SUPREME COURT DECISIONS

Search for www.chanrobles.com

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST ➔ SUPREME COURT DECISIONS

EN BANC

G.R. No. L-39882 February 20, 1934

THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, Plaintiff-Appellee, vs. ARSENIO DE LA CRUZ, Defendant-Appellant.

Laurel, Del Rosario and Lualhati and Francisco G. Perez for appellant.
Office of the Solicitor-General Hilado for appellee.

BUTTE, J.: chanrobles virtual law library

This is an appeal from a judgment of the Court of First Instance of Pampanga convicting the defendant-appellant of the crime of consummated rape upon the following information:

Que en hacia el 2 de febrero de 1933, en el Municipio de Arayat, Provincia de Pampanga, Islas Filipinas, el referido acusado, Arsenio de la Cruz, por medio de enga�o fuerza, amenaza e intimidacion, voluntaria, ilegal y criminalmente, yacio con Filomena Ma�o contra su voluntad. Hecho cometido contra la ley con las circunstancias agravantes de nocturnidad, despoblado y premeditacion.

The appellant makes the following assignments of error:

1. The lower court erred in convicting the accused of the alleged rape committed against Filomena Ma�o on the complaint filed by her aunt, Romana Ma�o, when her father is yet living and within the Philippine Islands.chanroblesvirtualawlibrary chanrobles virtual law library

2. The lower court erred in not acquitting the accused.

The testimony of Romana Ma�o (pp. 38, 39, t.s.n.) recites that Filomena Ma�o is the niece of Romana Ma�o and is living with, and supported by the latter; that the father of Filomena Ma�o is working in the adjacent Province of Tarlac. The Solicitor-General contends that Romana Ma�o is "to all intents and purposes the legal guardian of said offended party" and he argues that she is competent to sign the information to this case.chanroblesvirtualawlibrary chanrobles virtual law library

Article 344 of the Revised Penal Code, paragraph 3, is as follows:chanrobles virtual law library

"Tampoco puede procederse por causa de estupro, rapto, violacion o abusos deshonestos, sino en virtud de denuncia de la parte agraviada, o de sus padres, o abuelos o tutor, ni despues de haberse otorgado al ofensor, perdon expreso por dichas partes, segun los casos." Without passing at this time on the question whether the tutor (legal guardian) may file a complaint in the temporary absence of the parents or grandparents of the offended party, it suffices to say that we cannot accept the view of the Government that an aunt who has the temporary custody of a minor in the absence of her father occupies the position of a tutor (legal guardian). The word "tutor" (guardian) appearing in article 344, supra, must be given the same meaning as in section 551 of the Code of Civil Procedure, that is to say, a guardian legally appointed in accordance with the provisions of Chapter XXVII of the Code of Civil Procedure.chanroblesvirtualawlibrary chanrobles virtual law library

The argument of the Solicitor-General that delay and inconvenience and possibly a complete defeat of justice might arise if the father, as in the present instance, is absent from the province, addresses itself rather to the Legislature which has it in its power to enlarge the list of persons who might file complaints in such cases as this.chanroblesvirtualawlibrary chanrobles virtual law library

As the court lacks jurisdiction to hear and determine the information, the judgment below must be reversed with costs de oficio.

Street, Abad Santos, Imperial, and Diaz, JJ., concur.