The fury the accused-appellant exhibited when KKK refused to sleep with him on their bed, when
she insisted to sleep in the children's bedroom and the fact that he exercises dominance over her as
husband all cowed KKK into submission.
The fact that KKK voluntarily went with the accused-appellant to their conjugal bedroom on October
16, 1998 cannot be stretched to mean that she consented to the forced sexual intercourse that
ensued. The accused-appellant was KKK's husband and hence it was customary for her to sleep in
the conjugal bedroom. No consent can be deduced from such act of KKK because at that juncture
there were no indications that sexual intercourse was about to take place. The issue of consent was
still irrelevant since the act for which the same is legally required did not exist yet or at least unclear
to the person from whom the consent was desired. The significant point when consent must be given
is at that time when it is clear to the victim that her aggressor is soliciting sexual congress. In this
case, that point is when the accused-appellant tapped his fingers on her lap, a gesture KKK
comprehended to be an invitation for a sexual intercourse, which she refused.
Resistance, medical certificate and blood traces.
We cannot give credence to the accused-appellant's argument that KKK should have hit him to
convey that she was resisting his sexual onslaught. Resistance is not an element of rape and the
law does not impose upon the victim the burden to prove resistance140 much more requires her to
raise a specific kind thereof.
At any rate, KKK put up persistent, audible and intelligible resistance for the accused-appellant to
recognize that she seriously did not assent to a sexual congress. She held on to her panties to
prevent him from undressing her, she refused to bend her legs and she repeatedly shouted and
begged for him to stop.
Moreover, as an element of rape, force or intimidation need not be irresistible; it may be just enough
to bring about the desired result. What is necessary is that the force or intimidation be sufficient to
consummate the purpose that the accused had in mind141 or is of such a degree as to impel the
defenseless and hapless victim to bow into submission.142
Contrary to the accused-appellant's allusions, the absence of blood traces in KKK's panties or the
lack of a medical certificate do not negate rape. It is not the presence or absence of blood on the
victim's underwear that determines the fact of rape143 inasmuch as a medical certificate is
dispensable evidence that is not necessary to prove rape.144 These details do not pertain to the
elements that produce the gravamen of the offense that is -sexual intercourse with a woman against
her will or without her consent.145
The accused-appellant harps on the acquittal ruling in People v. Godoy,146 the evidentiary
circumstances of which are, however, disparate from those in the present case. In Godoy, the
testimony of the complainant was inherently weak, inconsistent, and was controverted by the
prosecution's medico-legal expert witness who stated that force was not applied based on the
position of her hymenal laceration. This led the Court to conclude that the absence of any sign of
physical violence on the victim's body is an indication of consent.147 Here, however, KKK's testimony
is, as discussed earlier, credible, spontaneous and forthright.
The corroborative testimonies of
MMM and OOO are worthy of credence.
The accused-appellant's assertion that MMM and OOO's testimonies lacked probative value as they
did not witness the actual rape is bereft of merit. It must be stressed that rape is essentially
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