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q- Did you feel anything after the accused inserted his penis inside your vagina?
a- Yes, sir.
q- What did you feel?
a- It was painful.[33]
The foregoing narration established beyond reasonable doubt the elements of rape,
to wit: appellant had carnal knowledge of "AAA" through force and intimidation, and
without her consent and against her will.
Moreover, it is settled that the designation of the offense is not controlling but line
recital of the facts describing how the offense was committed. Here, the
Informations in Criminal Case No. FC-00-782 and Criminal Case No. FC-00-783
clearly charged appellant with rape. Thus, he cannot claim denial of his right to be
informed of the nature and cause of the accusation and to fully defend himself.[34]
Appellant therefore, should be held guilty of rape under Article 266-A(1)(a) of the
RPC and sentenced to reclusion perpetua instead of violation of Section 5(b)of RA
7610.
The penalty and pecuniary liabilities
Pursuant to Article 266-B of the RPC, whenever the crime of rape is committed with
the use of deadly weapon, the penalty shall be reclusion perpetua to death. The
Information in Criminal Case No. FC-00-780 specifically alleged the use of a knife, a
bladed weapon, in the commission of the rape. The prosecution duly proved this
allegation from the testimony of "AAA". Under the aforesaid Article, the use of a
deadly weapon qualified the rape so that the imposable penalty is reclusion
perpetua to death. Since the two penalties are indivisible, Article 63 of the RPC
finds application in that, when there are neither mitigating nor aggravating
circumstances in the commission of a deed, the lesser penalty shall be imposed. In
the case at bar, there was no other aggravating circumstance alleged in the
Information and proven during the trial, hence, the penalty of reclusion perpetua
imposed on appellant by the trial court and affirmed by the appellate court is
proper.
As to the pecuniary liabilities, the Court upholds the award of P75,000.00 as civil
indemnity since this is mandatory upon the finding of the fact of rape. The award of
P75,000.00 as moral damages is likewise upheld as the same is automatically