GR L 975; (February, 1950) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-975; February 27, 1950
EL PUEBLO DE FILIPINAS, plaintiff-appellee, vs. MACARIO MACAYA Y OTRO, defendants. GREGORIO GAGAWARAN, appellant.
FACTS
On the night of November 5, 1945, the appellant Gregorio Gagawaran and four companions, all armed, broke into the house of Victor Dalawantan in Quezon City. After ordering the occupants to lie face down, they ransacked the house and stole cash and jewelry valued at P205. The assailants then took the 21-year-old daughter, Catalina Dalawantan, to the kitchen. There, they tied her neck and right foot, held her down, and three of them, including Gagawaran, successively raped her while one occasionally illuminated the scene with a flashlight. A medical examination confirmed fresh lacerations to Catalina’s hymen and the presence of spermatozoa. Only Gagawaran was arrested. The trial court convicted him and imposed an indeterminate penalty of 14 years and 8 months to 20 years of reclusion temporal, plus indemnity for the robbery.
ISSUE
1. Was the identity of the appellant as one of the perpetrators sufficiently established?
2. Was the penalty imposed by the trial court correct?
RULING
1. Yes. The Supreme Court held that Catalina’s positive identification of Gagawaran was credible and sufficient for conviction. She had ample opportunity to recognize him during the prolonged incident, as the assailants occasionally used a flashlight, and she knew them as neighbors since childhood. The delay in filing the complaint was attributable to police inaction, not the victim’s failure to identify the culprits. Corroboration of her testimony was not necessary. The defense of alibi was rejected as the testimonies of defense witnesses were found unreliable and contradictory.
2. No. The penalty was modified. The crime committed was the complex crime of robbery with rape under Article 294(2) of the Revised Penal Code. The Supreme Court found that at least two aggravating circumstances attended the commission of the crime: nocturnity and abuse of superior strength. Applying Article 64 of the Revised Penal Code, the proper penalty is the maximum, which is reclusion perpetua. The Court also increased the civil indemnity for the rape to P1,000 pursuant to Article 345 of the Revised Penal Code. The decision of the trial court was affirmed in all other respects.
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