GR L 36941; (June, 1984) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-36941 June 29, 1984
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. RAFAEL SAYLAN alias PAEL, accused-appellant.
FACTS
The accused-appellant, Rafael Saylan, was convicted of rape and sentenced to death by the Court of First Instance of Misamis Oriental. The prosecution established that on the evening of January 23, 1972, the accused, armed with a dagger, accosted the married teacher Eutropia Agno while she was walking home with her daughter and a young pupil. He dragged her to a secluded area near a creek, threatened her life, and succeeded in having carnal knowledge of her five times, employing different sexual positions including one described as akin to the manner of dogs. After the assault, he accompanied the victim and the children partway home before she managed to seek help.
ISSUE
The core issue for automatic review was the correctness of the imposition of the death penalty, which hinged on the proper appreciation of the aggravating circumstances alleged and found by the trial court.
RULING
The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction but modified the penalty. The Court sustained the trial court’s findings on the aggravating circumstances of despoblado (uninhabited place) and ignominy. The place was deemed uninhabited as the assault occurred 400 meters from the nearest house, deliberately chosen to avoid detection. Ignominy was properly appreciated due to the degrading and unnatural manner of the assault, particularly the act of entry from behind, which added moral suffering to the physical violation, especially as it was forced upon the victim. The Court agreed that the aggravating circumstances of abuse of superior strength and nocturnity were either inherent in rape or not deliberately sought. The circumstance of disregard of rank, based on the victim being a teacher, was correctly rejected for lack of deliberate intent to insult her rank. However, due to the lack of the necessary votes to affirm a capital sentence, the Court, in line with prevailing jurisprudence, reduced the penalty to reclusion perpetua. The civil indemnity was also increased to P20,000.00.