On September 25, 2014, the CA affirmed appellant's conviction in the six cases,
viz.:
WHEREFORE, premises considered, the assailed Decision is hereby AFFIRMED.
SO ORDERED.[15]
The CA was not persuaded by appellant's contentions that no force or intimidation
was actually employed on the victim; that it was impossible for "AAA" to have been
sexually abused considering that her classes began in the morning and ended in the
afternoon and that she did not suffer any physical injury though the incident
happened on grassy ground. The CA did not accord weight to his contention that
the inaction of "AAA's" mother and the delay in the disclosure of the incidents
affected "AAA's" credibility.
Hence, this appeal.
In our Resolution[16] dated September 2, 2015, we required the parties to submit
their respective supplemental briefs if they so desired within 30 days from notice.
The parties filed their separate manifestations that they were no longer filing
supplemental briefs; instead, they were adopting their briefs filed before the CA.[17]
Our Ruling
The appeal is partly granted.
In assailing his conviction, appellant harps on the credibility of "AAA" and her
mother, contending that it was unnatural for the mother not to take prompt action
upon learning the fate suffered by her daughter; that it was impossible for "AAA" to
have been at the crime scene on April 10, 2004, April 19, 2004, and May 3, 2004
considering that these were school days; the absence of physical injury on "AAA's"
body was enough proof that she was not forced to lie on a grassy ground; and, her
delayed disclosure of the incidents was just an act to protect her relationship with
him.
Appellant's arguments are untenable.
Assuming that ''AAA's" mother did not show any sign of outrage upon learning of
her daughter's fate, such was not of relevant consideration for being extraneous. It
did not refer to the central fact of the crime and was not an element thereof.
Besides, it is well-settled that "different people react differently to a given situation
or type of situation."[18] Neither did the delay in disclosing the incidents to her
mother undermine the credibility of "AAA". "[D]elay in reporting rape incidents, in