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COURT: Ang ano? WITNESS: Sa ano ni Ate, dito po. ACP VILLALON: Ano tawag diyan? COURT: Huwag kang mahiya, sabihin mo. WITNESS: Pepets po. xxx25 As such, the RTC disposed: WHEREFORE, finding accused EDMISAEL LUTAP y CUSP AO GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of Rape under Article 266-A paragraph 2 in relation to Article 266-B of the Revised Penal Code, taking into consideration the aggravating circumstance that the victim was only six (6) years old at the time of the commission of the offense, he is hereby sentenced to an indeterminate penalty of SIX (6) YEARS and ONE (1) DAY of PRISION MAYOR as minimum to TWELVE YEARS (12) YEARS and ONE (1) DAY of RECLUSION TEMPORAL as maximum and to pay the cost. Accused is further ordered to pay private complainant [AAA] civil indemnity of ₱50,000.00, moral damages of ₱50,000.00 and exemplary damages of ₱25,000.00. SO ORDERED.26 From this adverse decision, petitioner appealed. The Ruling of the CA Revisiting the testimonies of AAA and BBB, the CA found that there was no insertion of petitioner's finger into AAA's vagina as it was merely slightly touched27 or touched without too much pressure by petitioner.28 The CA went on to conclude that since petitioner's finger merely touched AAA's vagina and that there was no penetration, petitioner can only be held liable for attempted rape. The CA thus disposed: WHEREFORE, premises considered, the assailed August 23, 2010 Decision of the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City, Branch 94, is hereby MODIFIED. Accused-appellant Edmisael Lutap y Cuspao is found GUILTY of Attempted Rape, and is SENTENCED to suffer the indeterminate imprisonment of SIX (6) MONTHS of arresto mayor, as minimum, to FOUR (4) YEARS and TWO (2) MONTHS of prision correccional medium, as maximum. Also, the accused-appellant is ordered to indemnify the victim in the sum of ₱30,000.00 as civil indemnity, ₱25,000.00 as moral damages and ₱l0,000.00 as exemplary damages, and to pay the costs. SO ORDERED.29 Petitioner's motion for reconsideration was similarly denied by the CA. Hence, the instant recourse. The Issue

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Lutap v. People

Jurisprudence

Case number: G.R. No. 204061

Division: PH Supreme Court First Division

Date of decision: Feb 5, 2018

Year of decision: 2018

GBV Case Type

Acts of lasciviousness
Child Abuse (R.A. 7610)
Minor

Nature of the case: A six years old girl who belongs to the sector of Girl-Children was forced, threatened and intimated by her father's best friend who frequently visits their house by means of touching the victim's private part while playing text cards in the latter's house in Quezon City. The accused was convicted for the crime of Acts of Lasciviousness under Article 336 of the RPC in relation to Section 5 of R.A. 7610 contrary to the ruling of the Court of Appeals that the accused committed attempted rape as the Supreme Court ruled that absent any showing that there was actual insertion of a finger into the victim's private part, there can be no rape or even an attempted one.

Summary of outcome

The accused is convicted and is sentenced to suffer the following penalties:

Indeterminate sentence of 12 years and 1 day of reclusion temporal in its minimum period as mimimum, to 15 years, 6 months and 20 days of reclusion temporal in its medium period as its maximum; and
Pay the victim moral damages, exemplary damages, a fine in P 15,000.00 each and civil indemnity in the amount of P 20,000.00 and 6% interest per annum from the finality of the judgment until fully paid on the damages and civil indemnity.

Observatory: Gender-Based Violence

Ponente: TIJAM, J.:

Long title: EDMISAEL C. LUTAP, PETITIONER, V. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, RESPONDENT.

Geolocation 1

Latitude: 14.646016

Longitude: 121.049656

: Geolocation 1

Primary Documents

LUTAP.pdf
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Commission on Human Rights

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Lutap v. People

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