FIRST DIVISION
[G.R. No. 137664.
May 9, 2002]
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs.
ROBERTO PADRIGONE a.k.a. “ROBERTO SAN MIGUEL”, accused-appellant.
D E C I S I O N
YNARES-SANTIAGO,
J.:
Roberto Padrigone a.k.a.
Roberto San Miguel, Michael San Antonio, Jocel Ibaneta and Abelardo Triumpante
were charged with rape in an amended information which reads:
That on or about the 3rd day of January, 1995, in Salvacion, Buhi, Camarines Sur, Philippines and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, conspiring, confederating together and mutually helping each other and by means of force and intimidation, did then and there willfully, unlawfully and feloniously have carnal knowledge with (sic) Rowena Contridas against her will, to her damage and prejudice in the amount that may be proven in court.
Acts contrary to law.[1]
All the accused pleaded
“not guilty.” Trial on the merits thereafter ensued.
The antecedent facts are
as follows:
It appears that at 3:00
in the morning of January 3, 1995, appellant Roberto Padrigone and the other
accused broke into the house of Rowena Contridas, then 16 years old, situated
in San Benito, Salvacion, Buhi, Camarines Sur.
Appellant Roberto Padrigone and accused Jocel Ibaneta poked a knife at
Rowena and her fourteen year-old sister, Nimfa,[2] and threatened to kill them if they reported
the incident to others. They gagged
Rowena with a handkerchief and Nimfa with a handtowel. Then, appellant undressed Rowena, forced her
to lie down and sexually violated her while his co-accused watched with
glee. Accused Jocel Ibanita tried to
rape Nimfa but failed because she was able to elude him.
After appellant satisfied
his lust on Rowena, the other accused took their turns. Every one of the accused raped Rowena. Before they left, they warned the sisters
not to report the incident or else they will kill them.
Despite the threats,
Rowena and Nimfa reported the incident to the police and identified appellant
and his co-accused as the perpetrators.
However, based on the police blotter, Rowena stated that it was only
appellant who raped her.
Dr. Damiana Claveria,
Municipal Health Officer, conducted a medical examination on Rowena and found
the following:
patient – very talkative, incoherent as to questions asked.
PE – no signs of external injury
IE – hymenal tear, recent 6”, 9” don’t bleed on manipulation, but
complained of tenderness upon insertion of 1 finger, copious vaginal discharge.[3]
According to Dr.
Claveria, there is a possibility that the fluids found inside Rowena’s vagina
may be semen. She added that it was
possible for Rowena to have only two hymenal tears even if four men had sexual
intercourse with her.
Dr. Chona C. Belmonte, a
psychiatrist of Cadlan Mental Hospital in Pili, Camarines Sur, testified that
while she interviewed Rowena, the latter was crying, incoherent and had
shouting episodes. She was confined at
the Cadlan Mental Hospital for further treatment. Upon further medical consultation, Dr. Belmonte observed thus:
Rowena was in a depressed mood and at the same time
overactive. She was combative, violent,
and was experiencing auditory hallucination, meaning, she heard things that
only she could hear. She was also
grandiously deluded, falsely believing that she could do things others could
not do. By that time, according to Dr.
Belmonte, Rowena had already lost touch with reality.[4]
Dr. Belmonte diagnosed
her illness as “Acute Psychotic Depressive Condition.”[5] She found that her mental disorder was not
hereditary because before the incident took place, she did not exhibit any
unusual behavior. She concluded that
her mental illness was strongly related to a traumatic experience. She noted that at one point in the
treatment, Rowena confided to her that “she was raped.”[6]
All the accused, including
appellant Roberto Padrigone, interposed the defense of denial and alibi. Appellant claimed that in the evening of
January 2, 1995, he and his companions, Jocel Ibanita and Michael San Antonio,
visited Rowena at her house. According
to him, Rowena was crying when they arrived.
When appellant asked her what was wrong, she told him that she wanted to
elope with him. He replied that he was
not ready as he was still studying.
Rowena snapped, “it’s up to him but he might regret it.”[7] While appellant and Rowena were talking,
Jocel Ibanita and Michael San Antonio were in the kitchen cooking noodles. Later, a certain Ismeraldo Quirante, in the
presence of several barangay watchmen patrolling the area, passed by the
Contridas’ house and advised the accused to go home because it was getting
late. They heeded the advice and left
the Contridas’ house at around 11:30
p.m.
The trial court gave
credence to the prosecution evidence and rendered a decision, the dispositive
portion of which reads:
WHEREFORE, in view of the foregoing considerations, this Court finds the accused, ROBERTO PADRIGONE a.k.a. ROBERTO SAN MIGUEL, GUILTY of the crime of Rape, under Article 335 of the Revised Penal Code (as amended by Section 11, R.A. 7659) and hereby sentences him to suffer imprisonment of RECLUSION PERPETUA, considering the mitigating circumstance of voluntary surrender. He is likewise directed to indemnify the offended party, Rowena Contridas, the amount of Fifty thousand Pesos (P50,000.00) as moral damages and to pay the costs of this suit. Accused JOCEL IBANITA, MICHAEL SAN ANTONIO and ABELARDO TRIUMPANTE are ACQUITTED for insufficiency of evidence. It being shown that the three accused are presently detained at the Municipal Jail at PNP, Buhi, Camarines Sur, their immediate release is hereby ordered.