People v.

Lucas

Facts:
The accused, Conrado Lucas Y Briones, allegedly raped his daughter, Chanda Lucas
Y Austria, repeatedly since she was 9 years old until the most recent when she was 17 years
old.
On 19 February 1991, Chanda, assisted by her mother, Ofelia Austria-Lucas, filed two
separate sworn criminal complaints for rape and for attempted rape against her father with the
Regional Trial Court of Quezon City. The complaints, docketed as Criminal Cases Nos. Q-
91-18465 and Q-91-18466, were subsequently assigned to Branch 104 of the said court.
The accusatory portion of the complaint for rape in Criminal Case No. Q-91-18465 reads:
"That on or about the 26th day of November 1982 and sometime thereafter
in Quezon City, Philippines and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable
Court, the above-named accused, with lewd designs and by means of
violence and intimidation did then and there, wilfully, unlawfully and
feloniously have sexual intercourse with the undersigned CHANDA LUCAS
Y AUSTRIA, who was then nine (9) years old, now 17 yrs. of age, against
her will, to her damage and prejudice in such amount as may be awarded to
her under the provisions of the New Civil Code."
while that for attempted rape in Criminal Case No. Q-91-18466 reads:
"That on or about the 12th day of February 1991, in Quezon City,
Philippines and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above
named accused, did then and there wilfully, unlawfully and feloniously with
lewd design and by means of force and intimidation, commence the
commission of the crime of rape directly by overt acts by then and there
taking advantage of complainant's tender age and innocence, by then and
there putting his hand inside the panty of the undersigned and mashing her
vagina while his other hand was pressing her nipples and at the same time
kissing her on the lips, face and neck, thereafter accused placed himself on
top of her but said accused did not perform all the acts of execution which
should produce the said offense of rape by reason of the fact that the brother
and sister of the undersigned was awakened and shouted upon the accused, a
cause other than the spontaneous desistance of the said accused, that the
aforesaid act of the said accused was done against the will of the
undersigned, to her damage and prejudice in such amount as may be
awarded to her under the provisions of the New Civil Code."
Judgments are as follows:
 In Crim. Case No. Q-91-18465, the prosecution was able to establish
the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of rape
as charged in the information, he is hereby sentenced to suffer the
penalty of RECLUSION PERPETUA plus all the accessory penalties
provided by law.
 In Crim. Case No. Q-91-18466, the prosecution was able to establish
the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of rape
as charged in the information, he is hereby sentenced to suffer the
 penalty of RECLUSION PERPETUA, plus all the accessory
penalties provided by law.

 Accused is ordered to pay the victim the sum of P30,000.00 as actual

and moral damages without subsidiary imprisonment in case of
insolvency.

Issues:
1. WON the court gave unmerited veracity to the incredible,
unpersuasive, and unreliable testimonies of the prosecution witnesses and in
disregarding the evidence of the defence.
2. WON the accused be rendered judgment higher than what was alleged by
the petitioner. (Attempted to Consummated Rape for Crim. Case. No. Q-91-18466)

Held:
1. No. The court did not.

As found by the trial court and fully supported by the evidence, the
accused had carnal knowledge of his daughter Chanda — then below twelve years
old — on 26 November 1983. Court is not persuaded by the arguments of the
accused that if indeed she was raped on that date and several times thereafter, she
should not have kept her silence until she was seventeen years old since she had
all the available remedies for redress as well as relatives who could help her. The
equanimity or the wisdom of more mature persons cannot be expected from a
young and immature girl like Chanda. We have said before that the workings of a
human mind when placed under emotional stress are unpredictable and that people
react differently to various situations.

2. No. Modified.
Section 4, Rule 120 of the Rules of Court provides that "[w]hen there is
variance between the offense charged in the complaint or information, and that
proved or established by the evidence, and the offense as charged is included in or
necessarily includes the offense proved, the accused shall be convicted of the
offense proved included in that which is charged, or of the offense charged
included in that which is proved." The offense charged in Criminal Case No. Q-
91-18466 (attempted rape) is necessarily included in the offense that was proved
(consummated rape). Accordingly, the accused should be convicted of attempted
rape only. However, the alternative circumstance of relationship provided for
in Article 15 of the Revised Penal Code should be appreciated against the accused
considering that the offended party, Chanda, is his descendant. In crimes against
chastity, such as rape, relationship is aggravating.