People v. Elimancil

 

People v. Elimancil

G.R. No. 234951

January 28, 2019

FACTS:

                RTC and CA convicted Benjamin A. Elimancil of simple rape. AAA was in her boarding house in Mariveles, Bataan waiting for her dorm mate Agnes to come home. While sleeping, at around 11:30pm she was immediately awaken by Benjamin lying beside her with a knife poking her left side. He pulled her pajama and panty and pulled his pants. Thereafter, his penis penetrated her private part and did a repetitive action for more than one minute. She felt a hot liquid that came out and saw blood in her vagina. Benjamin said that if she would let others know about this, he would kill her. The next day she told her parents in Abucay, Bataan what happened. Her parents reported the incident to the police and later on arrested Benjamin in Mariveles. According to Benjamin’s defense, he was invited by AAA in her dorm for a birthday party. Upon arriving, he saw five women including AAA. He slept over while three of the women came home. AAA and Agnes went to work the day after and that in the adjacent room was Joel Malate, he would have heard the commotion so the appellant said that he could not have done it.

ISSUE:

                Whether or not accused-appellant is liable.

HELD:

                Yes. Three principles guide the Court in rape cases. 1.) An accusation of rape can be made with facility; it is difficult to prove but more difficult for the person accused, though innocent, to disprove. 2.) In view of the intrinsic nature of the crime of rape where only two persons are usually involved, the testimony of the complainant must be scrutinized with extreme caution. 3.) The evidence for the prosecution must stand or fall on its own merits and cannot draw from the weakness of the evidence for the defense. If the testimony of the victim is credible, consistent and convincing, the accused may be convicted solely on the basis thereof. Rape can be committed in the same room with the rapist's spouse or where other members of the family are also sleeping, in a house where there are other occupants or even in places which to many might appear unlikely and high-risk venues for its commission. Lust, it has been said before, is apparently no respecter of time and place. Neither is it necessary for the rape to be committed in an isolated place, for rapists bear no respect for locale and time in carrying out their evil deed.