Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Branch 105
Quezon City
FOR: RAPE
-versus-
MAURICIO VALLADOLID,
Accused.
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Testimonies by his other witnesses showed and established the same set of facts
that indeed they were sweethearts, and that prior to and after July 29, 2007 the relationship
between the accused and the complainant remained the same. Evidences for the accused
also showed that the complainant and the accused after the date July 29, 2007 still went out
together and shared much time with each other.
ISSUES
Whether or not the accused is guilty of the Crime of Rape Charged?
ARGUMENTS
It is clear that the Complainant is not a credible, nor is she a reliable witness to which
the Court would give merit. By her statements alone she has proven that she lied under oath
several times and that her statements contradict themselves.
Q: Ms. Witness on July 29, 2007 particularly at 9:00 in the morning could you recall
where were you?
Q: While you were there at Star Mall, Mandaluyong City, could you recall of any incident
that happened?
A: Yes, sir.
A: While looking for a job in Mandaluyong City, and while I was walking, he suddenly
put his arms on my shoulder
TSN (Mary Ann Geronimo)
Q: Where?
A: In Cubao.
A: Yes sir.
Q: Where in Cubao?
A: His arms was still on my shoulder, until such time that he paid the bill with the lady in
the hotel.
A: 1:30 sir
A: Yes sir
Take note that the testimony of the complainant would show that she met the
accused at Star Mall at somewhere around 9:00 in the morning and thereafter states that
they went to Eurotel Hotel in Cubao at around 1:30 in the afternoon which leaves us a huge
gap of time around 4 hours and a half to wonder how the accused was able to hold her for
that time with something pointed at her side.
Q: Who was ahead in going out of the Hotel, was it you or the accused?
A: It was him.
Q: You mean to say that you were just following the accused while going out of the
hotel?
Q: Of course, when you went out you have to pass by the counter of the hotel, am I
right?
A: Yes sir.
Q: And of course, you have to pass the door of the hotel am I right?
A: Yes sir
A: Yes
Q: Is the same security guard that you saw when you went inside the hotel?
Q: When you went out with the accused, was the accused still holding the knife that you
mentioned during your direct examination?
A: I did not notice sir because his hand was in his pocket
Q: Why did you not ask for help from the security guard?
A: I was not able to ask for help because I was afraid of his threats
Q: In the bus did you not bother to ask any help or assistance from the passengers or
even from the conductor of the bus?
Q: How many times did you take a ride before you reached your boarding house at
Mandaluyong?
A: A Jeep sir
Q: And in that jeep, considering that it was already 5 in the afternoon and it was
Sunday, of course, there were many passengers, am I right?
A: Yes sir
Q: Why did you not bother to ask for any help from the jeepney driver or from the other
passengers?
A: I was not able to ask for help because I was afraid of his threats
TSN (Mary Ann Geronimo)
Q: And of course, you were walking together with the accused in going home?
Q: How far was the accused from you while you were walking home?
Q: While you were walking, of course, you met many persons walking am I right?
A: Yes sir.
A: I was not able to ask for help because I was afraid of his threats.
In rape cases, the claim of the complainant of having been threatened appears
to be a common expedient of face-saving subterfuge. (People v. Godoy, 250 SCRA
676)
The complainant did not ask for any help from the security guard nor from the many
people around her despite the fact that the sharp object allegedly used by the accused was
no longer pointed at her and that the accused was merely pulling her arm. Furthermore,
when the accused and the complainant separated from each other, the complainant did not
even bother to ask for help from any person while she was already walking alone.
Q: Would you still admit Madam Witness that you were working at Puregold last July 29,
2007, you were still working at Puregold?
A: Yes sir
Q: In fact, you worked at Puregold somewhere at Starmall until the 6th of August 2007, am I
right?
A: Not anymore
Q: A while ago you said you were working on the 29th of July 2007 at Puregold, you mean to
say that was your last day with the company?
Q: But a while ago you admitted that you were still with the Puregold on July 29, 2007. Now
you are telling this Court that you no longer working on July 29, 2007. Which is which
Madam Witness?
Q: In other words, what you said in your direct examination was a lie, am I right?
The complainant said during cross-examination that she was confused but the
questions asked were merely to clarify if she was still working with Puregold and was really
looking for a job on the date of the alleged rape occurred. Further, she admitted to having to
a lied in her sworn statement during cross-examination that she told a lie because she was
confused, even if such lie was unintentional because she was confused during such cross-
examination there should be no confusion on the part of the complainant at all if a person is
telling the truth about simple facts or circumstances.
Evidence to be believed must not only proceed from the mouth of a credible
witness but it must also be credible in itself, such that common experience and
observation of mankind lead to the inference of its probability under the
circumstances. (People v. Perucho, 305 SCRA 770; People v. Lagmay, 306 SCRA 157.)
First and foremost, by the testimony of the accused that he and the complainant
were sweethearts there exist a doubt as to the truth of the claim of the complainant. The
testimony of the accused which stated familiarity with the person of the complainant thus
goes to prove indeed the accused and the complainant do not just greet each other when
they meet, it also shows that there is a relationship between the two other than just being
mere acquaintances.
Although the sweet heart theory has not gained favor with the courts, such
is not always the case if the hard fact is that the accused and the supposed victim
are, in truth, intimately related except that, as is usual in most cases, either the
relationship is illicit or the victims parents are against it. (People v. Godoy, 250 SCRA
676.)
A: She is my girlfriend.
Q: I am showing a 2x2 picture, can you recognize who is the person in this picture?
A: This is my girlfriend sir, she gave that picture to me the night she answered me as her
boyfriend.
Q: There is a writing on the back of this picture which says I LOVE YOU MAU2 can you tell
me whose handwriting is this?
A: This is my girlfriends handwriting sir.
Q: How did you know that this was her hand writing?
A: I know her handwriting very well sir because we usually write love letters to each other.
Based on the testimony of the accused and the picture of the complainant
accompanied by a dedication (Exhibit 1), it can be concluded that the accused and the
complainant in this case are in fact sweethearts.
This testimony is supported and corroborated by the testimony given by the best
friend of the accused.
Q: How did you know that the complainant here is the girlfriend of the accused?
Q: Are there other instances that would lead you to believe that the complainant is in truth
and in fact the girlfriend of the accused?
A: Yes sir, the night after they became sweet hearts, Mauricio immediately notified me
because he was so happy that they are now together and the time when I went in his
boarding house I usually see them inside the room with just the two of them.
Q: What do they usually do when you see them in the boarding house?
A: They were just talking but they were sweet with each other.
Q: How can you say that they were sweet with each other when the both of them are just
talking?
A: Mauricio is the one usually who tickles Mary Ann at the waist sir.
Q: And what was her reaction when you see her being tickled by the accused?
For a woman to stay with a man alone in the room of that man would indicate that
they are close and are either very close friends or are sweethearts. In addition, what they
were doing while inside that room would not be acts by mere friends but of sweethearts. It is
proof that indeed the parties knew each other very well and that they are sweethearts
(1) Witnesses and the accused categorically and clearly established several situations
which depict, show and manifest the relationship between the accused and the
complainant, thus debunking the statement of the complainant that she does not
know the accused;
(2) After July 29, 2007, the accused and the complainant were still communicating with
each other and were seen at the boarding house together and in different instances
by different persons, both witnesses attest that both of them are still sweet at the
time 1st week of August;
(3) The alleged threat after having been lost and/or disappeared or despite several
opportunities to ask for help from the people around her the complainant never told
anyone or asked for help.
(4) The complainant and the accused were sweethearts and there no rape committed
because what merely transpired between them was consented sexual intercourse.
These facts as shown in this case prove the fact that the complainant has been lying before
the police authorities who took her statement as well as before the honorable court based
on her inconsistent testimonies and due to these inconsistent testimonies made by the
complainant, all of her testimonies bears no credibility at all. Furthermore, even assuming
that her testimonies bear any credibility, there can be no crime of rape on the ground that
the complainant and the accused are sweethearts, hence, there was merely consented
sexual intercourse.
RAUL BONGALON
BRYAN DIEGO