GR 130522; (February, 2001) (Digest)
G.R. No. 130522 February 15, 2001
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. ROLANDO PAGDAYAWON, accused-appellant.
FACTS
Accused-appellant Rolando Pagdayawon, a policeman and stepfather of the complainant, was charged with the statutory rape of his eleven-year-old stepdaughter, Lori Pagdayawon, on September 16, 1996, in Davao City. The Information alleged that the act was committed by means of force and intimidation. Lori testified that after her mother left the conjugal home due to marital quarrels, her stepfather followed her to her room, locked the door, pointed a gun at her, and had carnal knowledge against her will. A medical examination revealed old healed hymenal lacerations.
The defense presented a denial, claiming the accused had been sexually impotent since 1986 and presenting a medical certificate of sterility. The defense also sought to impeach Lori’s credibility, portraying her as an incorrigible liar who fabricated the charge due to a grudge after being spanked, and suggested her teacher may have influenced the complaint. The trial court convicted Pagdayawon of statutory rape and imposed the death penalty.
ISSUE
Whether the trial court erred in convicting accused-appellant Rolando Pagdayawon of statutory rape and imposing the death penalty.
RULING
The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and the imposition of the death penalty. The Court upheld the trial court’s assessment of Lori’s credibility, finding her testimony on the rape clear, convincing, and consistent. The defense of impotency was rejected as the medical certificate only proved sterility, not an incapacity for sexual intercourse, which the accused himself contradicted by admitting he had sexual relations with his wife. The claim of fabrication was deemed insufficient to overcome the positive identification and the credible narrative of the minor victim.
The crime was properly qualified as statutory rape. Lori’s birth certificate and her mother’s testimony conclusively proved she was eleven years old at the time of the crime. Her minority and her relationship to the accused as a stepdaughter were both specifically alleged in the Information and duly proven during trial. These qualifying circumstances warranted the imposition of the death penalty under the applicable law, Republic Act No. 7659 . The Court modified the civil indemnity to P75,000.00 and awarded an additional P50,000.00 as moral damages.