People v. Fabre
REITERATIONFacts
The Antecedents: Leonardo Fabre was accused of raping his thirteen-year-old daughter, Marilou Fabre. The Information alleged that the incident occurred on April 26, 1995, at their house in Manat, Trento, Agusan del Sur, where the accused, by force, threats, and intimidation, with lewd design, had sexual intercourse with his daughter against her will. Procedural History: The Regional Trial Court (RTC), Br. VI, of Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur, found Leonardo Fabre guilty of rape and imposed the death penalty, along with civil indemnity of P50,000.00. The case was automatically reviewed by the Supreme Court. The Petition: The accused appealed the RTC's decision, assigning as errors the RTC's failure to give credence to his defense of alibi and denial, and the imposition of the death sentence despite the alleged failure of the prosecution to establish the victim's actual age.
Issue(s)
Whether the trial court gravely erred in not giving credence to the accused-appellant's defense of alibi and denial. Whether the trial court gravely erred in imposing the death sentence despite the failure of the prosecution to establish the actual age of Marilou Fabre at the time of the commission of the alleged rape.
Ruling
The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction of Leonardo Fabre for the crime of rape but reduced the penalty from death to reclusion perpetua due to the insufficiency of proof on the qualifying circumstance of the victim's minority. The award of P50,000.00 civil indemnity was sustained, and the Court additionally ordered the payment of P50,000.00 moral damages and P20,000.00 exemplary damages.
Ratio Decidendi
On the defense of alibi and denial: The Court found the accused-appellant's alibi unmeritorious. His claim of working at a coconut plantation about one kilometer away from the crime scene did not sufficiently establish that he could not have been physically present at the place of the crime. Furthermore, the testimony of his wife, Adela Fabre, was inconsistent, as she initially stated she left the house at 4:00 PM on the day of the incident but later changed her story to leaving in the morning and returning at 10:00 AM, staying home the rest of the day. The Court gave more credence to the candid and straightforward testimony of the victim, Marilou Fabre, which was replete with graphic details that indicated personal experience of the assault. On the imposition of the death sentence and proof of the victim's age: The Court agreed with the defense and the prosecution that the death penalty should be reduced to reclusion perpetua. While Article 335 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended by R.A. No. 7659, provides for the death penalty when rape is committed by a parent on a victim under eighteen years of age, both the relationship and the minority of the victim must be proven beyond reasonable doubt. In this case, although the father-daughter relationship was established, the victim's exact age was not conclusively proven. The victim claimed to be 13, while her mother stated she was 14. The birth certificate was allegedly lost in a fire, and no other documentary or credible testimonial evidence was presented to establish her age. The Court emphasized that judicial notice of the victim's minority cannot be taken without the proper hearing, and the prosecution bears the burden of presenting sufficient proof, such as a birth certificate or similar documents, to establish the age of the victim.
Main Doctrine
While the relationship of parent and child is a qualifying circumstance for the imposition of the death penalty in rape under R.A. No. 7659, the prosecution must prove beyond reasonable doubt both the relationship and the minority of the victim. Failure to establish the victim's age beyond reasonable doubt necessitates the reduction of the penalty from death to reclusion perpetua.