CA affirms conviction of father who raped daughter

CEBU, Philippines - The Court of Appeals 20th division has affirmed the conviction of a man accused of raping his then 15-year-old daughter in 2002.

Associate Justice Ma. Luisa Quijano-Padilla, in her 18-page penned decision, found no merit in the appeal filed by a man, who is the biological father of the victim, residents of Talisay City, Cebu on the decision of the trial court.

The FREEMAN is withholding the names of the accused and the victim for confidentiality.

“Wherefore, in view thereof, the appeal is denied. The joint decision dated May 20, 2005 of the Regional Trial Court, Branch 24, Cebu City finding accused-appellant guilty in Criminal Case Nos. CBU-64679 and CBI-64680, is hereby affirmed with modifications,” the decision reads.

In 2005, the trial court found the accused guilty beyond reasonable doubt and sentenced to suffer the supreme penalty of death by lethal injection.

However, Quijano-Padilla modified the penalty and sentenced him of life imprisonment in lieu of the death penalty without eligibility of parole for each count of qualified rape.

The accused is likewise ordered to pay P75,000 for each count of civil indemnity; P75,000 for each count of moral damages and P30,000 for each count of exemplary damages,  as well as to pay the private complainant interests on all damages at the legal rate of six percent per annum for each count from the date of finality of the decision.

In the testimony of the private complainant, who is the victim, sometime in March 2002, she was molested by her father and the incident happened again sometime in May 2002. She confided her ordeal to her aunt, who accompanied her to a doctor for medical examination.

According to the private complainant that she has a boyfriend but they never had any sexual contact.

Dr. Jeaneth Aznar said that she conducted a physical examination to the victim and it showed that she was six months pregnant.

The father denied the charges and said that it was his wife who influenced their daughter to file such “malicious charges.”

But with the foregoing facts, Associate Justice Quijano-Padilla found the man guilty.

“Guided by the above-mentioned jurisprudential dogma, we find victim’s narration of her traumatic ordeal in the hands of the accused-appellant, who ironically is her own biological father, consistent, spontaneous and credible. Undoubtedly, she was able to positively and categorically identify her father as the one who raped her on those two particular instances,” the decision reads, adding despite the victim’s pleas and cries it landed on deaf ears. (FREEMAN)