FIRST DIVISION

[G.R. No. 124737. June 26, 1998.]

PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. RIZALINO

FUNDANO, accused-appellant.

The Solicitor General for plaintiff-appellee.

Public Attorney's Office for accused-appellant.

SYNOPSIS

Appellant, charged with three counts of rape based on complaints signed

by his 15-year old daughter, Melody, and his common-law wife, Maria, pleaded
not guilty and interposed the defense of denial and alibi that he was in Bicol
bedridden with rheumatism when the alleged rapes were committed in Makati.
However, Melody positively declared that appellant, his father, had sexual
intercourse with her thrice against her will and that thereafter she was warned
not to tell anyone about the incident. Dr. Victoria, NBI Medico Legal-Officer,
however, found no extra-genital physical injuries or hymenal lacerations and
that Melody's hymen was intact. He concluded that Melody's hymen was
distensible or elastic and can allow the penetration of an adult male organ in
full erection without sustaining any injury. The trial court considering that
appellant used his moral ascendancy and influence over Melody in
consummating the rapes rendered judgments of conviction and sentenced him
t o reclusion perpetua taking into account the alternative circumstance of
relationship. Hence, this recourse appellant assailing the credibility of
complainant and the findings of rape. EDATSI

The Supreme Court held that where there is no evidence that the
principal witness, a daughter of appellant, was actuated with improper motive
her testimony is entitled to full faith and credit; that a medical report or the
testimony of witnesses other than the complainant is not necessary in
prosecution for rape; that alibi cannot prevail over positive identification; and
that relationship is aggravating in crimes of acts of lasciviousness and rape.

SYLLABUS

1. REMEDIAL LAW; EVIDENCE; CREDIBILITY; CREDIBLE TESTIMONY OF

COMPLAINANT, SUFFICIENT TO CONVICT; CASE AT BAR. — Critical to any rape
prosecution is the complainant's credibility, for that factor alone is sufficient to
convict the accused. It is to be expected then that the defense will attempt to
destroy the complainant's trustworthiness. In this case, the defense labored to
ascribe ill motive to MELODY in that she hated her father because he did not
give her support and he cohabited with another woman. However, RIZALINO
failed to prove these allegations with credible evidence. Thus, does a sound
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 and time-tested judicial dictum come to fore, that where there is no evidence
and nothing to indicate that the principal witness for the prosecution was
actuated by improper motive, the presumption is that she was not so actuated
and her testimony is entitled to full faith and credit. Assuming, however, that
MELODY indeed fostered rancor against RIZALINO, it is nonetheless
inconceivable that she would subject herself to the trauma, inconvenience,
distress, anxiety, humiliation, public scrutiny and loss of privacy, among other
vexations, attendant a trial for rape, if only to vent her resentment of
RIZALINO's failure to give financial support or his cohabiting with a woman
disagreeable to MELODY. In MELODY's case, even before court proceedings
began, she already exposed herself to revealing questions in executing her
sworn statement, then to a physical examination in which she was told to
undress and allow the intrusion of a 2.8-centimeter diameter tube into her most
private organ, after which she further divulged her ordeal to her uncles. She
later suffered three trial dates on the witness stand, enduring a most taxing
cross-examination where defense counsel even insinuated that MELODY
enjoyed sexual intercourse with her father. RIZALINO's claims of trumped-up
charges are even more absurd when, as in this case, one considers that the
complainant is the daughter of the accused; for then the disgrace is absorbed
not only by complainant, but by her entire family as well, who would, it stands
to reason, dissuade complainant from pursuing her cause unless it were true.
Plainly, only a woman seeking justice with truth as her weapon could have
braved this calvary.
2. ID.; ID.; ABSENCE OF HYMENAL AND EXTRA-GENITAL INJURIES DOES
NOT NEGATE RAPE. — Anent the absence of hymenal and extra-genital injuries
on MELODY, such does not persuade us. The examining physician explained
that her hymen was distensible or elastic, hence could allow the penetration of
an adult male organ in full erection without sustaining or incurring any injury.
3. ID.; ID.; EXPERT WITNESS; HOW ESTABLISHED AND HOW
IMPEACHED. — RIZALINO, moreover, may not decry Dr. Victoria's alleged lack
of expertise. Before one may be allowed to testify as an expert witness, his
qualifications must first be established by the party presenting him. i.e., he
must be shown to possess the special skill or knowledge relevant to the
question to which he is to express an opinion. In Dr. Victoria's case, the
prosecution examined his past and present employment, his experience and
duties as an NBI medico-legal officer, and the lectures and seminars he
attended and conducted. An expert witness may be impeached, or the weight
of his opinion lessened, by introducing evidence or pointing out paradoxes in
his testimony; and in the cross-examination of such a witness, great latitude is
allowed the examining counsel to test the credibility of the expert for the
guidance of the court. In the instant case, defense counsel's lone remark was
that "the prosecution has not established the qualification of" Dr. Victoria,
which, by itself, did not impair the expertise already established by the
prosecution.
4. ID.; ID.; CREDIBILITY; MEDICAL REPORT NOR CORROBORATING
TESTIMONY, NOT INDISPENSABLE WHERE COMPLAINANT'S TESTIMONY IS
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 CREDIBLE. — At any rate, neither the medical report nor the testimony of
witnesses other than the complainant is indispensable when, as here, the
complainant's testimony is credible.
5. ID.; ID.; ID.; ALIBI; CANNOT PREVAIL OVER POSITIVE
IDENTIFICATION. — The defense of alibi cannot prevail over the positive
identification by credible witnesses that the accused in this case was the
perpetrator of the offenses charged.
6. CRIMINAL LAW; ALTERNATIVE CIRCUMSTANCES; RELATIONSHIP;
AGGRAVATING IN RAPE AND ACTS OF LASCIVIOUSNESS; EFFECT ON PENALTY.
— The trial court correctly appreciated the alternative circumstance of
relationship under Article 15 of the Revised Penal Code as an aggravating
circumstance. It is settled that in the crimes of rape under Article 335 and acts
of lasciviousness under Article 336 of the Revised Penal Code, relationship is
aggravating. Parenthetically, it may be pointed out that under Section 11 of
R.A. No. 7659, which amended Article 335 of the Revised Penal Code, the
relationship of father-daughter in rape makes the imposition of the death
penalty mandatory. DSAacC

7. ID.; RAPE; PENALTY. — The penalty for rape under the law in force
then was reclusion perpetua, a single indivisible penalty, which should be
applied regardless of the presence of aggravating or mitigating circumstances.
Thus, the trial court correctly sentenced RIZALINO to reclusion perpetua for
each act of rape.
8. CIVIL LAW; DAMAGES; P50,000.00 CIVIL INDEMNITY FOR EACH
COUNT OF RAPE. — The rape victim then is entitled to civil indemnity set by
jurisprudence at P50,000.00. Since there were three counts of rape in this case,
the trial court should have imposed P50,000.00 as civil indemnity for each
count, yet it failed to fix any such amount.
9. ID.; ID.; MORAL DAMAGES; AWARD OF P50,000.00 REDUCED IN
CASE AT BAR. — Nevertheless, said court condemned RIZALINO to pay the
amount of P50,000.00 as moral damages for each count of rape; or a total of
P150,000.00. While moral damages may be awarded the victim in a rape case,
in this instance, we reduce the amount to P25,000.00 in each case.
10. ID.; ID.; EXEMPLARY DAMAGES; AWARD PROPER WHERE
AGGRAVATING CIRCUMSTANCE IS PRESENT. — Finally, exemplary damages
may be adjudicated against an accused when the crime was attended by an
aggravating circumstance. Here, the trial court correctly awarded exemplary
damages because of the presence of the aggravating circumstance of
relationship.

DECISION

DAVIDE, JR., J : p

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 Accused-appellant Rizalino Fundano (hereafter RIZALINO) seeks to
reverse the 26 February 1996 decision 1 of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of
Makati City, Branch 150, in Criminal Cases Nos. 94-4887, 94-4888 and 94-4889,
which found him guilty beyond reasonable doubt of three counts of rape. The
complaints in those cases were signed by the complainant Melody Fundano and
her mother and filed with the court below on 4 July 1994. cdphil

In Criminal Case No. 94-4887, RIZALINO was charged with rape

committed as follows:
That on or about the 10th day of September, 1993, in the
Municipality of Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines, a place within the
jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, by
means of force, violence and intimidation did then and there willfully,
unlawfully and feloniously have carnal knowledge of the undersigned
MELODY G. FUNDANO, a 15-year old girl, without her consent and
against her will. 2

The complaints in Criminal Cases Nos. 94-4888 and 94-4889 were similarly
worded, except as to the dates the crimes were committed, i.e., 11
September 1993 3 and 12 September 1993, 4 respectively.

The National Bureau of Investigation (hereafter NBI), after initial

investigation, transmitted the results of its investigation to the Provincial
Prosecutor of Rizal on 26 November 1993. 5 Attached to the report was the
affidavit of NBI agent Atty. Carlo Magno Uminga, 6 dated 26 November 1993,
stating that RIZALINO had a "Standing Warrant of Arrest for Homicide" issued
by the Regional Trial Court of Makati, Branch 134, on 26 November 1985, and,
that efforts to locate RIZALINO had failed as he was "in hiding at Bulan,
Sorsogon."
On 6 July 1994, the court below issued a warrant 7 for the arrest of
RIZALINO at his address at 7123 Langka St., Comembo, Makati, Metro Manila.
No bail was recommended for his provisional liberty. He was subsequently
apprehended and detained at the NBI Detention Center, Manila. 8

At his arraignment on 14 July 1994, RIZALINO refused to be represented

by Atty. Gesiree Abong of the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) as he wanted to
have counsel de parte assist him and file a motion for reinvestigation. Thus, the
court reset arraignment to 26 July 1994. 9 On the latter date, RIZALINO,
assisted by Atty. Gesiree Abong nonetheless, entered a plea of not guilty to
each of the three counts of rape charged against him. 10 After pre-trial was
declared terminated on 25 August 1994, trial on the merits was scheduled to
commence on 30 August 1994. 11
The prosecution presented complainant Melody Fundano (hereafter
MELODY) and NBI Medico-Legal Officer Dr. Rolando Victoria for its evidence in
chief; and Ma. Luz Goña, and Orlando Oseo, as rebuttal witnesses. The defense
presented RIZALINO, Oscar Quelas and Luzviminda Gregana for its evidence in
chief; and RIZALINO and Vida Fundano, as surrebuttal witnesses.
The prosecution established the following facts:
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 MELODY was the seventh of nine children of RIZALINO with his common-
law wife, Maria Fundano. The family resided at 7123 Langka St., Comembo,
Makati, although RIZALINO seldom stayed there. In 1974, RIZALINO married
one Flora Granada with whom he begot two children. While he maintained a
relationship with her since 1960, he claimed he had separated from Flora in
1980. 12
RIZALINO left his family with Maria in 1985 and moved to Bicol in 1986. In
1991, in Bicol, he started cohabiting with one Vida Joya, with whom he had no
issue. Nevertheless, he would return to Comembo and stay there for one to
three months at a time. When he was not in Comembo, he was usually with "his
other wife" in Bicol and, according to MELODY, he was in Bicol in August and
October 1993, and in Comembo in September 1993. 13

The Fundano residence at Comembo, Makati, was a one-room house

partitioned into two sections by a curtain. One of the sections served as the
sleeping quarters, which had a bed on one side and a papag or makeshift
wooden bed, beside it. From the beds one could hear whatever was happening
in the other section. 14

Five of MELODY's siblings used to live in Comembo, but later moved to

their sister-in-law's house at Fembo, Makati. For some time, MELODY stayed
with her siblings at Fembo but, before she was raped, RIZALINO fetched her
and her youngest sister, Rosemarie, from Fembo and took them to Comembo.
15

On the night of 10 September 1993, only RIZALINO and his daughters

MELODY and Rosemarie, were in the Comembo house. RIZALINO and Rosemarie
slept on the floor while MELODY slept on the papag. At around midnight,
MELODY stirred from her sleep and found herself lying beside RIZALINO on the
floor. RIZALINO, who was already naked, removed MELODY's panty and went
"on top of her." He forced her and boxed her even as she pleaded, " Tay,
huwag" [Father, don't]. After removing MELODY's panty, RIZALINO boxed her
three times on the stomach, thereby preventing her from asking for help. He
then inserted his penis into MELODY's vagina and kept it there for a long time.
MELODY kept crying, but she could not move as RIZALINO held both her hands.
After the act, he warned her not to tell anyone, not even her mother, about the
incident, as it would "only be [her] shame." That rape was her first sexual
experience. 16

The next day, after school, MELODY went to the house of Lucita Fundano,
her sister-in-law, at Fembo. She told Lucita that she would be sleeping there
and asked the latter to tell her father RIZALINO of her intention. But RIZALINO
fetched MELODY from Lucita's house, and because she was afraid that he would
harm her if she disobeyed, MELODY went with him back to Comembo. That
night, Rosemarie slept in a different part of the house. However, at around
midnight, MELODY again found herself "being there in the papag already or
lying on the floor" beside RIZALINO. The latter, who was naked, removed
MELODY's panty and place[d] himself on top of" her. He appeared to her to be
drunk, which he was every night. RIZALINO then inserted his penis into
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 MELODY's vagina and kissed her on the cheeks. After he finished, he warned
her that if she told anyone about the incident, he would kill her and her
relatives. Out of fear and confusion, MELODY did not reveal her ordeal to
anyone. 17

The following morning, MELODY attended class and went home to

Comembo at around 3:00 p.m. In the evening, she slept on the papag, while her
younger sister slept elsewhere. Again RIZALINO carried MELODY from the bed
to the floor and removed her panty. She begged him to stop, but he did not
heed her plea. He held both her hands to keep her from breaking away, then
mounted her and inserted his penis into her vagina. After his misdeed, he
simply went to sleep. MELODY then put on her undergarment and cried herself
to sleep. 18
From school the next day, MELODY went to Lucita's house, where she
stayed until the end of September 1993. During that entire period, MELODY
kept silent about her ordeal. 19
On 26 October 1993, while she was at Lucita's house, MELODY learned
that her father was no longer at the Comembo house. That night, as MELODY
thought about why her father abused her, she started crying. Awakened, Lucita
asked MELODY why she was crying. MELODY finally revealed what RIZALINO did
to her. 20 Lucita then asked MELODY why she kept this matter to herself all this
time. MELODY answered that she was afraid and ashamed, and that RIZALINO
had told her he would bring her to Bicol so that, MELODY believed, "he may
continue what he had done to" her. She could not even tell her eighteen-year
old brother about her nightmares because he was equally afraid of RIZALINO. 21

The next morning, Lucita went to Maria, MELODY's mother, in Manila and
told her about MELODY's complaint, while MELODY went to Cavite to see her
friends. MELODY did not return to Comembo, and on 7 November, she went to
her mother in Manila. Four days later, or on 11 November 1993, MELODY,
accompanied by Maria and Lucita, went to the NBI and accomplished a
complaint sheet, 22 executed a sworn statement, 23 and submitted herself to a
medical examination, with the findings summarized in Living Case No. MG-93-
1053. 24 After the examination, MELODY, Lucita and Maria went to the house of
Abe and Sandoy Fundano, RIZALINO's brothers, who agreed that the case
against RIZALINO should be pursued. 25
Dr. Rolando Victoria, who examined MELODY, found no extra-genital
physical injuries nor hymenal lacerations, and while her hymen was intact, it
admitted a 2.8-centimeter diameter tube without producing any injury. Dr.
Victoria thus concluded that MELODY's hymenal orifice could admit an adult
male organ in full erection without suffering injury, and that it was possible she
engaged in sexual intercourse. 26
On the other hand, RIZALINO testified that he left Manila for Bicol in 1986
and had stayed there ever since, although he would visit Manila once in a while
and stay at his children's residence in Kakarong, Makati. Sometimes he dropped
by the house of his common-law wife and mother of MELODY, Maria Gerola, 27
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 at Langka Street, Fort Bonifacio, Makati. After he moved to Bicol, he gave
financial support to Maria only once, when she went to Bicol to get the money.
RIZALINO declared that days before the dates he allegedly raped MELODY, he
was bedridden as his legs were wounded and swollen; in fact, he was under
medical treatment by an arbularyo (herbal doctor) named Oscar Buelas. 28 The
treatments were administered at RIZALINO's house in Iraya, Bulan, Sorsogon,
on Saturdays and Sundays beginning 11 September 1993 until October 1993.
RIZALINO was able to walk only on or about 15 October 1993 and was
completely healed sometime in November 1993. He never went to Manila while
he was bedridden and undergoing. treatment, even until he was healed. He
knew nothing about the rapes for which he was indicted nor of any reason why
MELODY accused him of committing them.
RIZALINO's witnesses, Oscar Quelas and Luzviminda Gregana,
corroborated his alibi.

Oscar Quelas, a farmer who doubled as an arbularyo and lived in

Barangay Lagong, Bulan, Sorsogon, declared that RIZALINO became Oscar's
patient sometime in September 1993. On 11 and 12 September 1993, Oscar
treated RIZALINO for rheumatism, which immobilized the latter. The treatment
was administered three times a day from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. at RIZALINO's
house in Iraya, Zone 7, Bulan, Sorsogon. Since RIZALINO did not heal well,
Oscar made crutches for RIZALINO a week after 12 September. Oscar still
treated RIZALINO after 12 September 1993, but could not remember the exact
dates. 29
Luzviminda Gregana, RIZALINO's neighbor in Bulan, Sorsogon, averred
that sometime during the last week of August 1993, and in September and
November 1993, she would see RIZALINO either seated or on crutches outside
his house. Although she would see him whenever she went to market, it was
only in September 1993 when she saw him sick. According to Luzviminda, two
quack" doctors, one of them Oscar Quelas, treated RIZALINO every Saturday
and Sunday of September 1993. 30
Rebuttal witness Ma. Luz Goña claimed that she was a neighbor of
RIZALINO in Comembo, Makati, and he mortgaged his house at Comembo to
her on 14 September 1993, as security for a P10,000.00 loan. The transaction
was reduced to writing, and on 14 September 1993, RIZALINO and Maria
Fundano signed the document in front of Goña at 3123 Langka St., Comembo,
Makati. Orlando Oseo, Antonio Oseo, Josie Castillo and Teofilo Maghanoy signed
the document as witnesses. Goña had been in possession of the document
since 1993. Goña further declared that she disbelieved RIZALINO's claim that
he was in Bicol during the entire month of September of 1993 as they
discussed the mortgage on 12 September 1993 and she gave the money to him
on 14 September 1993, both in Comembo. 31

Rebuttal witness Orlando Oseo, a neighbor and cousin of RIZALINO,

testified that he had been seeing RIZALINO at Langka Street, Makati, during the
entire month of September 1993. In fact, Orlando was even one of the
witnesses to the mortgage document earlier mentioned. While he admitted that
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 he and RIZALINO had a misunderstanding in 1978, which lasted for two months,
they reconciled thereafter. 32
On surrebuttal, RIZALINO asserted that he signed the mortgage contract
in his house in Sorsogon on 14 September 1993. MELODY's mother, Maria
Gerona, brought the document to Sorsogon as she knew he was sick. To
explain the transaction, RIZALINO declared that Maria had asked P10,000.00
from him for the expenses of their eldest son who was to leave for abroad, but
since he could not produce the money, Maria asked him to mortgage the house
in Makati. After acceding to the request, Maria presented the document for his
signature. There were no witnesses to the signing, and although he knew all the
witnesses who signed the document, their signatures were not on the
document when he signed it. Finally, RIZALINO claimed that the transaction
was between Goña and Maria and that the document was brought to him only
for his conformity. 33
Surrebuttal witness Vida Joya presented herself in court as Vida Fundano,
the current common-law wife of RIZALINO. She testified that on 14 September
1993, Maria Gerona went to the Fundano residence in Sorsogon. Vida read the
mortgage document and explained it to RIZALINO who could not read it
because of his poor vision and his eyeglasses were not available then. Vida
confirmed that the document was not signed by any witness. 34

In its decision of 26 February 1996, 35 the trial court found RIZALINO

guilty of rape as charged in Criminal Cases Nos. 94-4887, 94-4888 and 94-
4889, and taking into account "the alternative circumstance of relationship,
which is aggravating in crimes against chastity such as rape," sentenced him
"to suffer the penalty of RECLUSION PERPETUA in each of the three (3) cases
against him" and "to pay P50,000.00 as moral damages in each of these cases
and P25,000.00 as exemplary damages in each case."

The court a quo found that the threat RIZALINO made against MELODY
and her family was sufficient to produce a reasonable fear, thereby compelling
her to submit to his bestial demands. Moreover, his moral ascendancy and
influence over his daughter MELODY substituted for violence or intimidation. LLjur

The trial court gave full faith and credit to MELODY's testimony who
declared in court, "in a straight forward (sic) and categorical manner," and
exhibited no ulterior motive which "could have removed the sense of modesty
and shame in a 15-year old girl and impelled her to concoct a story that would
certainly bring ignominy, dishonor and humiliation to her and her family." The
RTC thus concluded:
If she had not in fact been raped, [MELODY] could not have narrated
the details of her horrifying experience to the NBI authorities,
submitted herself to genital examination and signed a criminal
complaint for rape against the accused. Certainly, it was only to
vindicate her honor that gave her the courage to face the ordeal of a
public trial in making a narration of rape perpetrated by her own
father.

Finally, the trial court found unworthy of credence RIZALINO's defense of

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 alibi, which was belied by the witnesses for the prosecution, including his first
cousin, Orlando Oseo.
In this appeal, RIZALINO assigns this lone error:
THE TRIAL COURT GRAVELY ERRED IN CONVICTING [HIM] FOR THREE
COUNTS OF RAPE BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT.

In support thereof, he argues that, first, MELODY had a motive to fabricate

charges against him as he abandoned MELODY's family for another woman and
failed to give them financial support. Second, if indeed MELODY was raped, and
three times at that, it was highly improbable that no physical injuries on her
genital area were detected. He thus doubted expertise of the examining
physician, Dr. Rolando Victoria, because it was unscientific for a doctor to opine
that rape could have been committed without physical findings to support such
opinion. Third, in disregarding his surrebuttal testimony, the trial court actually
harbored doubts as to his guilt.
In the Appellee's Brief, the Office of the Solicitor General urges us to
affirm the challenged judgment, reiterating the trial court's assessment of the
credibility of MELODY's testimony, i.e., that it would be unnatural for a young
and innocent girl to concoct a story of defloration, allow an examination of her
private parts, and subject herself to public trial or ridicule, if she were not
deeply moved by a sincere desire to apprehend and punish the culprit. 36
Equally stressed by the Solicitor was MELODY's coherence throughout her direct
and cross-examination as she narrated three incidents of rape with clarity. The
Solicitor likewise argued that the absence of hymenal and extra-genital injuries
did not preclude a finding of rape. 37 Indeed, Dr. Victoria explained that
MELODY's hymenal orifice was distensible and allowed penetration by an adult
male organ without incurring injury. Lastly, the Solicitor contended that
RIZALINO's alibi, even after considering his surrebuttal testimony, could not
overcome MELODY's positive identification of RIZALINO, as well as the
testimonies of Ma. Luz Goña and Orlando Oseo.
This appeal is devoid of merit.

Critical to any rape prosecution is the complainant's credibility, for that

factor alone is sufficient to convict the accused. 38 It is to be expected then that
the defense will attempt to destroy the complainant's trustworthiness. In this
case, the defense labored to ascribe ill motive to MELODY in that she hated her
father because he did not give her support and he cohabited with another
woman. However, RIZALINO failed to prove these allegations with credible
evidence. Thus does a sound and time-tested judicial dictum come to fore, that
where there is no evidence and nothing to indicate that the principal witness
for the prosecution was actuated by improper motive, the presumption is that
she was not so actuated and her testimony is entitled to full faith and credit. 39
Assuming, however, that MELODY indeed fostered rancor against
RIZALINO, it is nonetheless inconceivable that she would subject herself to the
trauma, inconvenience, distress, anxiety, humiliation, public scrutiny and loss
of privacy, among other vexations, attendant a trial for rape, if only to vent her
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 resentment of RIZALINO's failure to give financial support or his cohabiting with
a woman disagreeable to MELODY. 40 In MELODY's case, even before court
proceedings began, she already exposed herself to revealing questions in
executing her sworn statement, their to a physical examination in which she
was told to undress and allow the intrusion of a 2.8-centimeter diameter tube
into her most private organ, after which she further divulged her ordeal to her
uncles. She later suffered three trial dates on the witness stand, enduring a
most taxing cross-examination where defense counsel even insinuated that
MELODY enjoyed sexual intercourse with her father.
RIZALINO's claims of trumped-up charges are even more absurd when, as
in this case, one considers that the complainant is the daughter of the accused;
for then the disgrace is absorbed not only by complainant, but by her entire
family as well, who would, it stands to reason, dissuade complainant from
pursuing her cause unless it were true. 41 Plainly, only a woman seeking justice
with truth as her weapon could have braved this calvary. 42

Anent the absence of hymenal and extra-genital injuries on MELODY, such

does not persuade us. The examining physician explained that her hymen was
distensible or elastic, hence could allow the penetration of an adult male organ
in full erection without sustaining or incurring any injury.
RIZALINO, moreover, may not decry Dr. Victoria's alleged lack of
expertise. Before one may be allowed to testify as an expert witness, his
qualifications must first be established by the party presenting him, i.e., he
must be shown to possess the special skill or knowledge relevant to the
question to which he is to express an opinion. 43 In Dr. Victoria's case, the
prosecution examined his past and present employment, his experience and
duties as an NBI medico-legal officer, and the lectures and seminars he
attended and conducted. 44 An expert witness may be impeached, or the
weight of his opinion lessened, by introducing evidence or pointing out
paradoxes in his testimony; and in the cross-examination of such a witness,
great latitude is allowed the examining counsel to test the credibility of the
expert for the guidance of the court. 45 In the instant case, defense counsel's
lone remark was that "the prosecution has not established the qualification of"
Dr. Victoria, which, by itself, did not impair the expertise already established by
the prosecution. At any rate, neither the medical report nor the testimony of
witnesses other than the complainant is indispensable when, as here, the
complainant's testimony is credible. 46
All told, we are convinced, with moral certainty, that RIZALINO raped his
daughter MELODY thrice as charged in Criminal Cases Nos. 94-4887, 94-4888
and 94-4889 before the court below.
While the trial court made no reference to RIZALINO's surrebuttal
testimony, such did not indicate that the court a quo harbored doubts as to his
guilt. On the contrary, this silence only meant that the trial court did not find
the testimony credible or found nothing therein to alter the fact of his presence
in Comembo on the questioned dates. More importantly, the defense of alibi
cannot prevail over the positive identification by credible witnesses that the
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 accused in this case was the perpetrator of the offenses charged. 47

The trial court correctly appreciated the alternative circumstance of

relationship under Article 15 of the Revised Penal Code as an aggravating
circumstance. It is settled that in the crimes of rape under Article 335 and acts
of lasciviousness under Article 336 of the Revised Penal Code, relationship is
aggravating. 48 Parenthetically, it may be pointed out that under Section 11 of
R.A. No. 7659, 49 which amended Article 335 of the Revised Penal Code, the
relationship of father-daughter in rape makes the imposition of the death
penalty mandatory.

The penalty for rape under the law in force then was reclusion perpetua, a
single indivisible penalty, which should be applied regardless of the presence of
aggravating or mitigating circumstances. 50 Thus, the trial court correctly
sentenced RIZALINO to reclusion perpetua for each act of rape. The rape victim
then is entitled to civil indemnity 51 set by jurisprudence at P50,000.00. 52 Since
there were three counts of rape in this case, the trial court should have
imposed P50,000.00 as civil indemnity for each count, yet it failed to fix any
such amount. Nevertheless, said court condemned RIZALINO to pay the amount
of P50,000.00 as moral damages for each count of rape, or a total of
P150,000.00. While moral damages may be awarded the victim in a rape case,
53 in this instance, we reduce the amount to P25,000.00 in each case. Finally,

exemplary damages may be adjudicated against an accused when the crime

was attended by an aggravating circumstance. 54 Here, the trial court correctly
awarded exemplary damages because of the presence of the aggravating
circumstance of relationship.

WHEREFORE, the instant appeal is DISMISSED, and the challenged

decision of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Makati City, Branch 150, in
Criminal Cases Nos. 94-4887, 94-4888 and 94-4889 finding accused-appellant
RIZALINO FUNDANO guilty beyond reasonable doubt as principal of rape in
each of said cases and sentencing him to suffer the penalty of reclusion
perpetua in each case is AFFIRMED, subject to the modifications reducing the
moral damages to P25,000.00 in each case and furthermore, ordering him to
pay the victim, Melody Fundano, indemnity in the amount of P50,000.00 in each
of said cases. The rest of the appealed judgment stands.

Costs against accused-appellant RIZALINO FUNDANO. cdtai

Bellosillo, Vitug, Panganiban and Quisumbing, JJ ., concur.

Footnotes
1. Per Judge Erna Falloran Aliposa, Original Record (OR), 147-159; Rollo , 20-32.

2. OR, 2; Rollo , 6; docketed as Criminal Case No. 94-4887.

3. Id., 4; Id., 7; docketed as Criminal Case No. 94-4888.

4. Id., 6; Id., 8; docketed as Criminal Case No. 94-4889.
5. Id., 8.
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 6. Id., 16.
7. Id., 17.
8. Id., 19.
9. Id., 21.
10. Id., 23, 25.
11. OR, 31.

12. TSN, 1 December 1994, 2-3; TSN 8 August 1995, 4-6.

13. Id., 4-6; Id., 11-13.
14. TSN, 1 December 1994, 7-8, 10.

15. Id., 8-9.

16. TSN, 30 August 1994, 2-15; TSN, 1 December 1994, 11.

17. TSN, 30 August 1994, 15-22; TSN, 1 December 1994, 12, 14.
18. TSN, 30 August 1994, 22-26; TSN, 6 September 1994, 2-4.

19. TSN, 30 August 1994, 2-6.

20. Her very words being ''ang tatay ginahasa niya ako " [Father raped me].
TSN, 30 August 1, 1994, 28.
21. TSN, 30 August 1994, 26-29; TSN, 6 September 1994, 6-10.

22. OR, 103.

23. Id., 104-105.
24. Id., 106.
25. TSN, 30 August 1994, 29; TSN, 6 September 1994, 6-10.
26. TSN, 19 January 1995, 8-10.

27. In later testimonies, Maria Gerola is referred to as Maria Gerona.

28. The arbularyo's testimony would reveal his name to be Oscar Quelas.

29. TSN, 1 August 1995, 3-6, 10-13.

30. TSN, 22 August 1995, 3-12.

31. TSN, 19 October 1993, 3-11.

32. Id., 13-19.

33. TSN, 14 November 1995, 2-7.

34. Id., 8-12.

35. Supra note 1.
36. Citing People v. Dado , 244 SCRA 655 [1995].

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 37. Citing People v. Cura , 240 SCRA 243 [1995] and People v. Vallena, 244
SCRA [1995].

38. People v. Tismo , 204 SCRA 535, 553 [1991]; People v. Lascuna , 225 SCRA
386, 399 [1993]; People v. Antonio, 233 SCRA 283, 299 [1994]; People v. de
Guzman, 265 SCRA 228, 240 [1996].
39. People v. Simon , 209 SCRA 148, 159 [1992]; People v. Castor , 216 SCRA
410, 419 [1992]; People v. Lase , 219 SCRA 584, 595 [1993].

40. See People v. Saldivia , 203 SCRA 461, 471 [1991].

41. See People v. Excija , 258 SCRA 424, 440-441 [1996].
42. People v. Leoterio, 264 SCRA 608, 617 [1996].
43. 7 VICENTE J. FRANCISCO, THE REVISED RULES OF COURT IN THE
PHILIPPINES: EVIDENCE, PART I, 581-582 (1973 ed.) (hereinafter
FRANCISCO).

44. TSN, 19 January 1995, 3-5.

45. FRANCISCO, 594-596.

46. See People v. Saldivia , supra note 40 at 473.
47. People v. Mejorada, 224 SCRA 837, 852 [1993].
48. 1 LUIS B. REYES, THE REVISED PENAL CODE 471 (13th ed., 1993).

49. Entitled An Act to Impose the Death Penalty on Certain Heinous Crimes
Amending For That Purpose The Revised Penal Code, As Amended, Other
Special Penal Laws, And For Other Purposes, which took effect on 31
December 1993 (People v. Simon , 234 SCRA 555, 569 [19941]).
50. Art. 63, Revised Penal Code.

51. Art. 345 (1), Revised Penal Code.

52. People v. Bondoy, 222 SCRA 216, 231 [1993]; People v. Ramos , 245 SCRA
405, 414 [1995].

53. Art. 2219 (3), Civil Code.

54. Art. 2230, Civil Code.

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