PEOPLE v.
JUMAWAN
Issue:
* discussion on marital rape laws, CEDAW, etc at the end
W/N the accused-appellant may use his marital relationship to the victim as a
Facts:
- Accused-appellant Edgar Jumawan was charged with the crime of
rape against his wife, herein referred to as KKK
- According to KKK, she was raped by her husband on Dec 3, 1998, NO.
and on Dec 12, 1998, he boxed her shoulder for refusing to have sex
with him.
- Version of the prosecution
o KKK met the accused-appellant at the farm of her parents where
his father was one of the laborers. They got married after a year
of courtship
o They never did not have any marital problems concerning
intimacy until 1997 when he started to be brutal in bed. He
would ambush her and even threaten her into submission
o They started quarrelling when she was not able to attend to her
husband
o In one instance, KKK insisted to stay on the cot instead of
their bed because she was not feeling well. Her husband
threw her on the bed and started to sexually assault her
while she continued to protest.
- Version of the defense:
o Denied one instance of rape, claiming he was in Bukidnon
o Asserted that KKK merely fabricated the rape charges as her
revenge because he took over the control and management
of their businesses and that her failure to immediately report
to the police also belies her rape allegations
o KKK wanted to cover-up her extra-marital affairs, which the
accused-appellant gradually detected from her odd behavior.
She became indifferent towards him.
- RTC sustained the version of the prosecution, giving more weight and
credence to the spontaneous and straightforward testimonies of the
prosecution's witnesses.
o Upheld as sincere and genuine the two daughters' testimonies,
as it is not natural in our culture for daughters to testify against
their own father for a crime such as rape if the same was not
truly committed.
- Decision was affirmed by the CA
defense
Held/Ratio
1. Abandonment of the irrevocable consent theory
- The arguments are based on the irrevocable consent theory
o That the two incidents of sexual intercourse, were
theoretically consensual, obligatory even, because he and
the victim, KKK, were a legally married and cohabiting
couple.
o Consent to copulation is presumed between cohabiting
husband and wife
o Case should be viewed and treated differently from
ordinary rape cases and that the standards for
determining the presence of consent or lack thereof must
be adjusted on the ground that sexual community is a
mutual right and obligation between husband and wife
- Arguments are untenable as the irrevocable consent theory has
already been superseded by modern global principles on the
equality of rights between men and women and respect for
human dignity established in various international conventions,
such as the CEDAW
o RA 8353 was enacted as a measure to promote gender
equality and protect the rights of women: Eradicated the
archaic notion that marital rape cannot exist because a
husband has absolute proprietary rights over his wife's
body and thus her consent to every act of sexual intimacy
with him is always obligatory or at least, presumed.
- The Family Code obligates the spouses to love one another but
this rule sanctions affection and sexual intimacy, as expressions
of love, that are both spontaneous and mutual and not the kind
which is unilaterally exacted by force or coercion.
o Delicate and reverent nature of sexual intimacy between a
husband and wife excludes cruelty and coercion.
2. To treat marital rape cases differently from non-marital rape
cases infringes on the equal protection clause.
- Rape in Section 1 of R.A. No. 8353 pertains to: (a) rape, as
traditionally known; (b) sexual assault; and (c) marital rape or
that where the victim is the perpetrator's own spouse.
- The single definition for all three forms of the crime shows
that the law does not distinguish between rape committed in
wedlock and those committed without a marriage. Hence, the
law affords equal protection to all rape cases.
3. Adherence to the rationale of Liberta
- A marriage license should not be viewed as a license for a
husband to forcibly rape his wife with impunity.
- A married woman can give or withhold her consent to a
sexual intercourse with her husband and he cannot unlawfully
wrestle such consent from her in case she refuses.
4. Human rights of women – include the right to have control and decide
freely on matters regarding their sexuality
BG INFO ON MARITAL RAPE
I. Historical connection between rape and marriage
- Evolved from ancient English practices:
o bride capture – conquering a woman though rape
o stealing an heiress – abduction with the intent to marry
- Rape laws were intended not to redress the violation of the woman's
chastity
o punish the act of obtaining the heiress' property by forcible
marriage
o protect a man's valuable interest in his wife's chastity or her
daughter's virginity
- If a man raped an unmarried virgin, he was guilty of stealing her
father's property and if a man raped his wife, he was merely using his
property
- Three ideologies:
o Chattel theory: A woman was the property of her father until
she marries to become the property of her husband
▪ A man has to pay the owner/father is he abducts the
woman)
o Feudal doctrine of overture: A woman lost her identity upon
marriage and the law denied her political power and status
under the feudal doctrine of coverture
▪ A husband had the right to chastise his wife and beat
her if she misbehaved
o Marital unity theory: Upon marrying, the woman becomes one
with her husband. She had no right to make a contract, sue
another, own personal property or write a will
II. Marital Exemption rule
- Conceived by Sir Matthew Hale (CJ in England)
- Irrevocable consent theory → marital exemption rule in rape
- A husband cannot be guilty of rape upon his wife because, by
virtue of their marriage, she has already irrevocably given
herself up to her husband
- Practiced in USA and England
o In those jurisdictions, rape is traditionally defined as "the
forcible penetration of the body of a woman who is not
the wife of the perpetrator."
- Evolution in Law and Jurisprudence:
o First applied in Commonwealth v. Fogetry in 1857 where
the SC of Massachusetts held that marriage to the victim is
always a defense in rape.
o Formally codified in the Penal Code of New York in 1909,
which provides that a husband was endowed with absolute
immunity from prosecution for the rape of his wife.
▪ The privilege was personal and pertained to him
alone.
▪ He had the marital right to rape his wife but he will be
liable when he aids or abets another person in raping
her.
o 1970: challenged by women's movements in the USA
demanding for its abolition for being violative of married
women's right to be equally protected under rape laws
o 1978: rule was qualified by the Legislature in New York by
proscribing the application of the rule in cases where the
 husband and wife are living apart pursuant to a court order
or a decree, judgment or written agreement of separation
o 1983: Rule was abandoned when the Court of Appeals of
New York declared the same unconstitutional in People v.
Liberta for lack of rational basis in distinguishing between
marital rape and non-marital rape.
o By 1993, marital rape was a crime in all 50 states. Some
states granted some exemptions to a husband from
prosecution such as when the wife is mentally or physically
impaired, unconscious, asleep, or legally unable to consent

III. Marital Rape in the PH

- No documented case on marital rape has ever reached this Court
until this case
- Old provisions of rape under Article 335 of the RPC adhered to Hale's
irrevocable implied consent theory
o CJ Ramon Aquino: A husband may not be guilty of rape
under Article 335 of Act No. 3815 but, in case there is legal
separation, the husband should be held guilty of rape if he
forces his wife to submit to sexual intercourse
- 1981: PH ratified United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all
Forms of Discrimination Against Women (UNCEDAW), the first
international women’s bill of rights
- 1997: R.A. No. 8353 eradicated the stereotype concept of rape in
Article 335 of the RPC. The law reclassified rape as a crime against
person and removed it from the ambit of crimes against chastity.
o Criminalizes marital rape. Sec 2, par 2 provides only an
exception where “the subsequent forgiveness by the wife as
the offended party shall extinguish the criminal action or the
penalty”
o Intent was clear in the deliberations
- RA 9262 (VAW): Rape within marriage as a form of sexual violence
that may be committed by a man against his wife within or outside the
family abode
o One in seven ever-married women experienced physical
violence by their husbands while eight percent (8%)
experienced sexual violence