GR 44725; (March, 1981) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-44725 March 31, 1981
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. RAYMUNDO BOADO, ET AL., accused; RAYMUNDO BOADO and FEDERICO RIVERA, accused-appellants.
FACTS
On September 20, 1974, in Barrio Rabon, San Fabian, Pangasinan, three armed men blocked a road with tree trunks and stones to stop a Ford Fiera pick-up. They held up the passengers—Crispina Belvis, Tomas Sino Cruz, Ernesto Zulueta, and Amado Paulino—robbing them of cash and personal belongings. Subsequently, all three malefactors took turns raping Crispina Belvis at gunpoint. The authorities apprehended Raymundo Boado and Federico Rivera, who were positively identified by the victims from a line-up. The third assailant remained unidentified. An Information for Robbery with Rape under Article 294(2) of the Revised Penal Code was filed against Boado and Rivera.
The trial court convicted both accused of Robbery with Double Rape, aggravated by several circumstances, and sentenced each to two penalties of death. The case was elevated to the Supreme Court for automatic review, given the imposition of the death penalty.
ISSUE
Whether the trial court correctly convicted the appellants of the complex crime of Robbery with Rape under Article 294(2) of the Revised Penal Code, and whether the imposition of the death penalty was proper.
RULING
The Supreme Court modified the conviction. The Court held that the facts proven constituted two separate crimes of robbery and rape, not the single complex crime of robbery with rape. For the complex crime to exist, the rape must be committed as a necessary means to commit the robbery, or the robbery must be committed to facilitate the rape. Here, the robbery was consummated first, after which the appellants, motivated by lust, separately committed rape. These were distinct acts with different criminal intents.
Consequently, the appellants should be convicted of two separate crimes: simple robbery and rape. Regarding the rape, the Court found it was qualified under Article 335 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended by Republic Act No. 4111 , because it was committed by two or more persons and with the use of a deadly weapon. The penalty for qualified rape at the time was death. The Court affirmed the death penalty for the rape but modified the penalty for the robbery to an indeterminate sentence. The indemnities awarded by the trial court were sustained. The real nature of the crime is determined by the facts alleged in the information and proven at trial, not merely by the prosecution’s designation of the offense.