Anent the incidents that transpired on May 6, 2004 and May 3, 2004 subject of
Criminal Case Nos. FC-00-782 and FC-00-783, respectively, the designation of the
offense in the Information was for violation of Section 5(b) of RA7610, viz.:
Criminal Case No. FC-00-782 - Violation of RA 7610
That on May 6, 2004 at more or less 7:00 o'clock in the morning, x x x Province of
Albay, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above
named accused, with lewd and unchaste design, by means of intimidation, coercion,
influence and other consideration, did then and there willfully, unlawfully and
feloniously have sexual intercourse with "AAA", x x x 14 years old, x x x against her
will, and consent, act which debased and degraded her intrinsic worth and dignity
as a human being, to her damage and prejudice.
ACTS CONTRARY TO LAW.[29]
Criminal Case No. FC-00-783 - Violation of RA 7610
That on May 3, 2004 at more or less 5:00 o'clock in the afternoon, x x x Province of
Albay, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above
named accused, with lewd and unchaste design, by means of intimidation, coercion,
influence and other consideration, did then and there willfully, unlawfully and
feloniously have sexual intercourse with "AAA", x x x 14 years old, x x x against her
will and consent, act which debased and degraded her intrinsic worth and dignity as
a human being, to her damage and prejudice.
ACTS CONTRARY TO LAW.[30]
A cursory reading of the two Informations reveals with pristine clarity that each
contained elements of both crimes of rape defined under Article 266-A of the
Revised Penal Code and of child abuse defined and penalized under Section 5(b) of
RA 7610. However, the offender cannot be accused of both crimes for the same act
without traversing his right against double jeopardy. In People v. Abay,[31] it was
explained that if the victim is 12 years or older, as in this case, the offender should
be charged with either sexual abuse under Section 5(b) of RA 7610 or rape.
In the two cases under consideration, the victim was 14 years old when the crimes
were committed. Following Abay, appellant may either be charged with violation of
Section 5(b) of RA 7610 or with rape under Article 266-A of the RPC. Here,
appellant was charged with violation of Section 5(b) of RA 7610. In the recent case
of People v. Tubillo[32] it was held that "[a] reading of the information would show
that the case at bench involves both the elements of Article 266-A(1) of the RPC
and Section 5(b) of RA 7610. As elucidated in People v. Abay and People v.