G.R. Nos. 135858-61; July 23, 2002
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. ANTONIO ABALA Y LACANARIA, accused-appellant.

FACTS

Antonio Abala was charged with four counts of rape against his 13-year-old niece, Lea Arevalo. The incidents occurred in May 1997 in San Pedro, Laguna. The prosecution’s case rested primarily on Lea’s testimony, detailing how the accused, on four separate nights, would enter her room while she slept, cover her mouth, threaten her with a knife, and forcibly bring her to his house where he would have carnal knowledge of her. She testified to resisting through kicking and striking but ultimately submitting due to fear of being harmed. She did not immediately report the rapes because the accused threatened to kill her mother. The defense presented the accused and his son, Meliton, who denied the allegations, claiming the charges were fabricated due to a family dispute over land.
The Regional Trial Court convicted Abala of four counts of rape and, appreciating the qualifying circumstance of relationship (the victim being his niece) and the victim being under eighteen, imposed the death penalty for each count. The case was automatically elevated to the Supreme Court for review.

ISSUE

The core issue is whether the trial court correctly convicted the accused and properly appreciated the qualifying circumstances to justify the imposition of the death penalty.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction but modified the penalty. The Court found the testimony of the victim, Lea Arevalo, to be credible, consistent, and convincing. It held that her detailed account of the successive rapes, coupled with her credible explanation for the delay in reporting due to threats against her mother’s life, constituted proof beyond reasonable doubt. The defense of denial and alibi was deemed weak and unsubstantiated.
However, the Court modified the penalty from death to reclusion perpetua for each count. The Court ruled that while the circumstance of relationship (uncle-niece) was properly alleged and proven, qualifying the rape under Article 335 of the Revised Penal Code, the circumstance of the victim’s minority (being under eighteen) was not. For minority to qualify the crime to warrant the death penalty, it must be both alleged in the information and proven during trial. In this case, while the victim’s age of thirteen was stated in the body of the informations, it was not specifically alleged as a qualifying circumstance. Consequently, the crimes were properly classified as simple rape, punishable by reclusion perpetua, not death. The Court also awarded civil indemnity and moral damages in the amount of P50,000.00 each for every count of rape.