GR 177565; (January, 2008) (Digest)
G.R. No. 177565; January 28, 2008
People of the Philippines, appellee, vs. Elmer Glivano y Silvallana, appellant.
FACTS
The appellant, Elmer Glivano, was convicted by the Regional Trial Court of fifty counts of qualified rape committed against his stepdaughter from 1995 to 1999, beginning when she was seven years old. The abuse occurred repeatedly, often when the victim’s mother was absent. The victim disclosed the rapes in a letter to her mother in 1999, stating she could no longer endure the acts. A medical examination revealed healed hymenal lacerations consistent with sexual penetration.
During trial, the prosecution presented the victim’s credible testimony, medical evidence, and testimonies from a barangay official and a doctor. The defense relied on denial and alibi, claiming the appellant was often working and that other relatives lived in the house, making the alleged acts impossible. The victim’s mother, supporting her husband, testified she saw no signs of abuse and later sought to drop the charges due to financial dependence on the appellant.
ISSUE
The core issue for the Supreme Court’s review was whether the Court of Appeals correctly affirmed the trial court’s conviction of the appellant for fifty counts of qualified rape.
RULING
The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction. The Court upheld the factual findings of the lower courts, emphasizing that the victim’s testimony was clear, convincing, and consistent. The Court ruled that the victim’s detailed account of the repeated sexual assaults, corroborated by medical findings, constituted proof beyond reasonable doubt. The defense of denial and alibi was deemed weak and unsubstantiated, as it failed to demonstrate the physical impossibility of the appellant’s presence at the crime scene. The Court noted that alibi cannot prevail over the positive identification by the victim.
Furthermore, the Court found the qualifying circumstance of relationship was duly proven, as the appellant was the stepfather of the victim, making the crime qualified rape. However, pursuant to Republic Act No. 9346, which prohibited the death penalty, the Court modified the penalty from death to reclusión perpetua without eligibility for parole for each count. The awards of damages were also adjusted, increasing moral damages to Seventy-Five Thousand Pesos (P75,000.00) for each count of rape, in line with prevailing jurisprudence.