G.R. No. 184756 June 5, 2009
People of the Philippines, Appellee, vs. Joven Jumawid, Appellant.

FACTS

On August 26, 2001, at about 9:00 PM, 18-year-old AAA was cooking dinner in her parents’ house in Cagayan de Oro City when appellant Joven Jumawid, a neighbor, entered reeking of liquor and carrying a knife. After asking for her father’s whereabouts, he choked her neck with his left hand and pointed the knife at her neck with his right hand. Despite her shouts for help, no one came due to loud karaoke noise from appellant’s house. Appellant dragged AAA to a bedroom, forced her to undress at knifepoint, and proceeded to remove her clothes. He mounted her, kissed and bit her lips and breast, and inserted his penis into her vagina. AAA moved her buttocks to prevent full penetration but still felt a portion of his penis enter her. Appellant threatened to kill her if she did not allow full insertion and bit her lips and vagina. The assault was interrupted when AAA’s father, BBB, arrived. Appellant hastily dressed, warned AAA not to tell anyone, and left. AAA immediately reported the rape to her younger brother. BBB went to the police station, and police officers accompanied him back to the house, where they found and arrested Jumawid, who dropped a knife. AAA was medically examined, revealing bite marks on her breast, lacerations and abrasions on her genitalia (though her hymen was intact), and injuries to her lip. Appellant claimed he and AAA were sweethearts and that the incident was a consensual encounter that involved only kissing. The Regional Trial Court found him guilty of qualified rape and initially imposed the death penalty. The Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction but modified the penalty to reclusion perpetua and adjusted the damages.

ISSUE

Whether the Court of Appeals correctly affirmed appellant Joven Jumawid’s conviction for the crime of qualified rape.

RULING

Yes, the Court of Appeals’ decision is affirmed with modification. The Supreme Court upheld the conviction for qualified rape. The factual findings of the lower courts, which the Supreme Court found no reason to disturb, conclusively established that rape was committed through force and intimidation with the use of a deadly weapon (a knife). The Court ruled that full penetration is not required for rape to be consummated; entry of the male organ into the labia of the female organ, even without hymenal laceration, suffices. AAA’s consistent testimony and the medical findings (lacerations and abrasions on her genitalia) proved partial penetration occurred. The use of a deadly weapon, as explicitly alleged in the Information and proven during trial, qualified the rape under Article 266-B of the Revised Penal Code, warranting the penalty of reclusion perpetua to death. However, the generic aggravating circumstance of nocturnity was not proven, thus the lesser penalty of reclusion perpetua was properly imposed. The Supreme Court modified the damages, awarding civil indemnity of ₱50,000.00, moral damages of ₱50,000.00, and increasing exemplary damages to ₱30,000.00 due to the presence of the qualifying circumstance.