G.R. No. 54445 May 12, 1989
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. MARIO NUNAG, ARNEL MANDAP, EFREN SALANGSANG, DANILO CARPIO and DIOSDADO MANALILI, accused-appellants.

FACTS

The accused-appellants were charged with the rape of Lorenza Lopez, then about fifteen and a half years old, during the second week of May 1978 in Minalin, Pampanga. The complainant testified that while watching television outside a neighbor’s house, accused Mario Nunag, appearing drunk, approached her, poked a knife at her, and forced her to a nearby ricefield. There, he was joined by the four other accused. They held her down, and Nunag, followed by Arnel Mandap, had carnal knowledge of her against her will. She lost consciousness after Mandap and later regained it while Diosdado Manalili was abusing her. The accused then threatened to kill her and her family if she reported the incident. She subsequently became pregnant and gave birth to twins who died shortly after.
The defense presented contrasting narratives. Nunag, Salangsang, and Manalili admitted to separate instances of sexual intercourse with the complainant but claimed they were consensual and occurred on different dates, with the complainant allegedly soliciting money afterward. Carpio and Mandap denied any sexual intercourse, with Mandap claiming the complainant made an advance which he did not act upon.

ISSUE

Whether the accused-appellants are guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of rape.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction but modified the penalties. The Court found the complainant’s testimony to be credible, straightforward, and consistent. Her delay in reporting the incident was satisfactorily explained by the grave threats made against her and her family, which instilled a well-grounded fear. The medical certificate corroborated her claim of recent sexual intercourse and loss of virginity. The Court rejected the defenses of alibi and denial, which are inherently weak, and found the appellants’ claims of consensual sex to be implausible and contrived.
However, the Court meticulously reviewed the testimony and noted a critical clarification. Upon questioning by the trial judge, the complainant admitted she lost consciousness after Arnel Mandap and could not personally attest to the specific acts of Efren Salangsang and Danilo Carpio, only presuming their participation because they were present. Consequently, the Court held that only three distinct acts of rape were proven with moral certainty: those committed by Mario Nunag, Arnel Mandap, and Diosdado Manalili through direct participation. Salangsang and Carpio were convicted as indispensable cooperators in these three rapes by helping restrain the victim.
Thus, Nunag, Mandap, and Salangsang were each sentenced to three penalties of reclusion perpetua. Manalili and Carpio, who were minors (above 16 but below 18) at the time of the crime, were each sentenced to three indeterminate penalties of ten years of prision mayor as minimum, to seventeen years and four months of reclusion temporal as maximum. The appealed judgment was affirmed with this modification.