G.R. No. 249131 . December 06, 2021
TITUS A. BARONA, PETITIONER, VS. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES AND AAA, RESPONDENTS.

FACTS

The case stemmed from an Information filed against petitioner Titus A. Barona (Barona) for Acts of Lasciviousness under Article 336 of the Revised Penal Code. The prosecution alleged that from 2004 to February 2011 in Quezon City, Barona, with lewd design and by using intimidation, committed acts of lasciviousness upon AAA by touching her private parts against her will. Barona was the leader/Pastor of the Bless Our Lord To Shine (BOLTS) Ministry, and AAA was an elder in the same ministry. AAA testified to several instances: Barona sent her inappropriate text messages calling her beautiful; he called to say “mahal kita” and “miss na kita”; he attempted to kiss her during a translation task; he asked her to accompany him in a prayer cell and to give him a massage, which she declined; in February 2011, he pulled her during a mano, causing her to fall into an embrace where he pressed her breasts against his chest after ordering her to remove her bag that was between them; and on another occasion, he touched and pressed her left thigh while she was working. AAA did not immediately report due to fear and Barona’s position as the “anointed one of God,” but acted after learning other women had similar experiences. The prosecution also presented affidavits from two ministry members, Durana and Anibigno, who stated that Barona admitted to the acts during a confrontation, blaming exhaustion. Barona denied the accusations, claiming they were fabrications orchestrated by Lorna Sevilla, whom he had reprimanded, and that AAA, Sevilla’s sister-in-law, was compelled to file the complaint. He presented emails from AAA praising him and a CCTV footage of her hugging him. The Metropolitan Trial Court (MeTC) convicted Barona, sentencing him to seven months imprisonment and moral damages. The Regional Trial Court (RTC) affirmed the conviction but modified the penalty to an indeterminate sentence of six months of arresto mayor as minimum to four years and two months of prision correccional as maximum, plus moral damages. The Court of Appeals (CA) denied Barona’s petition and affirmed the RTC ruling.

ISSUE

Whether the Court of Appeals erred in affirming petitioner Titus A. Barona’s conviction for Acts of Lasciviousness.

RULING

The Supreme Court DENIED the petition and AFFIRMED the CA Decision with MODIFICATION. The Court held that all elements of Acts of Lasciviousness were proven: (1) the offender committed any act of lasciviousness or lewdness; (2) it was done under any of the circumstances enumerated in Article 336 (by using force or intimidation, when the offended party is deprived of reason or otherwise unconscious, or when the offended party is under 12 years of age); and (3) the offended party is another person of either sex. The Court found that Barona’s acts—the attempted kiss, the embrace with chest-to-breast contact, and the pressing of AAA’s thigh—constituted lascivious conduct. Intimidation was present due to Barona’s moral ascendancy as the ministry’s Pastor and leader over AAA, which produced fear sufficient to compel submission. The Court rejected Barona’s defenses: the delay in reporting was sufficiently explained by AAA’s fear and Barona’s influential position; the affectionate emails and CCTV hug did not negate the specific lewd acts or the intimidation employed; and the alleged motive of revenge was not convincingly established. The testimonies of Durana and Anibigno regarding Barona’s admission were admissible as evidence. The penalty imposed by the RTC was proper under the Indeterminate Sentence Law. The Supreme Court modified the awards, increasing the moral damages to P50,000.00 and awarding civil indemnity of P20,000.00. Thus, Barona was sentenced to an indeterminate penalty of six (6) months of arresto mayor, as minimum, to four (4) years and two (2) months of prision correccional, as maximum, and ordered to pay AAA P50,000.00 as moral damages and P20,000.00 as civil indemnity.