he saw Alejandro soundly asleep. Alejandro further claimed that he does not know
both AAA and Angeles until the filing of the charges against him.[14]
The RTC Ruling
In a Joint Decision[15] dated August 20, 2013, the RTC found accused-appellants
guilty as charged and, accordingly, sentenced them as follows: (a) in Crim. Case
No. 72-SD(96), Alejandro was sentenced to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua
and ordered to pay AAA the amounts of P75,000.00 as civil indemnity, P50,000.00
as moral damages, and P30,000.00 as exemplary damages; (b) in Crim. Case No.
73-SD(96), accused-appellants were each sentenced to suffer the penalty of
reclusion perpetua and each ordered to pay AAA the amounts of P75,000.00 as civil
indemnity, P50,000.00 as moral damages, and P30,000.00 as exemplary damages;
and (c) in Crim. Case No. 74-SD(96), accused-appellants were sentenced to suffer
the penalty of imprisonment for an indeterminate period of six (6) years and one
(1) day of prision mayor, as minimum, to twelve (12) years and one (1) day of
reclusion temporal, as maximum, and ordered to pay BBB's heirs the amount of
P50,000.00 as civil indemnity for the latter's death.[16]
In so ruling, the RTC gave credence to AAA's positive identification of accusedappellants as the perpetrators of the crimes charged, expressly noting that AAA had
no ill motive to falsely testify against them. In this light, the RTC found untenable
accused-appellants' defenses of denial and alibi, considering too that they have
failed to show that it was physically impossible for them to be at the crime scene
when the crimes against AAA and BBB were committed.[17]
Aggrieved, accused-appellants appealed[18] to the CA.
The CA Ruling
In a Decision[19] dated June 3, 2015, the CA affirmed the RTC ruling with the
following modifications: (a) in Crim. Case No. 72-SD(96), Alejandro was found
guilty beyond reasonable doubt of Simple Rape and, accordingly, was sentenced to
suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua and ordered to pay AAA the amounts of
P50,000.00 as civil indemnity, P50,000.00 as moral damages, and P30,000.00 as
exemplary damages; (b) in Crim. Case No. 73-SD(96), Alejandro was found guilty
beyond reasonable doubt of one (1) count of Simple Rape, while Angeles was found
guilty beyond reasonable doubt of two (2) counts of the same crime, and
accordingly, were separately sentenced to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua
and ordered to pay AAA the amounts of P50,000.00 as civil indemnity, P50,000.00
as moral damages, and P30,000.00 as exemplary damages for each count of
Simple Rape; and (c) in Crim. Case No. 74-SD(96), accused-appellants were found
guilty beyond reasonable doubt of Homicide and, accordingly, were each sentenced