as to those 12 years old and below 18; hence, the main clause thereof still applies
in the absence of showing that the legislature intended a wider scope to include
those belonging to the latter age bracket. The said penalty was applied in People of
the Philippines v. Bacus[33] and People of the Philippines v. Baraga[34] where the
accused were convicted of acts of lasciviousness committed against victims 12
years old and below 18, and were penalized under Section 5(b), Article III of R.A.
7610. But, if the acts of lasciviousness is not covered by lascivious conduct as
defined in R.A. 7610, such as when the victim i18 years old and above, acts of
lasciviousness under Article 336 of the RPC applies and the penalty is prision
correccional.[35]
Curiously, despite the clear intent of R.A. 7610 to provide for stronger deterrence
and special protection against child abuse, the penalty [reclusion temporal
medium] when the victim is under 12 years old is lower compared to the pena.lty
[reclusion temporal medium to reclusion perpetua] when the victim is 12
years old and below 18. The same holds true if the crime of acts of lasciviousness is
attended by an aggravating circumstance or committed by persons under Section
31,[36] Article XII of R.A. 7610, in which case, the imposable penalty is reclusion
perpetua. In contrast, when no mitigating or aggravating circumstance attended
the crime of acts of lasciviousness, the penalty therefor when committed against a
child under 12 years old is aptly higher than the penalty when the child is 12 years
old and below 18. This is because, applying the Indeterminate Sentence Law, the
minimum term in the case of the younger victims shall be taken from reclusion
temporal minimum,[37] whereas as the minimum term in the case of the older
victims shall be taken from prision mayor medium to reclusion temporal
minimum.[38] It is a basic rule in statutmy construction that what courts may correct
to reflect the real and apparent intention of the legislature are only those which are
clearly clerical errors or obvious mistakes, omissions, and misprints,[39] but not
those due to oversight, as shown by a review of extraneous circumstances, where
the law is clear, and to correct it would be to change the meaning of the law.[40] To
my mind, a corrective legislation is the proper remedy to address the noted
incongruent penalties for acts of lasciviousness committed against a child.
Too, it bears emphasis that R.A. 8353 did not expressly repeal Article 336 of the
RPC, as amended. Section 4 of R.A. 8353 only states that Article 336 of the RPC, as
amended, and all laws, rules and regulations inconsistent with or contrary to the
provisions thereof are deemed amended, modified or repealed, accordingly. There
is nothing inconsistent between the provisions of Article 336 of the RPC, as
amended, and R.A. 8353, except in sexual assault as a form of rape. Hence, when
the lascivious act is not covered by R.A. 8353, then Article 336 of the RPC is
applicable, except when the lascivious conduct is covered by R.A. 7610.
In fact, R.A. 8353 only modified Article. 336 of the RPC, as follows: (1) by carrying
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