the room's small bed and the girls were already fixing the beddings when the accused-appellant entered. "Why are you sleeping in the room of our children", he asked KKK, who responded that she preferred to sleep with the children.54 He then scoffed: "Its alright if you will not go with me, anyway, there are women that could be paid [P] 1,000.00." She dismissed his comment by turning her head away after retorting: "So be it." After that, he left the room.55 He returned 15 minutes later56 and when KKK still refused to go with him, he became infuriated. He lifted her from the bed and attempted to carry her out of the room as he exclaimed: "Why will you sleep here[?] Lets go to our bedroom." When she defied him, he grabbed her short pants causing them to tear apart.57 At this point, MMM interfered, "Pa, don't do that to Mama because we are in front of you."58 The presence of his children apparently did not pacify the accused-appellant who yelled, "[E]ven in front of you, I can have sex of your mother [sic J because I'm the head of the family." He then ordered his daughters to leave the room. Frightened, the girls obliged and went to the staircase where they subsequently heard the pleas of their helpless mother resonate with the creaking bed.59 The episodes in the bedroom were no less disturbing. The accused-appellant forcibly pulled KKK's short pants and panties. He paid no heed as she begged, "[D]on 't do that to me, my body is still aching and also my abdomen and I cannot do what you wanted me to do [sic]. I cannot withstand sex."60 After removing his own short pants and briefs, he flexed her legs, held her hands, mounted her and forced himself inside her. Once gratified, the accused-appellant put on his short pants and briefs, stood up, and went out of the room laughing as he conceitedly uttered: "[I]t s nice, that is what you deserve because you are [a] flirt or fond of sex." He then retreated to the masters' bedroom.61 Sensing that the commotion in their bedroom has ceased, MMM and OOO scurried upstairs but found the door locked. MMM pulled out a jalousie window, inserted her arm, reached for the doorknob inside and disengaged its lock. Upon entering the room, MMM and OOO found their mother crouched on the bed with her hair disheveled. The girls asked: "Ma, what happened to you, why are you crying?" KKK replied: "[Y}our father is a beast and animal, he again forced me to have sex with him even if I don't feel well. "62 Version of the defense The defense spun a different tale. The accused-appellant's father owned a land adjacent to that of KKK's father. He came to know KKK because she brought food for her father's laborers. When they got married on October 18, 1975, he was a high school graduate while she was an elementary graduate. Their humble educational background did not deter them from pursuing a comfortable life. Through their joint hard work and efforts, the couple gradually acquired personal properties and established their own businesses that included a rice mill managed by the accused-appellant. He also drove their trucks that hauled coffee, copra, or com.63 The accused-appellant denied raping his wife on October 16 and 17, 1998. He claimed that on those dates he was in Dangcagan, Bukidnon, peeling com. On October 7, his truck met an accident somewhere in Angeles Ranch, Maluko, Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon. He left the truck by the roadside because he had to attend MMM's graduation in Cebu on October 12 with KKK. When they returned