Republic of the Philippines
SUPREME COURT
Baguio City
FIRST DIVISION
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 CAG.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 accusedappellant, 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: