February 2012 - Philippine Supreme Court Resolutions
Philippine Supreme Court Resolutions
[G.R. No. 169142 : February 27, 2012]
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE v. ENRICO DALUSONG Y MACALANDA, ACCUSED-APPELLANT.
"G.R. No. 169142 - PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Plaintiff-Appellee v. ENRICO DALUSONG y MACALANDA, Accused-Appellant.
On February 12, 2002, the Regional Trial Court (RTC), Branch 166 in Pasig City convicted Enrico Dalusong y Macalanda for the rape of AAA,[1] and sentenced him to suffer reclusion perpetua.[2] On July 5, 2005, the Court of Appeals (CA) affirmed his conviction and sentence.[3] He is now before the Court to reverse his conviction, mainly contending that AAA had erroneously identified him as the perpetrator of the rape.
Whether this appeal succeeds or not depends on the credibility of AAA�s identification. Accordingly, we have to closely examine the records, conformably with the time-honored principle that an appeal in a criminal case throws the entire records of the trial open.
The information charged Dalusong with rape committed as follows:[4]
On or about October 23, 2000, in Pasig City, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the accused, by means of force, violence and intimidation, did then and there willfully, unlawfully and feloniously have sexual intercourse with AAA, against her will and consent.
Contrary to law.
After Dalusong pleaded not guilty on December 13, 2000, trial proceeded. Testifying for the State were AAA, PO2 Alexander Calanoc, and Sr. Inspector Ruby Grace Sabino, M.D., a medico-legal officer of the PNP Crime Laboratory in Camp Crame who had issued the initial and final medico-legal reports.
The State revealed that AAA, then a 25-year old married woman, was on duty as a security guard at the entrance of Building II, A1 River Corporation, Sta. Monica Street, Barangay Capitolyo, Pasig City from 7:00 pm on October 23, 2000 to 7:00 am of October 24, 2000; that during her tour of duty, at 3:30 am, she entered the building to use the comfort room; that as she was returning to her post, she noticed a man passing by and going towards the direction of Barangay Pineda, Pasig City; that he was of regular built and sported hair dyed blond, and wore a white T-shirt and brown shorts; that she paid no attention to him because the pathway beside the guardhouse was being commonly used by different people going towards Barangay Pineda; that when she proceeded to inspect the vehicles parked in the area, someone suddenly smacked her hard twice on the left chin, causing her to fall on her side and to drop the iron pipe she was then holding; that she shouted for help but her attacker grabbed her by the hair and dragged her inside Building II; that the lights from the ceiling fluorescent bulbs of Building II illuminated her attacker's face, and she recognized him to be the same man who had earlier passed by her post; that she observed his face clearly for the first time and noted that his eyes were deep-set and his face a little elongated; that the man suddenly kissed her on the lips while his hand held her neck; that he boxed her on the face and abdomen when she tried to kick him; that he pointed the iron pipe at her and, nudging her with its sharp edge, ordered her to undress; that terrified, she stripped naked; that he sucked her right breast and boxed her on the stomach when she pushed him away; that after she weakened, he carried her to a nearby table and laid her on it; that he became frustrated in attempting to insert his penis in her vagina because he could not get an erection; that she resisted his attempts to sexually assault her, frustrating his three attempts to penetrate her; that he then masturbated before her eyes but did not stop staring at her; that upon achieving an erection, he pulled her by the legs, mounted her, and inserted his erect penis inside her organ; that she knew that he had ejaculated when she felt something wet and warm drip on her thighs; that he then put on his shorts and tried to wring her arms, forcing her to fight him back; that he picked up the iron pipe and stabbed her with its pointed edge, but she evaded the blow; that she run away from him naked towards the basement, where she hid herself for about 20 minutes; that she came out to retrieve her clothes after she knew that he was already gone; that she rushed to rejoin her companions then stationed in Building III and reported to them what had befallen her; that they decided to await the arrival of the operations manager; that the operations manager later accompanied her at day break to the police station to lodge her complaint; and that she later went to the Rizal Medical Center for a physical examination.
PO2 Alexander Calanoc and two other police officers, accompanied by AAA, boarded a service jeepney to search for the suspect in the vicinity of Barangay Pineda, which was the nearest to the place of the crime. As they passed Banaag Street, AAA spotted her rapist then conversing with three men in front of a house. The rapist was later identified as the accused Enrico Dalusong y Macalanda. The officers apprehended Dalusong and haled him to the police station for investigation and questioning.
The physical and medical examinations conducted on AAA at 5:05 pm of October 23, 2000 indicated the following injuries, viz:
PHYSICAL INJURIES:
HEAD AND NECK: lacerated wound and blood clots, left nostril, measuring 1x0.2 cm. along the anterior midline; Abrasion, upper lip, measuring 2.5x1 cm., 1 cm. left of the anterior midline; Abrasion, lower lip, measuring 1.5 x 0.5 along the anterior midline; hematomaleft cheek, measuring 3.5 x 3.5 cm, 6 cm. from the anterior midline, Area of multiple abrasion, left lateral neck region, measuring 6x2 cm., 4 cm. from the anterior midline;
CHEST AND TRUNK: Lacerated wound and blood oozing out, right nipple, measuring 2x1 cm., 9 cm. from the anterior midline, with superimposed abrasion, measuring 0.5 x 0.1 cm., 8 cm from the anterior midline; subject complains of pain at the abdominal region;
EXTREMITIES: Area of multiple contusions, reddish in color, proximal 3rd of the right forearm, measuring 6x2 cm., 2.5 cm., lateral to its anterior midline; Contusion, reddish in color, distal 3rd of the left arm, measuring 4.5 x 2.5 cm., 2 cm. lateral to its posterior midline; Contusion, reddish in color, distal 3rd of the right thigh, measuring 3.5 x 2 cm., 5 cm. medial to its anterior midline.[5]
GENERAL AND EXTRAGENITAL: x x x
BREAST: Pendulous with light brown areola and nipples from which no secretion could be pressed out. Right nipple has a lacerated wound with blood oozing out.
x x x
PHYSICAL INJURIES: There are external signs of recent application of any form of physical trauma.
GENITAL:
x x x
LABIA MAJORA: Full, convex and slightly gaping.
LABIA MINORA: Light brown and slightly hypertrophied.
HYMEN: Elastic, fleshy-type hymen with deep healed laceration at 4 and 8 o'clock positions.
POSTERIOR FOURCHETTE: Abraded and congested.x x x
PERIURETHRAL AND VAGINAL SMEARS: Positive for spermatozoa but negative for gram negative diplococci.
CONCLUSION: Physical findings of the genitalia is indicative of recent penetration.[6]
In his defense, Dalusong claimed that he was in his home in No. 15 Banaag Street, Barangay Pineda, Pasig City at around 11:30 p.m. of October 22, 2000 helping the boarders do their laundry; that he borrowed P20.00 from a boarder to buy cigarettes at the nearby corner store; that on his way to the store, he encountered several friends with whom he played cara y cruz until about 2:30 am of October 23, 2000, when he decided to return home to get money; that he went back to play cara y cruz at around 3:00 am, and stayed there until 4:10 am when he went home; that at around 3:00 pm of October 23, 2000, three policemen, accompanied by AAA, arrested him while he was with some friends in front of his house; that he denied knowing AAA; and that he saw AAA for the first time in the courtroom.
On February 12, 2002, the RTC rendered judgment finding Dalusong guilty beyond reasonable doubt of rape. It considered AAA's testimony worthy of belief due to its being given in a categorical, straightforward, spontaneous, frank, and unwavering manner; held that AAA positively pinpointed Dalusong as the man who had attacked and raped her; and concluded that there was no indication of any improper or ulterior motive on the part of AAA to testily falsely against him. It disposed thusly:[7]
WHEREFORE, the Court finds accused Enrico Dalusong y Macalanda Guilty beyond reasonable doubt, as principal, of the crime of Rape, as defined and penalized under Article 335, par. no. 1 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended by Republic Act No. 7659, and is hereby sentenced to suffer the penalty of Reclusion Perpetua and pay the victim P50,000.00, as civil indemnity, and P50,000.00, as moral damages, plus the costs of suit.
SO ORDERED.[8]
Dalusong's appeal was directly brought to the Court, but the Court remanded the appeal to the CA for intermediate review pursuant to the intervening pronouncement in People v. Mateo.[9]
On July 5, 2005, the CA affirmed Dalusong's conviction and sentence, observing that AAA had the sufficient opportunity to get a good look at her attacker's face due to the place of the rape being well-lit and because she herself had seen his face when he stared at her.
In this appeal, Dalusong contends that AAA erred in identifying him as the rapist; that no sufficient evidence connected him to the rape; and that his alibi was strong, being confirmed by his three witnesses, namely: Jovito Casimero, Christopher Sta. Ana, and Gervin Pangilinan.
A thorough perusal of the record showed the correctness of Dalusong's conviction and penalty.
To start with, the main challenge Dalusong poses is that his identification as the perpetrator of the crime was not reliable and positive. If that was so, he ought to be acquitted, for, according to People v. Rodrigo,[10] the greatest care should be taken in considering and determining the reliability of the identification of the accused when such identification is made by a solitary witness and the judgment totally depends on the reliability of the identification.
To determine if AAA's identification of Daluyong was reliable, the Court takes into consideration the time of the commission of the offense, the lighting condition in the place of the crime, the coherence of the victim, the opportunity to gaze at the face of her rapist, and the time that elapsed between the commission of the rape and the time of the assailed identification. Although the time of the commission of the rape was set at approximately 3:30 am, when it was still dark, AAA made it clear that she had been dragged into a place well-lit by two tubular fluorescent lights. In addition, AAA had at least two occasions to see well her attacker's face at close range, the first when he watched as she was undressing herself, and the second when he stared at her while he masturbated before her eyes to get his erection. We further note that AAA remembered the accused to be the same individual who had passed by her post as she was coming out of the building. His unique appearance (his hair being dyed blonde) had caught her attention and had made her subsequent identification of him as the assailant entirely reliable and trustworthy.
AAA, being a security guard assigned to watch over the vicinity of the crime scene, had the requisite training to secure her area of responsibility. Such training reasonably made her perceptive enough of the physical attributes of her attacker, particularly in light of her having made the identification of Dalusong as the rapist barely less than 12 hours from the commission of the rape.
In contrast, Dalusong's alibi was not airtight. The persons he enlisted to support his alibi could not even tell whether or not he had left the game of cara y cruz at 2:30 am. That they thought he came back at 3:00 am did not prove with precision such fact due to the absence of any concrete basis thereof. We cannot rely on estimations of time based upon a mere passing vehicle, a Tamaraw FX, on its way to the market,[11] for such a reckoning would be both unreliable and indefinite. Furthermore, Barangay Capitolyo, the situs of the crime, adjoined Barangay Pineda, the place of alibi where he supposedly played cara y cruz, it being undisputed that there was a pathway going to and from Barangay Pineda beside the guardhouse at Building II.
On the civil damages, we award P30,000.00 as exemplary damages to the victim in accordance with People y. Catubig,[12] where this Court held that the victim of a crime is entitled to recover exemplary damages pursuant to Article 2230 of the Civil Code whenever an aggravating circumstance is established, whether the circumstance is ordinary or qualifying. Here, the use of a deadly weapon (i.e., the sharp-pointed iron pipe) in committing the rape was a special aggravating circumstance. Such award is in addition to the civil indemnity and moral damages already granted to AAA. cralaw
WHEREFORE, we affirm the decision promulgated on July 5, 2.005 subject to the modification that Enrico Dalusong y Macalanda is further ordered to pay the additional amount of P30,000.00 as exemplary damages, all items of damages to be subject to interest of 6% per annum from the date of the finality of this decision.
The accused shall pay the costs of suit.
SO ORDERED."
Very truly yours,
(Sgd.) EDGAR O. ARICHETA
Division Clerk of Court
Endnotes:
[1] The real names and identities of the victim and members of her immediate family are withheld pursuant to Republic Act No. 7610 and Republic Act No. 9262 (Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004) and implementing rules. See People v. Cabalquinto, G.R. No. 167693, September 19, 2006, 502 SCRA 419.[2] Records, pp. 135-138.
[3] CA Rollo, pp. 102-129; penned by Associate Justice Salvador J. Valdez, Jr. (retired/deceased), with Associate Justice Mariano C. Del Castillo (now a Member of the Court) and Associate Justice Magdangal M. De Leon concurring.
[4] Records, pp. 1-2.
[5] Id., p. 76.
[6] Id., p. 75.
[7] Id., pp. 135-138.
[8] Id.
[9] G.R. Nos. 147678-87, July 7, 2004, 433 SCRA 640.
[10] G.R. No. 176159, 11 September 2008, 564 SCRA 584, 597.
[11] TSN, August 30, 2001, p. 11.
[12] G.R. No. 137842, August 23, 2001, 363 SCRA 621, 635.