GR 135511; (November, 2001) (Digest)
G.R. Nos. 135511-13 November 14, 2001
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. ENRICO MARIANO y EXCONDE, accused-appellant.
FACTS
The accused-appellant, Enrico Mariano, was charged with three counts of rape against his daughter, Jenalyn F. Mariano. The first incident allegedly occurred in August 1992, when Jenalyn was ten years old. After making her drink gin, her father attempted to have sexual intercourse with her while she slept, but failed to achieve penetration. The second attempt happened in September 1996, where a drunken Mariano, armed with a knife, tried again but was unsuccessful due to Jenalyn’s resistance. The third incident was on February 2, 1997, where Mariano similarly attempted rape but again failed to penetrate. Jenalyn reported these incidents in 1997.
The Regional Trial Court convicted Mariano of three counts of rape and imposed the death penalty for each count. The case was elevated to the Supreme Court on automatic review, particularly to examine the propriety of the penalty imposed given the nature of the acts described.
ISSUE
Whether the accused-appellant can be validly convicted of three counts of consummated rape, warranting the imposition of the death penalty, despite the absence of proof of full sexual penetration in each instance.
RULING
The Supreme Court modified the conviction. It ruled that the crime committed was attempted rape, not consummated rape, for all three counts. Under Article 335 of the Revised Penal Code, rape is consummated by the carnal knowledge of a woman, defined as the penetration of the female organ by the male organ, however slight. The testimony of the victim, Jenalyn, consistently stated that the accused’s penis touched her vagina but did not penetrate it. This factual finding constitutes attempted rape only, as the element of penetration was not established beyond reasonable doubt.
Consequently, the imposable penalty for attempted rape, where the victim is under eighteen and the offender is a parent, is reclusion perpetua to death. Applying the Indeterminate Sentence Law and considering the absence of any aggravating or mitigating circumstances, the proper penalty is reclusion perpetua for each count. The death penalty originally imposed by the trial court was therefore erroneous. The Court affirmed the conviction but modified the penalty to reclusion perpetua for each count of attempted rape and adjusted the awarded civil indemnity and damages accordingly.