to correct the attribution of the crime for which Ejercito should be convicted and,
consequently, the corresponding penalty to be imposed against him, as will be
explained hereunder.
At the onset, the Court observes that the CA, in modifying the RTC ruling,
erroneously applied the old Rape Law, or Article 335 of the RPC, since the same
was already repealed upon the enactment of RA 8353 in 1997. To recount, the
Information alleges "[t]hat on or about the 10th day of October 2001 x x x
[Ejercito], with lewd design and by means of force and intimidation, did then and
there willfully, unlawfully and feloniously lie and succeed in having carnal
knowledge with [AAA], a minor who is only fifteen (15) years old at the time of the
commission of the offense against her will and consent x x x"; hence, in convicting
Ejercito of Rape, the CA should have applied the provisions of RA 8353, which
enactment has resulted in the new rape provisions of the RPC under Articles 266-A
in relation to 266-B, viz.:
Article 266-A. Rape, When and How Committed. - Rape is committed 1. By a man who shall have carnal knowledge of a woman under any of the
following circumstances:
a. Through force, threat or intimidation;
xxxx
Article 266-B. Penalties. - Rape under paragraph 1 of the next preceding article
shall be punished by reclusion perpetua.
Whenever the rape is committed with the use of a deadly weapon or by two or
more persons, the penalty shall be reclusion perpetua to death.
xxxx
For a charge of Rape by sexual intercourse under Article 266-A (1) of the RPC, as
amended by RA 8353, to prosper, the prosecution must prove that: (a) the offender
had carnal knowledge of a woman; and (b) he accomplished this act under the
circumstances mentioned in the provision, e.g., through force, threat or
intimidation. The gravamen of Rape is sexual intercourse with a woman against her
will.[18]
In this case, the prosecution was able to prove beyond reasonable doubt the
presence of all the elements of Rape by sexual intercourse under Article 266-A (1)
of the RPC, as amended by RA 8353. Through AAA's positive testimony, it was
indeed established that in the evening of October 10, 2001, AAA, then just a fifteen