GR 92049; (March, 1993) (Digest)
G.R. No. 92049 March 22, 1993
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. JUAN MORENO y ULTRA, and PAULINO DELORIA, accused, REYNALDO MANIQUEZ, accused-appellant.
FACTS
Accused Juan Moreno, Paulino Deloria, and appellant Reynaldo Maniquez were charged with Robbery with Rape. They conspired to rob the house of spouses Raj and Sundri Mohnani in Manila. In the early morning of May 31, 1985, they forcibly entered the house by cutting the window grills. Once inside, they threatened the spouses and their children with weapons, ransacked the house, and carted away numerous valuables using a waiting jeepney. During the robbery, appellant Maniquez brought maid Mary Ann Galedo to the bathroom, and accused Deloria brought maid Narcisa Sumayo to the sala. Sundri Mohnani later observed that Maniquez’s pants zipper was open upon their return, and Sumayo was crying. The two maids left their employer’s house shortly after the incident and could not be located to testify at the trial. All accused pleaded not guilty but jumped bail during trial; only Maniquez was reapprehended. The trial court convicted all accused: Moreno for robbery only, and Maniquez and Deloria for the special complex crime of robbery with rape, sentencing them to reclusion perpetua. Maniquez appealed, contesting only his rape conviction on the ground that the alleged victim, Mary Ann Galedo, was not presented in court.
ISSUE
Whether the trial court gravely erred in convicting appellant Reynaldo Maniquez of rape based on circumstantial evidence, without the testimony of the alleged offended party in open court.
RULING
The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction. The rape was sufficiently proven by circumstantial evidence. The combination of established facts—that Maniquez brought Galedo to the bathroom alone, closed the door, emerged after five minutes with his pants zipper open, and Galedo was later found lying quietly in bed—constitutes an unbroken chain leading to the fair and reasonable conclusion that rape was committed. The Court found no other plausible explanation for these circumstances. The aggravating circumstances of dwelling, nocturnity, and use of a motor vehicle attended the crime but did not alter the penalty of reclusion perpetua for Maniquez, as it is the single indivisible penalty for robbery with rape under Article 294 of the Revised Penal Code. The Court increased the civil indemnity to P30,000.00. The conviction of Maniquez for the special complex crime of robbery with rape and his sentence were upheld.