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811 Phil. 700
THIRD DIVISION
[ G.R. No. 203114, June 28, 2017 ]
VIRGILIO LABANDRIA AWAS, PETITIONER, V. PEOPLE OF THE
PHILIPPINES, RESPONDENT.
DECISION
BERSAMIN, J.:
Under review is the decision promulgated on May 8, 2012,[1] whereby the Court of
Appeals (CA) affirmed with modification the decision rendered on February 4, 2011
by the Regional Trial Court, Branch 172, in Valenzuela City finding the petitioner
guilty of acts of lasciviousness under Article 336 of the Revised Penal Code in
relation to Section 5(b), Article III of Republic Act No. 7610.[2]
The information charged the petitioner with rape through sexual abuse, alleging as
follows:
That on or about January 24, 2010 in Valenzuela City, Metro Manila and
within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused
with lewd design, by means of force and intimidation employed upon the
person of one AAA (victim/complainant), 10 years old (DOB June 30,
1999), did then and there, unlawfully and feloniously insert his finger into
the vagina of the victim/complainant, against her will and without her
consent, thereby subjecting the said minor to sexual abuse which
debased, degraded and demeaned her intrinsic worth and dignity as a
human being.
CONTRARY TO LAW.[3]
After the petitioner entered his plea of not guilty on February 12, 2010,[4] the case
proceeded to pre-trial and trial. During the pre-trial on April 16, 2010, the
Prosecution and the Defense stipulated, among others, that the victim had been a
minor at the time of the commission of the alleged offense.[5]
The evidence of the Prosecution is summarized in the assailed decision of the CA as
follows:
AAA, a Grade III pupil declared that [petitioner] is the boyfriend of her
sister. Sometime in January 2010, [petitioner] was in their house in
Valenzuela City. [Petitioner] called her and brought her inside the room.
[Petitioner] touched her vagina. [Petitioner] made her lie down beside
him and again touched her vagina. Thereafter, [petitioner] put on his
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