MARITAL RAPE

G.R. No. 187495 April 21, 2014

PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Plaintiff-Appellee,

vs.
EDGAR JUMAWAN, Accused-Appellant.

DECISION

"Among the duties assumed by the husband are his duties to love, cherish and protect his wife, to
give her a home, to provide her with the comforts and the necessities of life within his means, to treat
her kindly and not cruelly or inhumanely. He is bound to honor her x x x; it is his duty not only to
maintain and support her, but also to protect her from oppression and wrong."1

REYES, J.:

Husbands do not have property rights over their wives' bodies. Sexual intercourse, albeit within the
realm of marriage, if not consensual, is rape. This is the clear State policy expressly legislated in
Section 266-A of the Revised Penal Code (RPC), as amended by Republic Act (R.A.) No. 8353 or
the Anti-Rape Law of 1997.

The Case

This is an automatic review2 of the Decision3 dated July 9, 2008 of the Court of Appeals (CA) in CA-
G.R. CR-HC No. 00353, which affirmed the Judgment4 dated April 1, 2002 of the Regional Trial
Court (RTC) of Cagayan de Oro City, Branch 19, in Criminal Case Nos. 99-668 and 99-669
convicting him to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua for each count.

The Facts

Accused-appellant and his wife, KKK,5 were married on October 18, 1975. They Ii ved together since
then and raised their four (4) children6 as they put up several businesses over the years.

On February 19, 1999, KKK executed a Complaint-Affidavit,7 alleging that her husband, the accused-
appellant, raped her at 3 :00 a.m. of December 3, 1998 at their residence in Phase 2, Villa Ernesto,
Gusa, Cagayan de Oro City, and that on December 12, 1998, the accused-appellant boxed her
shoulder for refusing to have sex with him.

On June 11, 1999, the Office of the City Prosecutor of Cagayan de Oro City issued a Joint
Resolution,8 finding probable cause for grave threats, less serious physical injuries and rape and
recommending that the appropriate criminal information be filed against the accused-appellant.

On July 16, 1999, two Informations for rape were filed before the RTC respectively docketed as
Criminal Case No. 99-6689 and Criminal Case No. 99-669.10 The Information in Criminal Case No.
99-668 charged the accused-appellant as follows:

That on or about 10:30 in the evening more or less, of October 9, 1998, at Gusa, Cagayan de Oro
City, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused by
means of force upon person did then and there wilfully, unlawfully and feloniously have carnal
knowledge with the private complainant, her [sic] wife, against the latter[']s will.

Contrary to and in Violation of R.A. 8353, the Anti-Rape Law of 1997.

Meanwhile the Information in Criminal Case No. 99-669 reads:

That on or about 10:30 in the evening more or less, of October 10, 1998, at Gusa, Cagayan de Oro
City, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused by
means of force upon person did then and there wilfully, unlawfully and feloniously have carnal
knowledge with the private complainant, her [sic] wife, against the latter's will.

Contrary to and in Violation of R.A. 8353, the Anti-Rape Law of 1997.

The accused-appellant was arrested upon a warrant issued on July 21, 1999.11 On August 18, 1999,
the accused-appellant filed a Motion for Reinvestigation,12 which was denied by the trial court in an
Order13 dated August 19, 1999. On even date, the accused-appellant was arraigned and he entered
a plea of not guilty to both charges.14

On January 10, 2000, the prosecution filed a Motion to Admit Amended Information15 averring that
the name of the private complainant was omitted in the original informations for rape. The motion
also stated that KKK, thru a Supplemental Affidavit dated November 15, 1999,16 attested that the true
dates of commission of the crime are October 16, 1998 and October 1 7, 1998 thereby modifying the
dates stated in her previous complaint-affidavit. The motion was granted on January 18,
2000.17 Accordingly, the criminal informations were amended as follows:

Criminal Case No. 99-668:

That on or about October 16, 1998 at Gusa, Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines, and within the
jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused by means of force upon person did
then and there wilfully, unlawfully and feloniously have carnal knowledge with the private
complainant, his wife, [KKK], against the latter's will.

Contrary to and in violation of R.A. 8353, the Anti-Rape Law of 1997.18

Criminal Case No. 99-669:

That on or about October 17, 1998 at Gusa, Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines, and within the
jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused by means of force upon person did
then and there wilfully, unlawfully and feloniously have carnal knowledge with the private
complainant, his wife, [KKK], against the latter's will.

Contrary to and in violation of R.A. 8353, the Anti-Rape Law of 1997.19

The accused-appellant was thereafter re-arraigned. He maintained his not guilty plea to both
indictments and a joint trial of the two cases forthwith ensued.

Version of the prosecution

The prosecution's theory was anchored on the testimonies of KKK, and her daughters MMM and
000, which, together with pertinent physical evidence, depicted the following events:
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.20 When their first child, MMM, was born, KKK and the
accused-appellant put up a sari-sari store.21 Later on, they engaged in several other businesses -
trucking, rice mill and hardware. KKK managed the businesses except for the rice mill, which,
ideally, was under the accused-appellant's supervision with the help of a trusted employee. In reality,
however, he merely assisted in the rice mill business by occasionally driving one of the trucks to haul
goods.22

Accused-appellant's keenness to make the businesses flourish was not as fervent as KKK's
dedication. Even the daughters observed the disproportionate labors of their parents.23 He would
drive the trucks sometimes but KKK was the one who actively managed the businesses.24

She wanted to provide a comfortable life for their children; he, on the other hand, did not acquiesce
with that objective.25

In 1994, KKK and the accused-appellant bought a lot and built a house in Villa Ernesto, Gusa,
Cagayan de Oro City.26 Three of the children transferred residence therein while KKK, the accused-
appellant and one of their sons stayed in Dangcagan, Bukidnon. She shuttled between the two
places regularly and sometimes he accompanied her.27 In 1998, KKK stayed in Gusa, Cagayan De
Oro City most of the days of the week.28 On Wednesdays, she went to Dangcagan, Bukidnon to
procure supplies for the family store and then returned to Cagayan de Oro City on the same day.29

Conjugal intimacy did not really cause marital problems between KKK and the accused-appellant. It
was, in fact, both frequent and fulfilling. He treated her well and she, of course, responded with equal
degree of enthusiasm.30However, in 1997, he started to be brutal in bed. He would immediately
remove her panties and, sans any foreplay, insert her penis in her vagina. His abridged method of
lovemaking was physically painful for her so she would resist his sexual ambush but he would
threaten her into submission.31

In 1998, KKK and the accused-appellant started quarrelling usually upon his complaint that she
failed to attend to him. She was preoccupied with financial problems in their businesses and a bank
loan. He wanted KKK to stay at home because "a woman must stay in the house and only good in
bed (sic) x x x." She disobeyed his wishes and focused on her goal of providing a good future for the
children.32

Four days before the subject rape incidents or on October 12, 1998, KKK and the accused-appellant
slept together in Cebu City where the graduation rites of their eldest daughter were held. By October
14, 1998, the three of them were already back in Cagayan de Oro City.33

On October 16, 1998, the accused-appellant, his wife KKK and their children went about their nightly
routine. The family store in their residence was closed at about 9:00 p.m. before supper was taken.
Afterwards, KKK and the children went to the girls' bedroom at the mezzanine of the house to pray
the rosary while the accused-appellant watched television in the living room.34 OOO and MMM then
prepared their beds. Soon after, the accused-appellant fetched KKK and bid her to come with him to
their conjugal bedroom in the third floor of the house. KKK complied.35

Once in the bedroom, KKK changed into a daster and fixed the matrimonial bed but she did not lie
thereon with the accused-appellant and instead, rested separately in a cot near the bed. Her
reclusive behavior prompted him to ask angrily: "[W]hy are you lying on the c{o]t[?]", and to
instantaneously order: "You transfer here [to] our bed."36
KKK insisted to stay on the cot and explained that she had headache and abdominal pain due to her
forthcoming menstruation. Her reasons did not appease him and he got angrier. He rose from the
bed, lifted the cot and threw it against the wall causing KKK to fall on the floor. Terrified, KKK stood
up from where she fell, took her pillow and transferred to the bed.37

The accused-appellant then lay beside KKK and not before long, expressed his desire to copulate
with her by tapping his fingers on her lap. She politely declined by warding off his hand and
reiterating that she was not feeling well.38

The accused-appellant again asserted his sexual yearning and when KKK tried to resist by holding
on to her panties, he pulled them down so forcefully they tore on the sides.39 KKK stayed defiant by
refusing to bend her legs.40

The accused-appellant then raised KKK's daster,41 stretched her legs apart and rested his own legs
on them. She tried to wrestle him away but he held her hands and succeeded in penetrating her. As
he was carrying out his carnal desires, KKK continued to protest by desperately shouting: "[D]on 't
do that to me because I'm not feeling well."42

With a concrete wall on one side and a mere wooden partition on the other enclosing the spouses'
bedroom,43KKK's pleas were audible in the children's bedroom where MMM lay awake.

Upon hearing her mother crying and hysterically shouting: "Eddie, don't do that to me, have pity on
me,"44 MMM woke up 000 who prodded her to go to their parents' room.45 MMM hurriedly climbed
upstairs, vigorously knocked on the door of her parents' bedroom and inquired: "Pa, why is it that
Mama is crying?"46 The accused-appellant then quickly put on his briefs and shirt, partly opened the
door and said: "[D]on 't interfere because this is a family trouble," before closing it again.47 Since she
heard her mother continue to cry, MMM ignored his father's admonition, knocked at the bedroom
door again, and then kicked it.48 A furious accused-appellant opened the door wider and rebuked
MMM once more: "Don't interfere us. Go downstairs because this is family trouble!" Upon seeing
KKK crouching and crying on top of the bed, MMM boldly entered the room, approached her mother
and asked: "Ma, why are you crying?" before asking her father: "Pa, what happened to Mama why is
it that her underwear is torn[?]"49

When MMM received no definite answers to her questions, she helped her mother get up in order to
bring her to the girls' bedroom. KKK then picked up her tom underwear and covered herself with a
blanket.50 However, their breakout from the room was not easy. To prevent KKK from leaving, the
accused-appellant blocked the doorway by extending his arm towards the knob. He commanded
KKK to "[S]tay here, you sleep in our room," when the trembling KKK pleaded: "Eddie, allow me to
go out." He then held KKK's hands but she pulled them back. Determined to get away, MMM leaned
against door and embraced her mother tightly as they pushed their way out.51

In their bedroom, the girls gave their mother some water and queried her as to what
happened.52 KKK relayed: "[Y]our father is an animal, a beast; he forced me to have sex with him
when I'm not feeling well." The girls then locked the door and let her rest."53

The accused-appellant's aggression recurred the following night. After closing the family store on
October 17, 1998, KKK and the children took their supper. The accused-appellant did not join them
since, according to him, he already ate dinner elsewhere. After resting for a short while, KKK and the
children proceeded to the girls' bedroom and prayed the rosary. KKK decided to spend the night in
the room's small bed and the girls were already fixing the beddings when the accused-appellant
entered.
"Why are you sleeping in the room of our children", he asked KKK, who responded that she
preferred to sleep with the children.54 He then scoffed: "Its alright if you will not go with me, anyway,
there are women that could be paid [P] 1,000.00." She dismissed his comment by turning her head
away after retorting: "So be it." After that, he left the room.55

He returned 15 minutes later56 and when KKK still refused to go with him, he became infuriated. He
lifted her from the bed and attempted to carry her out of the room as he exclaimed: "Why will you
sleep here[?] Lets go to our bedroom." When she defied him, he grabbed her short pants causing
them to tear apart.57 At this point, MMM interfered, "Pa, don't do that to Mama because we are in
front of you."58

The presence of his children apparently did not pacify the accused-appellant who yelled, "[E]ven in
front of you, I can have sex of your mother [sic J because I'm the head of the family." He then
ordered his daughters to leave the room. Frightened, the girls obliged and went to the staircase
where they subsequently heard the pleas of their helpless mother resonate with the creaking bed.59

The episodes in the bedroom were no less disturbing. The accused-appellant forcibly pulled KKK's
short pants and panties. He paid no heed as she begged, "[D]on 't do that to me, my body is still
aching and also my abdomen and I cannot do what you wanted me to do [sic]. I cannot withstand
sex."60

After removing his own short pants and briefs, he flexed her legs, held her hands, mounted her and
forced himself inside her. Once gratified, the accused-appellant put on his short pants and briefs,
stood up, and went out of the room laughing as he conceitedly uttered: "[I]t s nice, that is what you
deserve because you are [a] flirt or fond of sex." He then retreated to the masters' bedroom.61

Sensing that the commotion in their bedroom has ceased, MMM and OOO scurried upstairs but
found the door locked. MMM pulled out a jalousie window, inserted her arm, reached for the
doorknob inside and disengaged its lock. Upon entering the room, MMM and OOO found their
mother crouched on the bed with her hair disheveled. The girls asked: "Ma, what happened to you,
why are you crying?" KKK replied: "[Y}our father is a beast and animal, he again forced me to have
sex with him even if I don't feel well. "62

Version of the defense

The defense spun a different tale. The accused-appellant's father owned a land adjacent to that of
KKK's father. He came to know KKK because she brought food for her father's laborers. When they
got married on October 18, 1975, he was a high school graduate while she was an elementary
graduate.

Their humble educational background did not deter them from pursuing a comfortable life. Through
their joint hard work and efforts, the couple gradually acquired personal properties and established
their own businesses that included a rice mill managed by the accused-appellant. He also drove
their trucks that hauled coffee, copra, or com.63

The accused-appellant denied raping his wife on October 16 and 17, 1998. He claimed that on those
dates he was in Dangcagan, Bukidnon, peeling com. On October 7, his truck met an accident
somewhere in Angeles Ranch, Maluko, Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon. He left the truck by the roadside
because he had to attend MMM's graduation in Cebu on October 12 with KKK. When they returned
to Bukidnon on October 14, he asked KKK and MMM to proceed to Cagayan de Oro City and just
leave him behind so he can take care of the truck and buy some com.64
Ryle Equia (Equia), the spouses' driver from January 1996 until June 1999 corroborated the above
claims. According to him, on October 16, 1998, the accused-appellant was within the vicinity of the
rice mill's loading area in Dangcagan, Bukidnon, cleaning a pick-up truck. On October 17, 1998, he
and the accused-appellant were in Dangcagan, Bukidnon, loading sacks of com into the truck. They
finished loading at 3 :00 p.m. The accused-appellant then instructed Equia to proceed to Maluko,
Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon while the former attended a fiesta in New Cebu, Kianggat, Dangcagan,
Bukidnon. At around 4:00 p.m., Equia, together with a helper and a mechanic, left for Maluko in
order to tow the stalled truck left there by the accused-appellant in October 7 and thereafter, bring it
to Cagayan de Oro City together with the separate truck loaded with com.

They arrived in Maluko at 7:00 p.m. and it took them three hours to turn the truck around and hoist it
to the towing bar of the other truck. At around 10:00 p.m., the accused-appellant arrived in Maluko.
The four of them then proceeded to Cagayan de Oro City where they arrived at 3 :00 a.m. of
October 18, 1998. The accused-appellant went to Gusa while the other three men brought the
damaged truck to Cugman.65

The accused-appellant asserted that KKK merely fabricated the rape charges as her revenge
because he took over the control and management of their businesses as well as the possession of
their pick-up truck in January 1999. The accused-appellant was provoked to do so when she failed
to account for their bank deposits and business earnings. The entries in their bank account showed
the balance of ₱3,190,539.83 on October 31, 1996 but after only a month or on November 30, 1996,
the amount dwindled to a measly ₱9,894.88.66 Her failure to immediately report to the police also
belies her rape allegations.67

KKK wanted to cover-up her extra-marital affairs, which the accused-appellant gradually detected
from her odd behavior. While in Cebu on October 12, 1998 for MMM's graduation rites, the accused-
appellant and KKK had sexual intercourse. He was surprised when his wife asked him to get a
napkin to wipe her after having sex. He tagged her request as "high-tech," because they did not do
the same when they had sex in the past. KKK had also become increasingly indifferent to him. When
he arrives home, it was an employee, not her, who opened the door and welcomed him. She prettied
herself and would no longer ask for his permission whenever she went out.68

Bebs,69 KKK's cousin and a cashier in their Bukidnon store, gave the accused-appellant several love
letters purportedly addressed to Bebs but were actually intended for KKK.70

KKK had more than ten paramours some of whom the accused-appellant came to know as: Arsenio,
Jong-Jong, Joy or Joey, somebody from the military or the Philippine National Police, another one is
a government employee, a certain Fernandez and three other priests.71 Several persons told him
about the paramours of his wife but he never confronted her or them about it because he trusted
her.72

What further confirmed his suspicions was the statement made by OOO on November 2, 1998. At
that time, OOO was listening loudly to a cassette player. Since he wanted to watch a television
program, he asked OOO to tum down the volume of the cassette player. She got annoyed,
unplugged the player, spinned around and hit the accused-appellant's head with the socket. His
head bled. An altercation between the accused-appellant and KKK thereafter followed because the
latter took OOO's side. During the argument, OOO blurted out that KKK was better off without the
accused-appellant because she had somebody young, handsome, and a businessman unlike the
accused-appellant who smelled bad, and was old, and ugly.73

KKK also wanted their property divided between them with three-fourths thereof going to her and
one-fourth to the accused-appellant. However, the separation did not push through because the
accused-appellant's parents intervened.74 Thereafter, KKK pursued legal separation from the
accused-appellant by initiating Barangay Case No. 00588-99 before the Office of Lupong
Tagapamayapa of Gusa, Cagayan de Oro City and thereafter obtaining a Certificate to File Action
dated February 18, 1999.75

Ruling of the RTC

In its Judgment76 dated April 1, 2002, the RTC sustained the version proffered by the prosecution by
giving greater weight and credence to the spontaneous and straightforward testimonies of the
prosecution's witnesses. The trial court also 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.

The trial court rejected the version of the defense and found unbelievable the accused-appellant's
accusations of extra-marital affairs and money squandering against KKK. The trial court shelved the
accused-appellant's alibi for being premised on inconsistent testimonies and the contradicting
declarations of the other defense witness, Equia, as to the accused-appellant's actual whereabouts
on October 16, 1998. Accordingly, the RTC ruling disposed as follows:

WHEREFORE, the Court hereby finds accused Edgar Jumawan "GUILTY" beyond reasonable doubt
of the two (2) separate charges of rape and hereby sentences him to suffer the penalty of reclusion
perpetua for each, to pay complainant [P]50,000.00 in each case as moral damages, indemnify
complainant the sum of (P]75,000.00 in each case, [P]50,000.00 as exemplary damages and to pay
the costs.

SO ORDERED.77

Ruling of the CA

In its Decision78 dated July 9, 2008, the CA affirmed in toto the RTC ruling. The CA held that Section
14, Rule 110 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure, sanctioned the amendment of the original
informations. Further, the accused-appellant was not prejudiced by the amendment because he was
re-arraigned with respect to the amended informations.

The CA found that the prosecution, through the straightforward testimony of the victim herself and
the corroborative declarations of MMM and OOO, was able to establish, beyond reasonable doubt,
all the elements of rape under R.A. No. 8353. The accused-appellant had carnal knowledge of KKK
by using force and intimidation.

The CA also ruled that KKK's failure to submit herself to medical examination did not negate the
commission of the crime because a medical certificate is not necessary to prove rape.

The CA rejected the accused-appellant's argument that since he and KKK are husband and wife with
mutual obligations of and right to sexual intercourse, there must be convincing physical evidence or
manifestations of the alleged force and intimidation used upon KKK such as bruises. The CA
explained that physical showing of external injures is not indispensable to prosecute and convict a
person for rape; what is necessary is that the victim was forced to have sexual intercourse with the
accused.
In addition, the CA noted that the fact that KKK and the accused-appellant are spouses only
reinforces the truthfulness of KKK's accusations because no wife in her right mind would accuse her
husband of having raped her if it were not true.

The delay in the filing of the rape complaint was sufficiently explained by KKK when she stated that
she only found out that a wife may charge his husband with rape when the fiscal investigating her
separate complaint for grave threats and physical injuries told her about it.

Finally, the CA dismissed the accused-appellant's alibi for lack of convincing evidence that it was
physically impossible for him to be at his residence in Cagayan de Oro City at the time of the
commission of the crimes, considering that Dangcagan, Bukidnon, the place where he allegedly
was, is only about four or five hours away. Accordingly, the decretal portion of the decision read:

WHEREFORE, in the light of the foregoing, the appealed Judgment is hereby AFFIRMED.

SO ORDERED.79

Hence, the present review. In the Court Resolution80 dated July 6, 2009, the Court notified the parties
that, if they so desire, they may file their respective supplemental briefs. In a Manifestation and
Motion81 dated September 4, 2009, the appellee, through the Office of the Solicitor General,
expressed that it intends to adopt its Brief before the CA. On April 16, 2012, the accused-appellant,
through counsel, filed his Supplemental Brief, arguing that he was not in Cagayan de Oro City when
the alleged rape incidents took place, and the presence of force, threat or intimidation is negated by:
(a) KKK's voluntary act of going with him to the conjugal bedroom on October 16, 1998; (b) KKK's
failure to put up resistance or seek help from police authorities; and ( c) the absence of a medical
certificate and of blood traces in KKK's panties.82

Our Ruling

I. Rape and marriage: the historical connection

The evolution of rape laws is actually traced to two ancient English practices of 'bride capture'
whereby a man conquered a woman through rape and 'stealing an heiress' whereby a man
abducted a woman and married her.83

The rape laws then were intended not to redress the violation of the woman's chastity but rather to
punish the act of obtaining the heiress' property by forcible marriage84 or to protect a man's valuable
interest in his wife's chastity or her daughter's virginity.85

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.86

Women were subjugated in laws and society as objects or goods and such treatment was justified
under three ideologies.

Under the chattel theory prevalent during the 6th century, a woman was the property of her father
until she marries to become the property of her husband.87 If a man abducted an unmarried woman,
he had to pay the owner, and later buy her from the owner; buying and marrying a wife were
synonymous.88
From the 11th century to the 16th century, a woman lost her identity upon marriage and the law
denied her political power and status under the feudal doctrine of coverture.89

A husband had the right to chastise his wife and beat her if she misbehaved, allowing him to bring
order within the family.90

This was supplanted by the marital unity theory, which espoused a similar concept. 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.91

II. The marital exemption rule

In the 17th century, Sir Matthew Hale (Hale), a Chief Justice in England, conceived the irrevocable
implied consent theory that would later on emerge as the marital exemption rule in rape. He stated
that:

[T]he husband cannot be guilty of a rape committed by himself upon his lawful wife, for by their
mutual matrimonial consent and contract the wife hath given up herself in this kind unto her
husband, which she cannot retract.92

The rule was observed in common law countries such as the United States of America (USA) and
England. It gives legal immunity to a man who forcibly sexually assaults his wife, an act which would
be rape if committed against a woman not his wife.93 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."94

The first case in the USA that applied the marital exemption rule was Commonwealth v.
Fogerty95 promulgated in 1857. The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts pronounced that it
would always be a defense in rape to show marriage to the victim. Several other courts adhered to a
similar rationale with all of them citing Hale's theory as basis.96

The rule was formally codified in the Penal Code of New York in 1909. A husband was endowed with
absolute immunity from prosecution for the rape of his wife.97 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.98

In the 1970s, the rule was 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.99

In 1978, the 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 "which by its
terms or in its effects requires such living apart," or a decree, judgment or written agreement of
separation.100

In 1983, the marital exemption rule was abandoned in New York when the Court of Appeals of New
York declared the same unconstitutional in People v. Liberta101 for lack of rational basis in
distinguishing between marital rape and non-marital rape. The decision, which also renounced
Hale's irrevocable implied consent theory, ratiocinated as follows:

We find that there is no rational basis for distinguishing between marital rape and nonmarital rape.
The various rationales which have been asserted in defense of the exemption are either based upon
archaic notions about the consent and property rights incident to marriage or are simply unable to
withstand even the slightest scrutiny. We therefore declare the marital exemption for rape in the New
York statute to be unconstitutional.

Lord Hale's notion of an irrevocable implied consent by a married woman to sexual intercourse has
been cited most frequently in support of the marital exemption. x x x Any argument based on a
supposed consent, however, is untenable. Rape is not simply a sexual act to which one party does
not consent. Rather, it is a degrading, violent act which violates the bodily integrity of the victim and
frequently causes severe, long-lasting physical and psychic harm x x x. To ever imply consent to
such an act is irrational and absurd. Other than in the context of rape statutes, marriage has never
been viewed as giving a husband the right to coerced intercourse on demand x x x. Certainly, then,
a marriage license should not be viewed as a license for a husband to forcibly rape his wife with
impunity. A married woman has the same right to control her own body as does an unmarried
woman x x x. If a husband feels "aggrieved" by his wife's refusal to engage in sexual intercourse, he
should seek relief in the courts governing domestic relations, not in "violent or forceful self-help x x
x."

The other traditional justifications for the marital exemption were the common-law doctrines that a
woman was the property of her husband and that the legal existence of the woman was
"incorporated and consolidated into that of the husband x x x." Both these doctrines, of course, have
long been rejected in this State. Indeed, "[nowhere] in the common-law world - [or] in any modem
society - is a woman regarded as chattel or demeaned by denial of a separate legal identity and the
dignity associated with recognition as a whole human being x x x."102 (Citations omitted)

By 1993, marital rape was a crime in all 50 states, with 17 of them, as well as the District of
Columbia, outlawing the act without exemptions. Meanwhile, the 33 other 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.103

III. Marital Rape in the Philippines

Interestingly, no documented case on marital rape has ever reached this Court until now. It appears,
however, that the old provisions of rape under Article 335 of the RPC adhered to Hale's irrevocable
implied consent theory, albeit in a limited form. According to Chief Justice Ramon C. Aquino,104 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.105

In 1981, the Philippines joined 180 countries in ratifying the United Nations Convention on the
Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (UN-CEDAW).106 Hailed as the first
international women's bill of rights, the CEDAW is the first major instrument that contains a ban on
all forms of discrimination against women. The Philippines assumed the role of promoting gender
equality and women's empowerment as a vital element in addressing global concerns.107 The country
also committed, among others, to condemn discrimination against women in all its forms, and
agreed to pursue, by all appropriate means and without delay, a policy of eliminating discrimination
against women and, to this end, undertook:

(a) To embody the principle of the equality of men and women in their national constitutions
or other appropriate legislation if not yet incorporated therein and to ensure, through law and
other appropriate means, the practical realization of this principle;

(b) To adopt appropriate legislative and other measures, including sanctions where
appropriate, prohibiting all discrimination against women;
 xxxx

(f) To take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to modify or abolish existing laws,
regulations, customs and practices which constitute discrimination against women;

(g) To repeal all national penal provisions which constitute discrimination against women.108

In compliance with the foregoing international commitments, the Philippines enshrined the principle
of gender equality in the 1987 Constitution specifically in Sections 11 and 14 of Article II thereof,
thus:

Sec. 11. The State values the dignity of every human person and guarantees full respect for human
rights.

xxxx

Sec. 14. The State recognizes the role of women in nation-building, and shall ensure the
fundamental equality before the law of women and men. The Philippines also acceded to adopt and
implement the generally accepted principles of international law such as the CEDA W and its allied
issuances, viz:

Article II, Section 2. The Philippines renounces war as an instrument of national policy, and adopts
the generally accepted principles of international law as part of the law of the land and adheres to
the policy of peace, equality, justice, freedom, cooperation, and amity with all nations. (Emphasis
ours)

The Legislature then pursued the enactment of laws to propagate gender equality. In 1997, R.A. No.
8353 eradicated the stereotype concept of rape in Article 335 of the RPC.109 The law reclassified rape
as a crime against person and removed it from the ambit of crimes against chastity. More particular
to the present case, and perhaps the law's most progressive proviso is the 2nd paragraph of Section
2 thereof recognizing the reality of marital rape and criminalizing its perpetration, viz:

Article 266-C. Effect of Pardon. - The subsequent valid marriage between the offended party shall
extinguish the criminal action or the penalty imposed.

In case it is the legal husband who is the offender, the subsequent forgiveness by the wife as the
offended party shall extinguish the criminal action or the penalty: Provided, That the crime shall not
be extinguished or the penalty shall not be abated if the marriage is void ab initio.

Read together with Section 1 of the law, which unqualifiedly uses the term "man" in defining rape, it
is unmistakable that R.A. No. 8353 penalizes the crime without regard to the rapist's legal
relationship with his victim, thus:

Article 266-A. Rape: When And How Committed. - Rape is committed:

1) By a man who shall have carnal knowledge of a woman under any of the following circumstances:

a) Through force, threat, or intimidation;

b) When the offended party is deprived of reason or otherwise unconscious;

 c) By means of fraudulent machination or grave abuse of authority; and

d) When the offended party is under twelve (12) years of age or is demented, even though
none of the circumstances mentioned above be present.

The explicit intent to outlaw marital rape is deducible from the records of the deliberations of the 10th
Congress on the law's progenitor's, House Bill No. 6265 and Senate Bill No. 650. In spite of qualms
on tagging the crime as 'marital rape' due to conservative Filipino impressions on marriage, the
consensus of our lawmakers was clearly to include and penalize marital rape under the general
definition of 'rape,' viz:

MR. DAMASING: Madam Speaker, Your Honor, one more point

of clarification in the House version on Anti-Rape Bill, House Bill No. 6265, we never agreed to
marital rape. But under Article 266-C, it says here: "In case it is the legal husband who is the
offender... " Does this presuppose that there is now marital rape? x x x.

MR. LARA: x x x [I]n this jurisdiction, well, I only have a limited, very limited 17 years of private
practice in the legal profession, Madam Speaker, and I believe that I can put at stake my license as
a lawyer in this jurisdiction there is no law that prohibits a husband from being sued by the wife for
rape. Even jurisprudence, we don't have any jurisprudence that prohibits a wife from suing a
husband. That is why even if we don't provide in this bill expanding the definition of crime that is now
being presented for approval, Madam Speaker, even if we don't provide here for marital rape, even if
we don't provide for sexual rape, there is the right of the wife to go against the husband. The wife
can sue the husband for marital rape and she cannot be prevented from doing so because in this
jurisdiction there is no law that prohibits her from doing so. This is why we had to put second
paragraph of 266-C because it is the belief of many of us. x x x, that if it is true that in this jurisdiction
there is marital rape even if we don't provide it here, then we must provide for something that will
unify and keep the cohesion of the family together that is why we have the second paragraph.

MR. DAMASING: Madam Speaker, Your Honor, under the House version specifically House Bill No.
6265 our provision on a husband forcing the wife is not marital rape, it is marital sexual assault.

MR. LARA: That is correct, Madam Speaker.

MR. DAMASING: But here it is marital rape because there is no crime of sexual assault. So, Your
Honor, direct to the point, under Article 266-C, is it our understanding that in the second paragraph,
quote: "In case it is the legal husband who is the offender, this refers to marital rape filed against the
husband? Is that correct?

MR. LARA: No, Madam Speaker, not entirely, no. The answer is no.

MR. DAMASING: So if the husband is guilty of sexual assault, what do you call- it?

MR. LARA: Sexual assault, Madam Speaker.

MR. DAMASING: There is no crime of sexual assault, Your Honor, we have already stated that.
Because under 1 and 2 it is all denominated as rape, there is no crime of sexual assault. That is why
I am sorry that our House version which provided for sexual assault was not carried by the Senate
version because all sexual crimes under this bicameral conference committee report are all now
denominated as rape whether the penalty is from reclusion perpetua to death or whether the penalty
is only prision mayor. So there is marital rape, Your Honor, is that correct?

xxxx

MR. DAMASING: Madam Speaker, Your Honor, I am in favor of this. I am in favor of punishing the
husband who forces the wife even to 30 years imprisonment. But please do not call it marital rape,
call it marital sexual assault because of the sanctity of marriage. x x x.110 (Emphasis ours)

HON. APOSTOL: In our version, we did not mention marital rape but marital rape is not excluded.

HON. ROCO: Yeah. No. But I think there is also no specific mention.

HON. APOSTOL: No. No. No. Silent lang 'yung marital rape.

xxxx

HON. ROCO: xx x [I]f we can retain the effect of pardon, then this marital rape can be implicitly
contained in the second paragraph. x x x So marital rape actually was in the House version x x x.
But it was not another definition of rape. You will notice, it only says, that because you are the lawful
husband does not mean that you cannot commit rape. Theoretically, I mean, you can beat up your
wife until she's blue. And if the wife complains she was raped, I guess that, I mean, you just cannot
raise the defense x x x[:] I am the husband. But where in the marriage contract does it say that I can
beat you up? That's all it means. That is why if we stop referring to it as marital rape, acceptance is
easy. Because parang ang marital rape, married na nga kami. I cannot have sex. No, what it is
saying is you're [the] husband but you cannot beat me up. x x x. That's why to me it's not alarming. It
was just a way of saying you're [the] husband, you cannot say when I am charged with rape x x x.

PRESIDING OFFICER SHAHAN!: All right, so how do you propose it if we put it in[?]

HON. ROCO: x x x [A]ll we are saying [is] that if you are the lawful husband does not mean you can
have carnal knowledge by force[,] threat or intimidation or by depriving your wife reason, a grave
abuse of authority, I don't know how that cannot apply. Di ba yung, or putting an instrument into the,
yun ang sinasabi ko lang, it is not meant to have another classification of rape. It is all the same
definition x x x.

xxxx

HON.ROCO: What is 266-F? x x x. Now if we can retain 266-F x x x, we can say that this rule is
implicit already in the first proviso. It implies na there is an instance when a husband can be charged
[with] rape x x x.

HON. ROXAS: Otherwise, silent na.

HON. ROCO: Otherwise, we are silent na. So parang i-delete natin ito. But it is understood that this
rule of evidence is now transport[ed], put into 266-F, the effect of pardon.

PRESIDING OFFICER APOSTOL: We will retain this effect of pardon. We will remove marital rape.

HON. ROCO: No, yun ang, oo we will remove this one on page 3 but we will retain the one on page
8, the effect of pardon. x x x [I]t is inferred but we leave it because after all it is just a rule of
evidence. But I think we should understand that a husband cannot beat at his wife to have sex. Di
ha? I think that should be made clear. x x x.

xxxx

HON. ROCO: x x x [W]e are not defining a crime of marital rape. All we are saying is that if you're
[the] legal husband, Jesus Christ, don't beat up to have sex. I almost want, you are my wife, why do
you have to beat me up.

So, ganoon. So, if we both justify it that way in the Report as inferred in proviso, I mean, we can face
up, I hope, to the women and they would understand that it is half achieved.

HON. ZAMORA: I think, Raul, as long as we understand that we are not defining or creating a new
crime but instead, we are just defining a rule of evidence. x x x.

HON. ROCO: Then, in which case we may just want to clarify as a rule of evidence the fact that he is
husband is not, does not negate.111

CHAIRMAN LARA: x x x We all agree on the substance of the point in discussion. The only
disagreement now is where to place it. Let us clear this matter. There are two suggestions now on
marital rape. One is that it is rape if it is done with force or intimidation or any of the circumstances
that would define rape x x x immaterial. The fact that the husband and wife are separated does not
come into the picture. So even if they are living under one roof x x x for as long as the attendant
circumstances of the traditional rape is present, then that is rape.112

PRESIDING OFFICER ANGARA-CASTILLO: Mr. Chairman, x x x [t]his provision on marital rape, it

does not actually change the meaning of rape. It merely erases the doubt in anybody's mind,
whether or not rape can indeed be committed by the husband against the wife. So the bill really
says, you having been married to one another is not a legal impediment. So I don't really think there
is any need to change the concept of rape as defined presently under the revised penal code. This
do[es] not actually add anything to the definition of rape. It merely says, it is merely clarificatory. That
if indeed the wife has evidence to show that she was really brow beaten, or whatever or forced or
intimidated into having sexual intercourse against her will, then the crime of rape has been
committed against her by the husband, notwithstanding the fact that they have been legally married.
It does not change anything at all, Mr. Chairman.

PRESIDING OFFICER APOSTOL: Yes, I think, there is no change on this x x x.113

The paradigm shift on marital rape in the Philippine jurisdiction is further affirmed by R.A. No.
9262,114 which regards 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, viz:

Violence against women and their children refers to any act or a series of acts committed by any
person against a woman who is his wife, former wife, or against a woman with whom the person has
or had a sexual or dating relationship, or with whom he has a common child, or against her child
whether legitimate or illegitimate, within or without the family abode, which result in or is likely to
result in. physical, sexual, psychological harm or suffering, or economic abuse including threats of
such acts, battery, assault, coercion, harassment or arbitrary deprivation of liberty. It includes, but is
not limited to, the following acts:

A. "Physical Violence" refers to acts that include bodily or physical harm;

 B. "Sexual violence" refers to an act which is sexual in nature, committed against a woman
or her child. It includes, but is not limited to:

a) rape, sexual harassment, acts of lasciviousness, treating a woman or her child as

a sex object, making demeaning and sexually suggestive remarks, physically
attacking the sexual parts of the victim's body, forcing her/him to watch obscene
publications and indecent shows or forcing the woman or her child to do indecent
acts and/or make films thereof, forcing the wife and mistress/lover to live in the
conjugal home or sleep together in the same room with the abuser;

b) acts causing or attempting to cause the victim to engage in any sexual activity by
force, threat of force, physical or other harm or threat of physical or other harm or
coercion;

c) Prostituting the woman or child.

Statistical figures confirm the above characterization. Emotional and other forms of non-personal
violence are the most common type of spousal violence accounting for 23% incidence among ever-
married women. One in seven ever-married women experienced physical violence by their husbands
while eight percent (8%) experienced sexual violence.115

IV. Refutation of the accused-appellant's arguments

The crux of the accused-appellant's plea for acquittal mirrors the irrevocable implied consent theory.
In his appeal brief before the CA, he posits that the two incidents of sexual intercourse, which gave
rise to the criminal charges for rape, were theoretically consensual, obligatory even, because he and
the victim, KKK, were a legally married and cohabiting couple. He argues that consent to copulation
is presumed between cohabiting husband and wife unless the contrary is proved.

The accused-appellant further claims that this 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.116

The contentions failed to muster legal and rational merit.

The ancient customs and ideologies from which the irrevocable implied consent theory evolved have
already been superseded by modem 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. The Philippines, as State Party to the CEDAW, recognized that a change in the traditional
role of men as well as the role of women in society and in the family is needed to achieve full
equality between them. Accordingly, the country vowed to take all appropriate measures to modify
the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women, with a view to achieving the
elimination of prejudices, customs and all other practices which are based on the idea of the
inferiority or the superiority of either of the sexes or on stereotyped roles for men and women.117 One
of such measures is R.A. No 8353 insofar as it 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.

Another important international instrument on gender equality is the UN Declaration on the

Elimination of Violence Against Women, which was Promulgated118 by the UN General Assembly
subsequent to the CEDA W. The Declaration, in enumerating the forms of gender-based violence
that constitute acts of discrimination against women, identified 'marital rape' as a species of sexual
violence, viz:

Article 1

For the purposes of this Declaration, the term "violence against women" means any act of gender-
based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or
suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty,
whether occurring in public or in private life.

Article 2

Violence against women shall be understood to encompass, but not be limited to, the following:

(a) Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the family, including battering, sexual
abuse of female children in the household, dowry-related violence, marital rape, female genital
mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to women, non-spousal violence and violence
related to exploitation;119 (Emphasis ours)

Clearly, it is now acknowledged that rape, as a form of sexual violence, exists within marriage. A
man who penetrates her wife without her consent or against her will commits sexual violence upon
her, and the Philippines, as a State Party to the CEDA W and its accompanying Declaration, defines
and penalizes the act as rape under R.A. No. 8353.

A woman is no longer the chattel-antiquated practices labeled her to be. A husband who has sexual
intercourse with his wife is not merely using a property, he is fulfilling a marital consortium with a
fellow human being with dignity equal120 to that he accords himself. He cannot be permitted to violate
this dignity by coercing her to engage in a sexual act without her full and free consent. Surely, the
Philippines cannot renege on its international commitments and accommodate conservative yet
irrational notions on marital activities121 that have lost their relevance in a progressive society.

It is true that the Family Code,122 obligates the spouses to love one another but this rule sanctions
affection and sexual intimacy, as expressions of love, that are both spontaneous and mutual123 and
not the kind which is unilaterally exacted by force or coercion.

Further, the delicate and reverent nature of sexual intimacy between a husband and wife excludes
cruelty and coercion. Sexual intimacy brings spouses wholeness and oneness. It is a gift and a
participation in the mystery of creation. It is a deep sense of spiritual communion. It is a function
which enlivens the hope of procreation and ensures the continuation of family relations. It is an
expressive interest in each other's feelings at a time it is needed by the other and it can go a long
way in deepening marital relationship.124 When it is egoistically utilized to despoil marital union in
order to advance a felonious urge for coitus by force, violence or intimidation, the Court will step in to
protect its lofty purpose, vindicate justice and protect our laws and State policies. Besides, a
husband who feels aggrieved by his indifferent or uninterested wife's absolute refusal to engage in
sexual intimacy may legally seek the court's intervention to declare her psychologically incapacitated
to fulfill an essential marital obligation.125 But he cannot and should not demand sexual intimacy from
her coercively or violently.

Moreover, to treat marital rape cases differently from non-marital rape cases in terms of the
elements that constitute the crime and in the rules for their proof, infringes on the equal protection
clause. The Constitutional right to equal protection of the laws126 ordains that similar subjects should
not be treated differently, so as to give undue favor to some and unjustly discriminate against others;
no person or class of persons shall be denied the same protection of laws, which is enjoyed, by
other persons or other classes in like circumstances.127

As above discussed, the definition of 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 protection to women raped by their husband and those raped by any other
man alike.

The posture advanced by the accused-appellant arbitrarily discriminates against married rape
victims over unmarried rape victims because it withholds from married women raped by their
husbands the penal redress equally granted by law to all rape victims.

Further, the Court adheres to and hereby adopts the rationale in Liberta in rejecting the argument
akin to those raised by herein accused-appellant. A marriage license should not be viewed as a
license for a husband to forcibly rape his wife with impunity. A married woman has the same right to
control her own body, as does an unmarried woman.128 She 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.

Lastly, the human rights of women include their right to have control over and decide freely and
responsibly on matters related to their sexuality, including sexual and reproductive health, free of
coercion, discrimination and violence.129 Women do not divest themselves of such right by contracting
marriage for the simple reason that human rights are inalienable.130

In fine, since the law does not separately categorize marital rape and non-marital rape nor provide
for different definition or elements for either, the Court, tasked to interpret and apply what the law
dictates, cannot trudge the forbidden sphere of judicial legislation and unlawfully divert from what the
law sets forth. Neither can the Court frame distinct or stricter evidentiary rules for marital rape cases
as it would inequitably burden its victims and unreasonably and irrationally classify them differently
from the victims of non-marital rape.

Indeed, there exists no legal or rational reason for the Court to apply the law and the evidentiary
rules on rape any differently if the aggressor is the woman's own legal husband. The elements and
quantum of proof that support a moral certainty of guilt in rape cases should apply uniformly
regardless of the legal relationship between the accused and his accuser.

Thus, the Court meticulously reviewed the present case in accordance with the established legal
principles and evidentiary policies in the prosecution and resolution of rape cases and found that no
reversible error can be imputed to the conviction meted the accused-appellant.

The evidence for the prosecution was

based on credible witnesses who gave
equally credible testimonies

In rape cases, the conviction of the accused rests heavily on the credibility of the victim. Hence, the
strict mandate that all courts must examine thoroughly the testimony of the offended party. While the
accused in a rape case may be convicted solely on the testimony of the complaining witness, courts
are, nonetheless, duty-bound to establish that their reliance on the victim's testimony is justified.
Courts must ensure that the testimony is credible, convincing, and otherwise consistent with human
nature. If the testimony of the complainant meets the test of credibility, the accused may be
convicted on the basis thereof.131

It is settled that the evaluation by the trial court of the credibility of witnesses and their testimonies
are entitled to the highest respect. This is in view of its inimitable opportunity to directly observe the
witnesses and their deportment, conduct and attitude, especially during cross-examination. Thus,
unless it is shown that its evaluation was tainted with arbitrariness or certain facts of substance and
value have been plainly overlooked, misunderstood, or misapplied, the same will not be disturbed on
appeal.132

After approximating the perspective of the trial court thru a meticulous scrutiny of the entire records
of the trial proceedings and the transcript of each witnesses' testimony, the Court found no
justification to disturb its findings.

Rather, the Court observed that KKK and her testimony were both credible and spontaneous. Hailed
to the witness stand on six separate occasions, KKK never wavered neither did her statements
vacillate between uncertainty and certitude. She remained consistent, categorical, straightforward,
and candid during the rigorous cross-examination and on rebuttal examination, she was able to
convincingly explain and debunk the allegations of the defense.

She vividly recounted how the accused-appellant forced her to have sex with him despite her refusal
on October 16, 1998. He initially ordered her to sleep beside him in their conjugal bed by violently
throwing the cot where she was resting. In order not to aggravate his temper, KKK obeyed. On the
bed, he insinuated for them to have sex. When she rejected his advances due to abdominal pain
and headache, his request for intimacy transformed into a stubborn demand. Unyielding, KKK held
her panties but the accused-appellant forcibly pulled them down. The tug caused the small clothing
to tear apart. She reiterated that she was not feeling well and begged him to stop. But no amount of
resistance or begging subdued him. He flexed her two legs apart, gripped her hands, mounted her,
rested his own legs on hers and inserted his penis into her vagina. She continued pleading but he
never desisted.133

Her accurate recollection of the second rape incident on October 1 7, 1998 is likewise unmistakable.
After the appalling episode in the conjugal bedroom the previous night, KKK decided to sleep in the
children's bedroom. While her daughters were fixing the beddings, the accused-appellant barged
into the room and berated her for refusing to go with him to their conjugal bedroom. When KKK
insisted to stay in the children's bedroom, the accused-appellant got angry and pulled her up.
MMM's attempt to pacify the accused-appellant further enraged him. He reminded them that as the
head of the family he could do whatever he wants with his wife. To demonstrate his role as patriarch,
he ordered the children to go out of the room and thereafter proceeded to force KKK into sexual
intercourse. He forcibly pulled down her short pants and panties as KKK begged "Dont do that to
me, my body is still aching and also my abdomen and I cannot do what you wanted me to do. I
cannot withstand sex."134 But her pleas fell on deaf ears. The accused-appellant removed his shorts
and briefs, spread KKK's legs apart, held her hands, mounted her and inserted his penis into her
vagina. After gratifying himself, he got dressed, left the room as he chuckled: "Its nice, that is what
you deserve because you are [a] flirt or fond of sex."135

Entrenched is the rule that in the prosecution of rape cases, the essential element that must be
proved is the absence of the victim's consent to the sexual congress.136

Under the law, consent is absent when: (a) it was wrestled from the victim by force, threat or
intimidation, fraudulent machinations or grave abuse of authority; or (b) the victim is incapable of
giving free and voluntary consent because he/she is deprived of reason or otherwise unconscious or
that the offended party is under 12 years of age or is demented.

Contrary to the accused-appellant's asseverations, KKK's consent was wrestled from her through
force and intimidation both of which were established beyond moral certainty by the prosecution
through the pertinent testimony of KKK, viz:

On the October 16, 1998 rape incident:

(Direct Examination)

ATTY. LARGO:

Q So, while you were already lying on the bed together with your husband, do you remember what
happened?

A He lie down beside me and asked me to have sex with him.

Q How did he manifest that he wanted to have sex with you?

A He put his hand on my lap and asked me to have sex with him but I warded off his hand.

Q Can you demonstrate to this Court how did he use his hand?

A Yes. "witness demonstrating on how the accused used his finger by touching or knocking her lap
which means that he wanted to have sex."

Q So, what did you do after that?

A I warded off his hand and refused because I was not feeling well. (at this juncture the witness is
sobbing)

Q So, what did your husband do when you refused him to have sex with you?

A He insisted and he pulled my pantie forcibly, that is why my pantie [sic] was tom.

Q Why, what did you do when he started to pull your pantie [sic]?

A I resisted and tried to hold my pantie [sic] but I failed, because he is so strong.

xx xx

Q So, when your pantie [sic] was tom by your husband, what else did he do?

A He flexed my two legs and rested his two legs on my legs.

Q So after that what else did he do?

A He succeeded in having sex with me because he held my two hands no matter how I wrestled but
I failed because he is stronger than me.
COURT: Make it of record that the witness is sobbing while she is giving her testimony.

ATTY. LARGO: (To the witness cont'ng.)

Q So, what did you do when your husband already stretched your two legs and rode on you and
held your two hands?

A I told him, "don't do that because I'm not feeling well and my whole body is aching."

Q How did you say that to your husband?

A I told him, "don't do that to me because I'm not feeling well."

Q Did you say that in the manner you are saying now?

xxxx

A I shouted when I uttered that words.

xxxx

Q Was your husband able to consummate his desire?

xxxx

A Yes, sir, because I cannot do anything.137

(Cross-Examination)

ATTY. AMARGA;

Q Every time you have sex with your husband it was your husband normally remove your panty?

A Yes, Sir.

Q It was not unusual for your husband then to remove your panty because according to you he
normally do that if he have sex with you?

A Yes, Sir.

Q And finally according to you your husband have sex with you?

A Yes, Sir because he forcibly used me in spite of holding my panty because I don't want to have
sex with him at that time.

Q You did not spread your legs at that time when he removed your panty?

A Yes, Sir.

Q Meaning, your position of your legs was normal during that time?
A I tried to resist by not flexing my legs.

xxxx

Q At that time when your husband allegedly removed your panty he also remove your nightgown?

A No, Sir.

Q And he did pull out your duster [sic] towards your face?

A He raised my duster [sic] up.

Q In other words your face was covered when he raised your duster [sic]?

A No, only on the breast level.138

On the October 17, 1998 rape incident:

(Direct Examination)

ATTY. LARGO

Q So, after your children went out of the room, what transpired?

A He successfully having sex with me because he pulled my short pant and pantie forcible.

Q So, what did you say when he forcibly pulled your short and pantie?

A I told him, "don't do that to me, my body is still aching and also my abdomen and I cannot do what
you wanted me to do. I cannot withstand sex."

Q So, what happened to your short when he forcibly pulled it down?

A It was tom.

Q And after your short and pantie was pulled down by your husband, what did he do?

A He also removed his short and brief and flexed my two legs and mounted on me and succeeded in
having sex with me.139

The accused-appellant forced his wife when he knowingly overpowered her by gripping her hands,
flexing her legs and then resting his own legs thereon in order to facilitate the consummation of his
much-desired non-consensual sexual intercourse.

Records also show that the accused-appellant employed sufficient intimidation upon KKK. His
actuations prior to the actual moment of the felonious coitus revealed that he imposed his distorted
sense of moral authority on his wife. He furiously demanded for her to lay with him on the bed and
thereafter coerced her to indulge his sexual craving.
The fury the accused-appellant exhibited when KKK refused to sleep with him on their bed, when
she insisted to sleep in the children's bedroom and the fact that he exercises dominance over her as
husband all cowed KKK into submission.

The fact that KKK voluntarily went with the accused-appellant to their conjugal bedroom on October
16, 1998 cannot be stretched to mean that she consented to the forced sexual intercourse that
ensued. The accused-appellant was KKK's husband and hence it was customary for her to sleep in
the conjugal bedroom. No consent can be deduced from such act of KKK because at that juncture
there were no indications that sexual intercourse was about to take place. The issue of consent was
still irrelevant since the act for which the same is legally required did not exist yet or at least unclear
to the person from whom the consent was desired. The significant point when consent must be given
is at that time when it is clear to the victim that her aggressor is soliciting sexual congress. In this
case, that point is when the accused-appellant tapped his fingers on her lap, a gesture KKK
comprehended to be an invitation for a sexual intercourse, which she refused.

Resistance, medical certificate and blood traces.

We cannot give credence to the accused-appellant's argument that KKK should have hit him to
convey that she was resisting his sexual onslaught. Resistance is not an element of rape and the
law does not impose upon the victim the burden to prove resistance140 much more requires her to
raise a specific kind thereof.

At any rate, KKK put up persistent, audible and intelligible resistance for the accused-appellant to
recognize that she seriously did not assent to a sexual congress. She held on to her panties to
prevent him from undressing her, she refused to bend her legs and she repeatedly shouted and
begged for him to stop.

Moreover, as an element of rape, force or intimidation need not be irresistible; it may be just enough
to bring about the desired result. What is necessary is that the force or intimidation be sufficient to
consummate the purpose that the accused had in mind141 or is of such a degree as to impel the
defenseless and hapless victim to bow into submission.142

Contrary to the accused-appellant's allusions, the absence of blood traces in KKK's panties or the
lack of a medical certificate do not negate rape. It is not the presence or absence of blood on the
victim's underwear that determines the fact of rape143 inasmuch as a medical certificate is
dispensable evidence that is not necessary to prove rape.144These details do not pertain to the
elements that produce the gravamen of the offense that is -sexual intercourse with a woman against
her will or without her consent.145

The accused-appellant harps on the acquittal ruling in People v. Godoy,146 the evidentiary
circumstances of which are, however, disparate from those in the present case. In Godoy, the
testimony of the complainant was inherently weak, inconsistent, and was controverted by the
prosecution's medico-legal expert witness who stated that force was not applied based on the
position of her hymenal laceration. This led the Court to conclude that the absence of any sign of
physical violence on the victim's body is an indication of consent.147 Here, however, KKK's testimony
is, as discussed earlier, credible, spontaneous and forthright.

The corroborative testimonies of

MMM and OOO are worthy of credence.

The accused-appellant's assertion that MMM and OOO's testimonies lacked probative value as they
did not witness the actual rape is bereft of merit. It must be stressed that rape is essentially
committed in relative isolation, thus, it is usually only the victim who can testify with regard to the fact
of the forced sexual intercourse.148 Hence, the probative value of MMM and OOO's testimonies rest
not on whether they actually witnessed the rape but on whether their declarations were in harmony
with KKK's narration of the circumstances, preceding, subsequent to and concurrent with, the rape
incidents.

MMM and OOO's testimonies substantiated significant points in KKK's narration. MMM heard KKK
shouting and crying: "Eddie, don’t do that to me, have pity on me"149 on the night of October 16, 1998
shortly after KKK and the accused-appellant went to their conjugal bedroom. When MMM went
upstairs to check on her mother, the accused-appellant admonished her for meddling. Frustrated to
aid her mother who persistently cried, MMM kicked the door so hard the accused-appellant was
prompted to open it and rebuke MMM once more. OOO heard all these commotion from the room
downstairs.

MMM then saw her mother crouched on the bed, crying, with her hair disheveled while her tom panty
lay on the floor. After a brief struggle with the accused-appellant, MMM and KKK were finally able to
escape and retreat to the children's bedroom where KKK narrated to her daughters: "[Y]our father is
an animal, a beast; he forced me to have sex with him when I'm not feeling well. "

KKK gave a similar narration to MMM and OOO the following night after the accused-appellant
barged inside the children's bedroom. The couple had an argument and when MMM tried to
interfere, the accused-appellant ordered her and OOO to get out after bragging that he can have sex
with his wife even in front of the children because he is the head of the family. The girls then stayed
by the staircase where they afterwards heard their mother helplessly crying and shouting for the
accused-appellant to stop.

Indeed, the testimonies of KKK, MMM and OOO coherently depicted that the accused-appellant,
through the use of force and intimidation, had non-consensual and forced carnal knowledge of his
wife, KKK on the nights of October 16 and 17, 1998.

KKK's helpless screams and pleas from inside the bedroom coupled with her verbal and physical
resistance were clear manifestations of coercion. Her appearance when MMM saw her on the bed
after the accused appellant opened the door on October 16, 1998, her conduct towards the accused-
appellant on her way out of the room, and her categorical outcry to her children after the two
bedroom episodes - all generate the conclusion that the sexual acts that occurred were against her
will.

Failure to immediately report to the

police authorities, if satisfactorily
explained, is not fatal to the
credibility of a witness.

The testimonies of KKK and her daughters cannot be discredited merely because they failed to
report the rape incidents to the police authorities or that KKK belatedly filed the rape charges. Delay
or vacillation by the victims in reporting sexual assaults does not necessarily impair their credibility if
such delay is satisfactorily explained.150

At that time, KKK and her daughters were not aware that a husband forcing his wife to submit to
sexual intercourse is considered rape. In fact, KKK only found out that she could sue his husband for
rape when Prosecutor Benjamin Tabique, Jr. (Prosecutor Tabique) told her about it when she filed
the separate charges for grave threats and physical injuries against the accused-appellant.151
It must be noted that the incidents occurred a year into the effectivity of R.A. No. 8353 abolishing
marital exemption in rape cases hence it is understandable that it was not yet known to a layman as
opposed to legal professionals like Prosecutor Tabique. In addition, fear of reprisal thru social
humiliation which is the common factor that deter rape victims from reporting the crime to the
authorities is more cumbersome in marital rape cases. This is in view of the popular yet outdated
belief that it is the wife's absolute obligation to submit to her husband's carnal desires. A husband
raping his own wife is often dismissed as a peculiar occurrence or trivialized as simple domestic
trouble.

Unfamiliarity with or lack of knowledge of the law criminalizing marital rape, the stigma and public
scrutiny that could have befallen KKK and her family had the intervention of police authorities or
even the neighbors been sought, are acceptable explanations for the failure or delay in reporting the
subject rape incidents.

The victim -S testimony on the

witness stand rendered
unnecessary the presentation of her
complaint-affidavit as evidence.

The failure of the prosecution to present KKK's complaint-affidavit for rape is not fatal in view of the
credible, candid and positive testimony of KKK on the witness stand. Testimonial evidence carries
more weight than the affidavit since it underwent the rudiments of a direct, cross, re-direct and re-
cross examinations. Affidavits or statements taken ex parte are generally considered incomplete and
inaccurate. Thus, by nature, they are inferior to testimony given in court.152

Ill motive imputed to the victim

The ill motive, which the accused-appellant imputed to KKK, does not inspire belief as it is riddled
with loopholes generated by incongruent and flimsy evidence. The prosecution was able to establish
that the ₱3 Million deposit in the spouses' bank account was the proceeds of their loan from the
Bank of Philippine Islands (BPI). Exhibit J, which is a BPI ML instruction sheet dated October 31,
1996 in the amount of ₱3,149,840.63 is the same amount the accused-appellant claimed to have
entrusted to her wife. Although the accused-appellant denied being aware of such loan, he admitted
that approximately ₱3 Million was spent for the construction of their house. These pieces of
evidence effectively belie the accused appellant's allegation that KKK could not account for the
money deposited in the bank.153

Anent, KKK's alleged extra-marital affairs, the accused-appellant failed to explain how Bebs could be
his wife KKK when the letter-sender greeted Bebs a "happy birthday" on October 28 while KKK's
birthday is June 23. The accused-appellant also did not present Bebs herself, being a more
competent witness to the existence of the alleged love letters for KKK. He likewise failed, despite
promise to do so, to present the original copies of such love letters neither did he substantiate KKK's
supposed extra-marital affairs by presenting witnesses who could corroborate his claims. Further,
the Court finds it unbelievable that an able man would not have the temerity to confront his wife who
has fooled around with 10 men - some of whom he has even met. The accused-appellant's erratic
statements on the witness stand are inconsistent with the theory of extra-marital romance making it
reasonable to infer that he merely made up those malicious stories as a desperate ploy to extricate
himself out of this legal quandary.

At best, the basis of the alleged illicit affairs of KKK were the accused-appellant's unfounded
suspicions that hold no evidentiary weight in law and thus incompetent to destroy KKK's credibility
and that of her testimony. In sum, the defense failed to present sufficiently convincing evidence that
KKK is a mere vindictive wife who is harassing the accused-appellant with fabricated rape charges.

Alibi

It must be stressed that in raising the irrevocable implied consent theory as defense, the accused-
appellant has essentially admitted the facts of sexual intercourse embodied in the two criminal
informations for rape. This admission is inconsistent with the defense of alibi and any discussion
thereon will thus be irrelevant.

At any rate, the courts a quo correctly rejected his alibi.

Alibi is one of the weakest defenses not only because it is inherently frail and unreliable, but also
because it is easy to fabricate and difficult to check or rebut. It cannot prevail over the positive
identification of the accused by eyewitnesses who had no improper motive to testify falsely.154

For the defense of alibi to prosper, the accused must prove not only that he was at some other place
at the time of the commission of the crime, but also that it was physically impossible for him to be at
the locus delicti or within its immediate vicinity. Physical impossibility refers not only to the
geographical distance between the place where the accused was and the place where the crime
was committed when the crime transpired, but more importantly, the facility of access between the
two places.155

Even granting in arguendo that the accused-appellant had indeed attended a fiesta in Dangcagan,
Bukidnon or was hauling com with Equia on the dates of commission of the crime, the same will not
easily exonerate him. The accused-appellant failed to adduce clear and convincing evidence that it
was physically impossible for him to be at his residence in Cagayan de Oro City at the time of the
commission of the crime. Dangcagan, Bukidnon can be traversed by about four or five hours from
Cagayan de Oro City, and even less by private vehicle which was available to the accused appellant
at any time.156 Thus, it was not physically impossible for him to be at the situs criminis at the dates
and times when the two rape incidents were committed.

Between the accused-appellant's alibi and denial, and the positive identification and credible
testimony of the victim, and her two daughters, the Court must give weight to the latter, especially in
the absence of ill motive on their part to falsely testify against the accused-appellant.

Conclusion

All told, the presumption of innocence endowed an accused-appellant was sufficiently overcome by
KKK's clear, straightforward, credible, and truthful declaration that on two separate occasions, he
succeeded in having sexual intercourse with her, without her consent and against her will. Evidence
of overwhelming force and intimidation to consummate rape is extant from KKK's narration as
believably corroborated by the testimonies of MMM and OOO and the physical evidence of KKK's
tom panties and short pants. Based thereon, the reason and conscience of the Court is morally
certain that the accused-appellant is guilty of raping his wife on the nights of October 16 and 17,
1998.

Penalties

The Court affirms the penalty of reclusion perpetua, for each count of rape, meted upon the
accused-appellant for being in accord with Article 266-A in relation to 266-B of the RPC. Further, he
shall not be eligible for parole pursuant to Section 3 of R.A. No. 9346, which states that "persons
convicted of offenses punished with reclusion perpetua, or whose sentences will be reduced to
reclusion perpetua, by reason of this Act, shall not be eligible for parole under Act No. 4180,
otherwise known as the Indeterminate Sentence Law, as amended."157

The Court sustains the moral damages awarded in the amount of ₱50,000.00. Moral damages are
granted to rape victims without need of proof other than the fact of rape under the assumption that
the victim suffered moral injuries from the experience she underwent.158

The award of civil indemnity is proper; it is mandatory upon the finding that rape took
place. Considering that the crime committed is simple rape, there being no qualifying circumstances
1âwphi 1

attendant in its commission, the appropriate amount is ₱50,000.00159 and not ₱75,000.00 as awarded
by the RTC.

To serve as an example for public good and in order to deter a similar form of domestic violence, an
award of ₱30,000.00 as exemplary damages is imperative.160

The damages awarded shall earn legal interest at the rate of six percent (6%) per annum to be
reckoned from the date of finality of this judgment until fully paid.161

A Final Note

Rape is a crime that evokes global condemnation because it is an abhorrence to a woman's value
and dignity as a human being. It respects no time, place, age, physical condition or social status. It
can happen anywhere and it can happen to anyone. Even, as shown in the present case, to a wife,
inside her time-honored fortress, the family home, committed against her by her husband who
vowed to be her refuge from cruelty. The herein pronouncement is an affirmation to wives that our
rape laws provide the atonement they seek from their sexually coercive husbands.

Husbands are once again reminded that marriage is not a license to forcibly rape their wives. A
husband does not own his wife's body by reason of marriage. By marrying, she does not divest
herself of the human right to an exclusive autonomy over her own body and thus, she can lawfully
opt to give or withhold her consent to marital coitus. A husband aggrieved by his wife's unremitting
refusal to engage in sexual intercourse cannot resort to felonious force or coercion to make her
yield. He can seek succor before the Family Courts that can determine whether her refusal
constitutes psychological incapacity justifying an annulment of the marriage.

Sexual intimacy is an integral part of marriage because it is the spiritual and biological communion
that achieves the marital purpose of procreation. It entails mutual love and self-giving and as such it
contemplates only mutual sexual cooperation and never sexual coercion or imposition.

The Court is aware that despite the noble intentions of the herein pronouncement, menacing
personalities may use this as a tool to harass innocent husbands. In this regard, let it be stressed
that safeguards in the criminal justice system are in place to spot and scrutinize fabricated or false
marital rape complaints and any person who institutes untrue and malicious charges will be made
answerable under the pertinent provisions of the RPC and/or other laws.

WHEREFORE, all the foregoing considered, the Decision dated July 9, 2008 of the Court of Appeals
in CA-G.R. CR-HC No. 00353 is hereby AFFIRMED with MODIFICATIONS. Accused-appellant
Edgar Jumawan is found GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of two (2) counts of RAPE and is
sentenced to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua for each count, without eligibility for parole. He
is further ordered to pay the victim, KKK, the amounts of PS0,000.00 as civil indemnity, ₱50,000.00
as moral damages, and ₱30,000.00 as exemplary damages, for each count of rape. The award of
damages shall earn legal interest at the rate of six percent (6%) per annum from the finality of this
judgment until fully paid.

SO ORDERED.

BIENVENIDO L. REYES
Associate Justice