GR 179944; (September, 2009) (Digest)
G.R. No. 179944; September 4, 2009
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Appellee, vs. ANTONIO ORTIZ, CHARITO CHAVEZ, EDWIN DASILIO and JERRY DOE, Appellants.
FACTS
On April 22, 2000, appellants Antonio Ortiz, Charito Chavez, Edwin Dasilio, and an unidentified accomplice (“Jerry Doe”), all armed, entered the residence of spouses AAA and BBB in Pili, Camarines Sur. They first subdued and tied up BBB, along with their neighbors Candido Oliva and his son Dennis, who were in a nearby camalig. The armed men then proceeded to loot the spouses’ house. After the robbery, AAA was ordered to go to the camalig to get water, where she was forcibly raped by Jerry Doe and the three appellants in succession, despite her pleas. The perpetrators warned the victims not to leave before making their escape. The crime was reported the next morning. During the investigation, a stolen calculator was recovered from a store where Dasilio had bartered it, and a witness, Florentino Bueno, testified that Ortiz and Chavez had earlier invited him to join the robbery and later boasted about committing the rape.
ISSUE
Whether the Court of Appeals correctly affirmed the conviction of appellants for the special complex crime of Robbery with Rape.
RULING
Yes, the conviction was proper. The Supreme Court affirmed the findings of the lower courts, which held that the prosecution proved the appellants’ guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The positive identification by the victims, particularly AAA, was clear, credible, and consistent. The defense of alibi proffered by the appellants was correctly rejected, as they failed to demonstrate that it was physically impossible for them to have been at the crime scene. The recovery of stolen property linked to Dasilio and the testimony of Bueno regarding the appellants’ planning and subsequent boasting corroborated the victims’ accounts. The crime committed is the special complex crime of Robbery with Rape under Article 294(1) of the Revised Penal Code, as the rape was committed by reason or on the occasion of the robbery. The Court modified the penalty to reclusion perpetua without parole, in accordance with Republic Act No. 9346, and increased the civil indemnity awarded to the victim to Seventy-Five Thousand Pesos (₱75,000.00) in line with prevailing jurisprudence.