GR 129286; (September, 1999) (Digest)
G.R. No. 129286 September 14, 1999
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. HERMIE BANTILAN, accused-appellant.
FACTS
On December 27, 1994, in Bunyasan, Malimono, Surigao del Norte, accused-appellant Hermie Bantilan was drinking at the store of Jita Quinto, located on the ground floor of her residence. After lunch, Jita went to her room on the second floor to rest. At about 2:00 p.m., Bantilan, who was drunk, asked Jita’s sister Rosie where Jita was and then went upstairs. Rosie later heard noise upstairs. Minutes later, Bantilan appeared and told Rosie that Jita wanted her upstairs. Upon entering the room, Rosie found Jita unconscious and sprawled on the floor with disarrayed pillows and beddings. Jita was brought to the hospital but died. The police found fresh bloodstains and the victim’s bloodied panty at the scene. When examined at the police station, Bantilan had bloodstains on the edges of his shirt, his underwear, and specks of fresh blood on his genital organ, which he could not explain. The postmortem examination by Dr. Adoracion Mantilla revealed fresh abrasions in the victim’s vaginal canal with blood oozing, and her death was due to cardiac arrest from asphyxia. Bantilan was charged with rape with homicide. He pleaded not guilty and claimed he was in Surigao City at the time. The Regional Trial Court convicted him and sentenced him to death.
ISSUE
1. Whether the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that the victim was raped.
2. Whether the circumstantial evidence was sufficient to convict the accused-appellant of rape with homicide.
RULING
The Supreme Court AFFIRMED the conviction. The prosecution proved the complex crime of rape with homicide beyond reasonable doubt. The medical findings of fresh abrasions in the vaginal canal and blood oozing from the victim’s vagina, coupled with the bloodied panty found at the scene, established rape. The cause of death was asphyxia from suffocation, consistent with a struggle during sexual assault. The circumstantial evidence conclusively pointed to Bantilan as the perpetrator: he was present at the scene, was the last person seen with the victim, informed the sister about the victim, and had fresh bloodstains on his clothing and genital organ which he failed to explain. The combination of circumstances produced a moral certainty of his guilt. The penalty of death was affirmed, and the accused-appellant was ordered to pay indemnity and damages to the victim’s heirs.