G.R. No. L-66420. April 17, 1989.
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. GERARDO ALMENARIO, PEMPIN BAHIA, REYNALDO CAYOBIT & HILARIO MAAT, accused. GERARDO ALMENARIO, accused-appellant.

FACTS

In the early morning of December 10, 1979, spouses Candido and Marciana Caindoy were awakened in their home in Leyte by several hooded men claiming to be PC members. The intruders, identified as Gerardo Almenario, Reynaldo Cayobit, Hilario Maat, and Pempin Bahia, were all armed. Almenario subdued Candido at gunpoint. Cayobit then dragged Marciana to a threshing area, where, with Bahia and Maat pinning her down, he raped her. Subsequently, Almenario, Maat, and Bahia each took turns raping Marciana in succession while the others restrained her and guarded her husband.
After the series of rapes, Almenario, still armed, demanded money from the terrified couple. Marciana revealed their savings, leading to the theft of P1,500.00 cash and various household items and livestock totaling P3,088.00. The accused threatened to kill the family if they reported the crime. Only appellant Gerardo Almenario was apprehended and tried; his three co-accused remained at large. The trial court convicted Almenario of Robbery in Band with Rape and imposed four death penalties.

ISSUE

The core issue is whether the trial court erred in convicting appellant Gerardo Almenario of Robbery in Band with Rape based on the identification and testimony of the victims.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction but modified the penalty. The Court found the victims’ positive identification of Almenario credible and reliable. The spouses were familiar with the appellant, having seen him frequently pass near their house. The illumination from a kerosene lamp inside the house and the moonlight outside provided sufficient light for recognition. The prolonged and traumatic nature of the incident, lasting over an hour, further enabled the victims to clearly identify their assailants. The defense of alibi was rejected for being weak and unsubstantiated.
The crime committed is a special complex crime of Robbery with Rape under Article 294(2) of the Revised Penal Code. The Court affirmed the presence of the aggravating circumstances of band, nighttime, dwelling, and abuse of superior strength, which justified the trial court’s imposition of the death penalty. However, in accordance with Section 19(1), Article III of the 1987 Constitution, which prohibits the imposition of the death penalty unless Congress provides for it for heinous crimes, the penalty was reduced to reclusion perpetua. The Court also increased the moral damages awarded to the rape victim, Marciana Caindoy, from P5,000.00 to P25,000.00. The judgment was affirmed with these modifications.