GR 73462; (September, 1991) (Digest)
G.R. No. 73462 September 30, 1991
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. MAURICIO PLAGA, accused-appellant.
FACTS
On the night of April 5, 1980, spouses Hermoso and Florenda Franco were having supper when armed, masked men entered their house in Agusan del Sur. The intruders ordered the couple to lie down, demanded money, and took P700.00. One assailant, later identified by Florenda as appellant Mauricio Plaga after she pulled off his mask, raped her on the balcony. Another masked man also raped her. The perpetrators then left, having tied Florenda. Upon freeing herself, Florenda found her husband Hermoso dead in the kitchen from a stab wound. She immediately reported the robbery, rape, and killing to her cousin-in-law, naming Plaga. Appellant was arrested in Bukidnon weeks later.
ISSUE
The core issue is whether the prosecution proved appellant’s guilt for the complex crime of robbery with homicide beyond reasonable doubt, and whether the commission of rape was duly established.
RULING
The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction but corrected the legal designation of the crime. The prosecution successfully proved appellant’s guilt through the credible, consistent, and detailed testimony of the victim-witness, Florenda Franco. Her positive identification of Plaga as one of the perpetrators who raped her was compelling, despite the negative medical findings days later, as such findings do not negate rape. Her account was corroborated by her immediate outcry to her relative.
The Court clarified that the crime committed was the special complex crime of robbery with homicide under Article 294(1) of the Revised Penal Code, not robbery with homicide and rape. The rape and the violation of dwelling were properly considered as generic aggravating circumstances, as they are not inherent elements of the robbery itself. With these aggravating circumstances, the penalty should be imposed in its maximum period. However, owing to the constitutional prohibition of the death penalty, the Court modified the sentence from death to reclusion perpetua. The civil indemnities were sustained, with the death indemnity increased to P50,000.00.