attempted rape. The court thus allowed the withdrawal of the plea, reinstated all three cases, and proceeded to trial.
During trial, Margie testified consistently, detailing how her father used force and threats of death to rape her on the specified dates. Her elder sister, Agnes, corroborated the events by testifying to Margie’s immediate outcry and the visible physical and emotional trauma. The defense presented only the accused, who denied the allegations. The Regional Trial Court convicted Nuelan on all three counts and imposed the death penalty for each, prompting an automatic review by the Supreme Court.

ISSUE

The core issue is whether the guilt of the accused for three counts of rape was proven beyond reasonable doubt.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction but modified the penalties. The Court found the testimony of the victim, Margie, to be credible, consistent, and convincing. Her detailed account of the force, intimidation, and threats used by her father, coupled with her immediate reporting to her sister, established the essential elements of rape. The defense of denial could not prevail over the positive and categorical testimony of the victim, especially given the moral ascendancy and parental authority the accused held over her, which supplied the requisite intimidation.
However, the Court reduced the penalty from death to reclusion perpetua for each count. The Court noted that while the rape of a daughter under eighteen is punishable by death under Republic Act No. 7659 , the qualifying circumstance of relationship must be both alleged in the information and proven during trial. In this case, while the informations alleged the victim was the accused’s daughter, the prosecution failed to present documentary evidence, such as a birth certificate, to conclusively prove this filiation. Relationship is a special qualifying circumstance that cannot be presumed; it must be established with equal certainty and completeness as the crime itself. Consequently, the crime was properly classified as simple rape, punishable by reclusion perpetua. The award of moral damages was increased to P50,000.00 for each count of rape.