People v. XXX
G.R. No. 240750, June 21, 2021


Facts:

The Information reads: 

That on or about June 8, 2014, at around 11:00 o'clock in the morning, in Barangay xxxxx, Municipality of ______, Province of Misamis Oriental, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused with lewd design and by using force and intimidation, did then and there willfully, unlawfully and feloniously have carnal knowledge with [AAA],3 minor, 7 years old, by inserting his finger in her vagina against her consent, to her damage and prejudice. Contrary to and in violation of Article 266-A and 266-B of the Revised Penal Code.

The RTC convicted the accused of statatury rape. The CA convicted the accused of statutory rape and rape by sexual assault.


Issue: Was the CA correct in convicting the accused-appellant of statutory rape and rape by sexual assault?

 
Held:

"We find that the CA aptly convicted the accused-appellant for Rape by sexual assault despite such issue not being raised on appeal. We quote the portion of the appellate court's decision:

In criminal cases, an appeal throws the entire case wide open for review and the reviewing tribunal can correct errors, though unassigned in the appealed judgment, or even reverse the trial court's decision based on grounds other than those that the parties raised as errors. The appeal confers the appellate court full jurisdiction over the case and renders such court competent to examine records, revise the judgment appealed from, increase the penalty, and cite the proper provision of the penal law.

Accused-appellant argues that the information describes only one act which is carnal knowledge or rape of the first kind. However, as to the method of commission, it was allegedly done by "inserting his finger in her vagina", which constitutes rape by sexual assault or rape of the second kind. x x x

The provision of Section 13, Rule 110 of the 2000 Rules on Criminal Procedure, which was lifted from Section 13, Rule 110 of the 1985 Rules on Criminal Procedure,15 proscribes the filing of one information containing multiple offenses. The provision reads:

SECTION 13. Duplicity of the Offense. — A complaint or information must charge only one offense, except when the law prescribes a single punishment for various offenses.

In criminal cases, an appeal throws the entire case wide open for review and the reviewing tribunal can correct errors, though unassigned in the appealed judgment, or even reverse the trial court's decision based on grounds other than those that the parties raised as errors. The appeal confers the appellate court full jurisdiction over the case and renders such court competent to examine records, revise the judgment appealed from, increase the penalty, and cite the proper provision of the penal law.

The prohibition of filing an information with multiple offenses is predicated in the protection of the constitutional right of the accused to be properly informed of the nature and cause of the accusation. If two or more offenses are alleged in the information, the remedy of the accused is to file a motion to quash as provided in Section 3(f),16 Rule 117 of the 2000 Rules on Criminal Procedure. The failure to object to the information before the arraignment would result in a waiver to challenge the procedural infirmity. As in this case, the accused-appellant failed to file a motion to quash the Information. Thus, the CA correctly convicted him for Statutory Rape and Rape by sexual assault.

Further, the accused-appellant could also file a motion for bill of particulars, if he felt that the allegations in the information are vague, to enable him to properly plead and prepare for trial. Unfortunately, the accused-appellant did not avail of these procedural remedies. On the contrary, he actively participated in the trial. Hence, he is estopped to challenge the defective information.

xxx

The first charge for Statutory Rape was sufficiently alleged with using the term carnal knowledge. The case of People v. Bormeo, cited by the CA in its Decision, defined "carnal knowledge as the act of a man having sexual bodily connections with a woman; sexual intercourse. An essential ingredient thereof is the penetration of the female sexual organ by the sexual organ of the male. In cases of rape, however, mere proof of the entrance of the male organ into the labia of the pudendum or lips of the female organ is sufficient to constitute a basis for conviction." The term carnal knowledge has been countlessly interpreted by this Court as penile penetration of the woman's vagina. It leaves no doubt that the accused knew that he was being charged with inserting his penis into the vagina of the minor victim.

As regards the charge for Rape by sexual assault, We, likewise, find that the information sufficiently alleged the crime. The use of the word "by" is misplaced in the paragraph, since the information started with carnal knowledge, as already discussed above, the term refers to penile penetration. To the mind of the Court, the intention of the prosecution is to use "thereafter," instead of "by," to connote two different counts of rape that was committed on the same occasion. The testimony of the victim of the horrific events is coherent with this premise. The quoted portions are reproduced below:

Q If ever, what did XXX do to you?

A He removed my short and panty.

x x x

Q After XXX removed your short and panty, what then (did) next (sic) he do (next) to you?

A "Tenten".

Q What did XXX do with his tenten?

A Inserted "suksuk".

Q Where did he insert?

A Witness is pointing to her genetalia (sic).

Q After he inserted his penis, what then did he do next?

A Hand.

Q What did he do with his hand?

A Witness is demonstrating the hand directed to her genetalia.

Q If this is the hand of XXX which part of the hand did he use?

A Witness pointed to the middle finger of the right hand.

Q What did he do to his finger?

A Witness demonstrated that the middle finger was directed to her organ with action "ge-inane".

Q Did he insert?

A Witness is nodding her head.

Q What did you feel during that time when he inserted his finger?

A Painful.