Supreme Court. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – “Incestuous rape is not a simple criminal offense that can easily be fabricated, especially in this case where both parents are accused,” the Supreme Court said as it affirmed the guilty verdict against the parents of a 14-year-old girl.
The 14-year-old girl accused her parents of abusing her – her mother holding her legs while her father raped her.
Both parents took their case to the Supreme Court after they were found guilty of qualified rape by the Regional Trial Court of Pangasinan and the Court of Appeals.
The spouses argued that the victim’s testimony conflicts with the testimony of her sister, who said that there was no rape and that the sister only filed the complaint because her uncle and aunt forced her.
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“To our mind, a daughter like AAA262581 would not have imputed false allegations against her own parents, on whom she depends for support, were it not for her desire to seek justice and to stop the sexual abuse that she had to endure at a very young age,” said the Supreme Court’s Second Division, in a 13-page decision penned by Associate Justice Mario Lopez.
In rape cases, the high court said, the primary consideration is the victim’s testimony, which, even if uncorroborated as long as it is consistent, natural and convincing could lead to a conviction.
“It is the Court’s policy to accord great weight and respect, and at times even finality, to the trial court’s evaluation and conclusion on the credibility of witnesses in rape cases, especially when upheld by the appellate court and absent any showing that the findings were reached arbitrarily,” the high court said.
Here, the victim positively identified her parents as her molester.
Even the nine years delay in reporting the rape is justified, says the Supreme Court, since the victim could not confide in her mother, who was also her abuser.
“One can only imagine the physical, emotional, and psychological trauma that the 14-year-old girl had to put up with every single day for several years before finally mustering the courage to reveal her ordeal to her aunt,” the high court said.
The high court also upheld the trial court and CA’s award of P300,000 to the victim as civil, moral, and exemplary damages.
The father is also facing other rape charges committed against the victim when she was already 18 years but was raffled off to another branch.