TOPIC: Nullum crimen nulla poena sine lege = There is no crime when there is no law punishing it.
Aquino, J.:
FACTS:
1. At about 2am, 3 masked men entered the building of Kim San Milling in Palao, Illigan thru an opening of the roof above the kitchen that was being repaired and forced themselves inside a room where Pua, Sy and Siao were sleeping. The masked men hogtied the three and began to ransack the place. One of the men also asked Sy to open the safe and threaten to kill them if he did not.
2. In the next room, the maids Restituta, Pena, Catalina, and Agripina Maglangit were awakened by 2 masked men(one holding a knife, the other a gun). The 4 maids were also hogtied. Later, Agripina was able to free her hands but was discovered by one masked man. The latter raped Agripina in anger.
3. All the masked men left around 4 am.
4. Agripina identified her rapist to be Cabural. Furthermore, upon investigation of the Constabulary, 2 guns were found in Benjamin Lasponia's house. The latter admitted to committing the crime and pointed to his companions.
5. All the accused robbed several items (rings, pieces of jewelry, watches, etc) with a total value of P9,435.50
6. They were all charged with the crime of Robbery in Band with Rape. The lower court convicted all Timoteo Cabural, Benjamin Lasponia, Leonide Cabual, and Ciriaco Yangyang. All, except Lasponia, appelead.
ALIBIs:
- Cabural: sep 13, 2pm to sep 14, 3am _ mahjong about 37km away / 2hrs from the scene of the crime
- Yangyang: at that time, he was in another barrio reading ballots/counting votes for the muse of the barrio fiesta and only returned next morning in the area.
ISSUE:
WON all the accused are guilty of Robbery with Rape?
HELD:
NO. CABURAL ALONE was responsible for the rape on Agripina. There is no evidence that his co-appellant Yangyang and the other malefactors made advances on her. Cabural was charged to suffer the penalty under Art. 294 (2) of the Revised Penal Code. ( reclusión temporal in its medium period to reclusión perpetua) when the robbery shall have been accompanied by rape. Presidential Decree No. 767 which imposes the penalty of reclusion perpetua to death "when the robbery accompanied with rape is committed with the use of a deadly weapon or by two or more persons cannot be applied since only Cabural consummated the crime of robbery with rape.
The extra-judicial confessions of Benjamin and Leonide point to Cabural as the mastermind and the role each of them would play in the commission of the crime. Their interlocking confessions indicate how they would go to the scene of the crime, the manner by which they would enter into the premises of Kim.
Fiscal Magsalin testified that said accused readily and without hesitation signed their respective extra-judicial confessions.
The alibi of the accused has no merit since there is still no guarantee that he could not be at the scene of the crime. Furthermore, the crime is aggravated by dwelling and nighttime.
In People v. Perello, it was mentioned that the Chief Justice and the herein ponente (Justice Ramon C. Aquino) are of the opinion that article 335 cannot be applied to robbery with rape and that that offense should be penalized under article 294(2) in which case reclusion perpetua should be imposed. As the accused was charged with a crime against property, he should not be convicted of a crime against chastity, a private offense.
RATIONALE:
Nullum crimen, nulla poena sine lege:
The other 3 accused couldn't be charged with robbery with rape by just participating with the robbery while their mastermind committed rape. They can only be penalized for the crime against property and not a crime against chastity.
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