People of the Philippines vs. Celerino Castromero

Rape is consummated by the slightest touching of the lips of the female organ or of the labia of the pudendum; complete penetration is not required. A person who creates in another an immediate sense of danger that causes the latter to escape is responsible for whatever injuries the latter suffers in the attempt, so that rape may be complexed with serious physical injuries under Articles 335, 48, and 263 of the Revised Penal Code.

Josephine Baon, a 26-year-old married woman with two young children, resided in Barangay Tanggoy, Balayan, Batangas, about five armslength from her mother-in-law Felipa Baon. Celerino Castromero was a neighbor and a relative of Felipa, his father being Felipa’s first cousin. The charge was framed under Article 335, in relation to Articles 48 and 263, of the Revised Penal Code, which define and penalize rape, complex crimes, and serious physical injuries, respectively.

Josephine Baon, a 26-year-old married woman with two young children, lived in Barangay Tanggoy, Balayan, Batangas, about five armslength from her mother-in-law Felipa Baon. Celerino Castromero was a neighbor and a relative of Felipa, his father being Felipa’s first cousin. On February 5, 1993, Josephine slept with her children Joanna Marie and Romualdo, with the lights on inside and outside her room because her husband was not around.

At about 2:00 o’clock in the morning on February 6, 1993, Josephine was awakened by a slam of the kitchen door. She rose and went out of the bedroom to check what happened, and outside the room she met Castromero. According to the prosecution, he pointed a knife at her and warned her not to shout or she would be killed. While holding the knife, he embraced her behind the neck, kissed her cheek, touched her breasts, pulled her panty until the garter got loose, and touched her private parts. He pulled down his jogging pants and brief; she kept herself still because of his threat to kill her. He removed her skirt, placed himself on top of her, and tried to insert his penis into her vagina. Because of his sideways movement and her struggle, his penis touched her private parts; on cross-examination, she stated that the opening of her vagina was touched. When she noticed that he was no longer holding the knife, she pushed him away. As she rose up, he grabbed her hands and was about to stab her, so she immediately jumped out of the window. She fell, could not move her feet, and yelled for help.

Her in-laws responded and carried her to their house. Felipa Baon, who had been awakened by a scream, found Josephine lying in front of the window; Josephine related that the accused forcibly entered her room, placed himself on top of her, and made his penis touch her vagina several times while holding a knife. The barangay captain was sought and the incident was reported to the police; according to the prosecution, the barangay captain looked for the accused, to whom the accused surrendered. Josephine was taken to the emergency hospital and later transferred to the Philippine Orthopedic Hospital, where examination revealed that her spinal column was broken and required surgery. Her husband Esmeraldo Baon testified on hospital and surgical expenses and medicines; although he claimed expenses of P242,198.00, receipts covering only P20,378.95 were presented.

The defense presented denial and alibi. Juliana Castromero, appellant’s wife, testified that at around 6:00 o’clock in the evening of February 5, 1993, she was with her husband and their three children at their house in Tanggoy, Balayan, Batangas; they took dinner; at about 7:00 o’clock her husband went out; he returned before midnight and slept right away; she was awake until 1:00 o’clock because one of their children had a stomach ache; when she woke at 5:00 o’clock in the morning, her husband was still sleeping; he woke at 6:00 a.m., took breakfast, and went to his work in Dalig, Balayan, Batangas as a threshing machine operator; while he was at work, policemen came looking for him. Celerino Castromero testified that he supped with his family at about 6:00 o’clock in the evening, left at about 7:00 o’clock to gamble in a nearby house, went home at 11:30 o’clock in the evening, slept immediately, woke at 5:00 o’clock the following morning, reported for work in Dalig, and went home at 12:00 o’clock noon; the barangay captain arrived and informed him that he was suspected of having committed a crime; the police invited him to the police station; at the station no investigation was conducted and he was merely locked up; he went with the barangay captain to explain his side and not to surrender; and he denied committing any crime. His house was a mere fifty meters from the crime scene.

The trial court found Josephine’s testimony on how her honor was defiled clear, direct, and honest; she never wavered in her account despite cross-examination; her identification of Castromero was undisputed because she personally knew him as a neighbor and relative of her mother-in-law; the crime scene was illuminated by lights she usually left on; no ill motive was shown; and her immediate narration to Felipa Baon bolstered her credibility. The trial court rejected Castromero’s denial and alibi.

• Denial and Alibi: Appellant denied the accusation and insisted that he was inside his own house at the time of the alleged rape; he claimed he was sleeping at home and went to work the next morning.
• Conduct Indicating Innocence: Appellant alluded to his voluntary going to the police station with the barangay captain, his plea of not guilty, and his vehement denial of the crime as indications of innocence.
• Reasonable Doubt: Appellant argued that if a reasonable doubt exists, the verdict must be one of acquittal.

• Credibility and Sufficiency of Evidence: Whether the trial court erred in not acquitting appellant, considering his denial and alibi and the prosecution’s evidence.
• Consummation of Rape: Whether rape was consummated despite the absence of complete or perfect penetration of the complainant’s sex organ.
• Complex Crime of Rape with Serious Physical Injuries: Whether appellant may be convicted of the complex crime of rape with serious physical injuries for the injuries suffered by complainant when she jumped out of the window to escape the assault.

• Credibility and Sufficiency of Evidence: No. The appeal lacks merit; the trial court’s credibility findings are binding absent overlooked facts, and complainant’s positive testimony, lack of ill motive, and weak denial and alibi supported conviction.
• Consummation of Rape: Yes. Rape is consummated by the slightest touching of the lips of the female organ or labia; complete penetration is not required, and appellant’s penis touched the opening of complainant’s vagina.
• Complex Crime of Rape with Serious Physical Injuries: Yes. A person who creates an immediate sense of danger causing another to escape is responsible for injuries suffered in the escape; complainant’s broken vertebra from jumping out the window made the rape complex with serious physical injuries.

• Credibility and Sufficiency of Evidence: Review of rape cases is guided by settled principles: an accusation of rape is easy to make but difficult to prove and harder for the accused to disprove; because rape involves only two persons, the complainant’s testimony should be scrutinized with the greatest caution; the prosecution evidence must stand or fall on its own merits and cannot draw strength from the weakness of the defense; and the complainant’s credibility is paramount because her credible testimony alone can support conviction. The trial court’s assessment of witness credibility is best undertaken by the trial court due to its unique opportunity to observe demeanor, and its findings are binding on appeal unless weighty facts were overlooked, misapprehended, or misinterpreted. Josephine’s testimony was clear, direct, and honest; she never wavered under cross-examination; she personally knew appellant as a neighbor and relative of her mother-in-law; the scene was illuminated by lights she usually left on; no ill motive was shown; and her immediate narration to Felipa Baon bolstered her credibility. The defense of denial and alibi was inherently weak. Alibi requires clear and convincing evidence, strict compliance with time and place, and a convincing demonstration that it was physically impossible for the accused to be at the scene; appellant’s house was only fifty meters from the crime scene, so it was not physically impossible for him to be there. Thus, the trial court correctly convicted him.
• Consummation of Rape: No complete or perfect penetration was found. Josephine testified that appellant tried to insert his penis into her vagina, that his penis touched her vagina, and on cross-examination that the opening of her vagina was touched. Felipa Baon testified that Josephine said the accused made his penis touch her vagina several times. To consummate rape, perfect or complete penetration is not essential; even the slightest penetration by the male organ of the lips of the female organ, or labia of the pudendum, is sufficient. In People vs. Dela Pena, the rule is that mere touching of the external genitalia by a penis capable of consummating the sexual act constitutes carnal knowledge. Josephine’s testimony that appellant’s organ touched the opening of her vagina led to no other conclusion than that his manhood legally invaded, however slightly, the lips of her private organ. Rape was therefore consummated, and because it was perpetrated by force and intimidation, appellant was guilty under Article 335 of the Revised Penal Code.
• Complex Crime of Rape with Serious Physical Injuries: The settled principle is that a person who creates in another’s mind an immediate sense of danger that causes the latter to try to escape is responsible for whatever the other person may consequently suffer. Josephine jumped from a window of her house to escape appellant; as a result, she suffered serious physical injuries, specifically a broken vertebra which required medical attention and surgery for more than ninety days. The trial court therefore correctly convicted appellant of the complex crime of rape with serious physical injuries.

• Consummated Rape by Slightest Penetration — Rape is consummated by the slightest touching of the lips of the female organ or of the labia of the pudendum; complete or perfect penetration is not required. Mere touching of the external genitalia by a penis capable of consummating the sexual act constitutes carnal knowledge. Applied here, appellant’s penis touched the opening of complainant’s vagina even without complete penetration, so rape was consummated.
• Responsibility for Injuries Suffered in Escape — A person who creates in another’s mind an immediate sense of danger that causes the latter to try to escape is responsible for whatever the other person may consequently suffer. Applied here, appellant was held liable for the broken vertebra complainant suffered when she jumped out of the window to escape his knife-point assault, making the rape a complex crime with serious physical injuries.
• Credibility of Rape Complainant and Appellate Review — The assessment of witness credibility is best undertaken by the trial court because of its unique opportunity to observe demeanor, conduct, and attitude under examination; its findings are binding and conclusive on the appellate court unless weighty facts were overlooked, misapprehended, or misinterpreted. A rape complainant’s credible testimony, if sufficient, can support conviction. The trial court’s finding that Josephine’s testimony was clear, direct, honest, and unwavered, with no ill motive shown, was upheld.
• Alibi — For alibi to serve as basis for acquittal, it must be established with clear and convincing evidence; the requisites of time and place must be strictly met; and the accused must convincingly demonstrate that it was physically impossible for him to have been at the scene of the crime at the time of its commission. The alibi was rejected because appellant’s house was only fifty meters from the crime scene.
• Complex Crime of Rape with Serious Physical Injuries — The rape was complexed with serious physical injuries because the victim suffered serious physical injuries in her attempt to escape the sexual assault, and the charge was under Article 335 in relation to Articles 48 and 263 of the Revised Penal Code.

• "Rape is consummated by the slightest touching of the lips of the female organ or of the labia of the pudendum. Complete penetration is not required." — This states the threshold for consummation of rape and is the core rule applied to reject the argument that absence of complete penetration prevented conviction.
• "To consummate rape, perfect or complete penetration of the complainant’s private organ is not essential. Even the slightest penetration by the male organ of the lips of the female organ, or labia of the pudendum, is sufficient." — This is the ratio decidendi on consummation, applied to Josephine’s testimony that appellant’s penis touched the opening of her vagina.
• "In relation to the charge that rape was complexed with the crime of serious physical injuries, we stress the settled principle that a person who creates in another’s mind an immediate sense of danger that causes the latter to try to escape is responsible for whatever the other person may consequently suffer." — This is the ratio decidendi for the complex crime conviction, applied to the broken vertebra Josephine suffered after jumping out of the window.
• "Well-settled is the rule that the assessment of the credibility of witnesses and their testimonies is a matter best undertaken by the trial court, because of its unique opportunity to observe the witnesses firsthand and to note their demeanor, conduct and attitude under grilling examination. Findings of the trial court on such matters are binding and conclusive on the appellate court, unless some facts or circumstances of weight and substance have been overlooked, misapprehended or misinterpreted." — This states the standard of appellate review for credibility findings, which the Court applied in upholding the trial court’s assessment of Josephine Baon.

• People vs. Dela Pena, 233 SCRA 573, 578-579, June 30, 1994 — Cited for the rule that the mere touching of the external genitalia by a penis capable of consummating the sexual act constitutes carnal knowledge, supporting the finding of consummated rape despite no complete penetration.
• People vs. Page, 77 SCRA 348, 355, June 7, 1977 — Cited for the principle that a person who creates in another an immediate sense of danger causing the latter to escape is responsible for whatever the latter may suffer, supporting the complex crime conviction.
• People vs. Pontilar, Jr., G.R. No. 104865, July 11, 1997 — Cited for the rule that trial court findings on witness credibility are binding and conclusive on appeal unless weighty facts were overlooked, misapprehended, or misinterpreted.
• People vs. Cañada, 253 SCRA 277, 286, February 6, 1996 — Cited for the requisites of alibi: clear and convincing evidence, strict compliance with time and place, and physical impossibility of presence at the crime scene.
• People vs. Eduardo Caballes, G.R. Nos. 102723-24, June 19, 1997 — Cited for the increase of the civil indemnity to P50,000 in line with current jurisprudence.
• People vs. Ramirez, G.R. No. 97920, January 20, 1997 — Cited for the guiding principles in reviewing rape cases, including caution in scrutinizing complainant testimony and the requirement that prosecution evidence stand on its own merits.
• People vs. Aragona, 138 SCRA 569, 578, September 19, 1985 — Cited for the rule that perfect or complete penetration is not essential to consummate rape.

• Article 335, Revised Penal Code — Defines and penalizes rape. The Court held appellant guilty under this provision because he had carnal knowledge of Josephine Baon by force and intimidation, with consummation established by the slightest touching of the female organ.
• Article 48, Revised Penal Code — Cited in the charge and conviction for the complex crime of rape with serious physical injuries. The Court affirmed that the rape was complexed with serious physical injuries.
• Article 263, Revised Penal Code — Defines serious physical injuries. The complainant’s broken vertebra, requiring medical attention and surgery and incapacitating her for more than ninety days, constituted serious physical injuries.

Narvasa, C.J., (Chairman), Romero, Melo, and Francisco, JJ., concur.