GR 166401; (October, 2006) (Digest)
G.R. No. 166401 ; October 30, 2006
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, appellee, vs. ALFREDO BON, appellant.
FACTS
Appellant Alfredo Bon was charged with six counts of rape and two counts of attempted rape against his minor nieces, AAA and BBB. The rapes occurred over several years, beginning when AAA was six years old. The victims testified that appellant used threats and a bladed weapon to commit the acts. The trial court convicted appellant, imposing the death penalty for the consummated rapes and reclusion temporal for the attempted rapes. The Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction but modified the penalty for the attempted rapes to reclusion temporal in its maximum period. The case was elevated to the Supreme Court for automatic review.
ISSUE
The primary issue is the proper penalty for the two counts of attempted qualified rape following the enactment of Republic Act No. 9346 , which prohibits the imposition of the death penalty. Specifically, the Court must determine whether the penalty for attempted qualified rape should be computed based on death (the original penalty for consummated qualified rape) or reclusion perpetua (the penalty after R.A. No. 9346 ).
RULING
The Supreme Court affirmed appellant’s conviction. On the pivotal penal issue, the Court ruled that R.A. No. 9346 prospectively prohibited the imposition of the death penalty, replacing it with reclusion perpetua. For the crime of attempted qualified rape, the penalty is two degrees lower than that prescribed for the consummated felony. Since the law for consummated qualified rape now prescribes reclusion perpetua, the starting point for computing the penalty for the attempted stage is reclusion perpetua. Applying the rules for lowering penalties by degrees under the Revised Penal Code, the penalty two degrees lower than reclusion perpetua is prision mayor. There being no modifying circumstances, the penalty for each count of attempted qualified rape is prision mayor in its medium period. The Court thus modified the penalties imposed by the Court of Appeals accordingly.