G.R. No. 56457 January 27, 1989
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. DIOSCORO PEDROSA, accused-appellant.

FACTS

On June 9, 1977, in Barangay Tacuranga, Palo, Leyte, the parents of nine-year-old Maria Belen Almaden left her and three other children at home. Around 11:30 p.m., house guest Delia Hezoli was awakened by someone tugging her head and heard Maria cry in pain. She found Maria missing and sought help from neighbors. Meanwhile, Maria’s brother Roberto was also awakened by her cries and the sound of rattling water containers. He felt a man’s foot, noted the man’s pants had irregular edges, and later saw this same man, the appellant Dioscoro Pedrosa, on their porch when a neighbor arrived with a lamp. Inside, they found Maria dead in bed. The appellant later shook her but she did not move.
The following morning, the appellant appeared disturbed and asked for insecticide. He accompanied Roberto to inform the victim’s mother, falsely stating Maria died of stomach ache. Upon seeing the blood from his daughter’s vagina, the father reported the crime. Patrolman Rogelio Montejo found the appellant, who stated, “I did not know what I was doing,” and did not deny the officer’s accusation when shown the body. An autopsy confirmed the victim’s hymen was completely destroyed and her death was due to asphyxia from manual strangulation. The appellant denied the crime, claiming he was summoned by cries for help.

ISSUE

Whether the guilt of the appellant for the special complex crime of rape with homicide has been proven beyond reasonable doubt.

RULING

Yes, the Supreme Court affirmed the conviction. The Court found the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses, particularly the child witnesses Delia Hezoli and Roberto Almaden, to be credible, consistent, and corroborated by physical evidence. The legal logic rests on the well-established principle that the testimony of child witnesses, when shown to be given with intelligence and understanding, is accorded full faith and credence. Roberto’s identification of the appellant was precise, noting the distinctive pants, and his account was corroborated by neighbor Francisco Mas and the appellant’s own restless behavior and false statement about the cause of death the next day. The appellant’s flight and his equivocal statement to the police (“I did not know what I was doing”) constituted tacit admissions of guilt.
The defense of alibi was rejected as inherently weak and could not prevail over the positive identification by credible witnesses. The medical findings of vaginal laceration and complete destruction of the hymen, coupled with the cause of death being manual strangulation, conclusively established the rape and the homicide committed on the occasion thereof. The crime is the special complex crime of rape with homicide under Article 335 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended, which prescribes the penalty of death. However, due to the constitutional prohibition under the 1987 Constitution , the penalty is reduced to reclusion perpetua. The Court also affirmed the award of indemnity to the victim’s heirs.