8. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, appellee, vs. ARTEMIO INVENCION y SORIANO, appellant.

G.R. No. 131636. March 5, 2003.

(FOR WRITING CASE DIGEST)

Ponente: Chief Justice Davide Jr.

Doctrine (Evidence): The filial privilege rule is not strictly a rule on disqualification because a descendant is
not incompetent or disqualified to testify against an ascendant. The rule refers to a privilege not to testify, which
can be invoked or waived like other privileges.

Facts:

Artemio Invencion was charged before the RTC of Tarlac with thirteen counts of rape committed against his 16-
year-old daughter, Cynthia (his daughter with his first common-law-wife, Gloria Pagala).

During the trial, the prosecution presented Elven Invencion, the son of Artemio with his second common-law wife.
Elven testified that that sometime before the end of the school year in 1996, while he was sleeping in one room
with his father, Cynthia, and two other younger brothers, he was awakened by Cynthia’s loud cries. Looking
towards her, he saw his father on top of Cynthia, doing a pumping motion.

After about two minutes, his father put on his short pants. Elven further testified that Artemio was a very strict
and cruel father and a drunkard. He angrily prohibited Cynthia from entertaining any of her suitors.

The trial court convicted Artemio for one count of rape. Artemio challenges the competency and credibility of
Elven as a witness. He argues that Elven, as his son, should have been disqualified as a witness against him
under pursuant to the rule on filial privilege.

Issue:

Should Elven Invencion be disqualified as a witness pursuant to the rule on filial privilege?

Held:

No. The competency of Elven to testify is not affected by Section 25, Rule 130 of the Rules of Court, otherwise
known as the rule on “filial privilege.” This rule is not strictly a rule on disqualification because a descendant is
not incompetent or disqualified to testify against an ascendant. The rule refers to a privilege not to testify, which
can be invoked or waived like other privileges. As correctly observed by the lower court, Elven was not compelled
to testify against his father; he chose to waive that filial privilege when he voluntarily testified against Artemio.
Elven declared that he was testifying as a witness against his father of his own accord and only “to tell the truth.”
Hence, his testimony is entitled to full credence.

(FOR RECITATION)

Facts:

AUTOMATIC REVIEW of a decision of the Regional Trial Court of Tarlac City, Br. 65 sentencing Artemio
Invencion to suffer the penalty of death and to pay Cynthia the sum of P50,000 as moral damages and P25,000
as exemplary damages, as well as the costs of suit.

Witnesses (prosecution): Elven Invencion, Eddie Sicat, Gloria Pagala, Dr. Rosario Fider, and Atty. Florencio
Canlas.

Witnesses (rebuttal): Gloria Pagala and Celestino Navarro.

Prosecution
1. Elven Invencion, - an 8-year-old grade two pupil, testified that he is a half-brother of Cynthia and son
of Artemio with his second common-law wife. Sometime before the end of the school year in 1996, while
 he was sleeping in one room with his father Artemio, Cynthia, and two other younger brothers, he was
awakened by Cynthia’s loud cries. Looking towards her, he saw his father on top of Cynthia, doing a
pumping motion. After about two minutes, his father put on his short pants. Elven further declared that
Artemio was a very strict and cruel father and a drunkard. He angrily prohibited Cynthia from
entertaining any of her suitors. Whenever he was drunk, he would maul Elven and quarrel with his
stepfather, Celestino Navarro.
2. Eddie Sicat, - a 40-year-old farmer and neighbor of Artemio, testified that on the second week of March
1996, between 6:00 and 7:00 a.m., while he was passing by the house of Artemio on his way to the field
to catch fish, he heard somebody crying. He then peeped through a small opening in the destroyed portion
of the sawali wall of Artemio’s house. He saw Cynthia lying on her back and crying, while her father was
on top of her, doing a pumping motion. Eddie observed them for about fifteen seconds, and then he left
and proceeded to the field to catch fish. He reported what he had witnessed to Artemio’s stepfather,
Celestino, later that morning.
3. Gloria Pagala – the mother of Cynthia and former common-law wife of Artemio, testified that out of
their common-law relationship, they had six children, one of whom was Cynthia. In March 1982, she and
Artemio parted ways permanently. When Artemio’s mother died sometime in 1996, Cynthia lived with
Artemio in a small one-room dwelling owned by Celestino. On 30 August 1996, her son Novelito told her
that Cynthia was pregnant. Gloria then went to the house of Artemio and asked Cynthia about her
condition. The latter confessed that she had been sexually abused by her father. Gloria then went to the
office of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Tarlac and reported what Artemio had done to
their daughter Cynthia.
4. Dr. Rosario Fider – of Tarlac Provincial Hospital testified that she examined Cynthia on 16 September
1996. She found Cynthia to be five to six months pregnant and to have incomplete, healed hymenal
acerations at 3, 5, 8 o’clock positions, which could have been caused by sexual intercourse or any foreign
body inserted in her private part.
5. Atty. Florencio Canlas – an NBI agent, testified that on 18 September 1996, Cynthia, accompanied by
her mother, complained before him and NBI Supervising Agent Rolando Vergara that she was raped by
her father Artemio. She then executed a written statement,which she subscribed and sworn to before
Atty. Canlas.

Defense

The defense did not present Artemio as a witness. Instead, his counsel de parte, Atty. Isabelo Salamida, took
the witness stand and testified for the defense.

Atty. Isabelo Salamida, - declared that same day when he testified before the court, he and his secretary went
to the house of Artemio and he tried to peep through the old sawali walls on all sides but could not see anything
inside the room where Artemio and his children used to sleep. Atty. Salamida then concluded that Eddie Sicat
was not telling the truth when he declared having seen what Artemio did to Cynthia when he peeped through a
small opening in the sawali wall of the house.

Artemio’s Contentions in his Appelant’s Brief

Artemio attacks the competency and credibility of Elven as a witness. He argues that Elven, as his son, should
have been disqualified as a witness against him under Section 20(c), Rule 130 of the Rules of Court. Besides,
Elven’s testimony appears not to be his but what the prosecution wanted him to say, as the questions asked were
mostly leading questions. Moreover, Elven had illmotive in testifying against him, as he (Artemio) was cruel to
him.

In another attempt to cast doubt on the credibility of the prosecution witnesses, Artemio points to the following
inconsistencies in their testimonies:
(1) as to the time of the commission of the crime,
Elven - testified having seen Artemio on top of his sister one night in March 1996, while
Eddie Sicat - testified having seen them in the same position between 6:00 and 7:00 a.m. in the second
week of March 1996;
(2) as to the residence of Cynthia in 1996, Gloria testified that the former was living with her in Guimba from
November 1995 to September 1996, while Elven and Eddie declared that she was in Sapang Tagalog in March
1996; and
(3) as to the residence of Artemio, Jr., Gloria stated that he was living with the appellant, but later she declared
that he was living with her in Pura.

Artemio also argues that since his house had no electricity and was dark even at daytime, it was
impossible for Elven and Eddie to see him allegedly doing pumping motion on top of Cynthia. In his
Reply Brief, he likewise urges us to disregard the testimonies of rebuttal witnesses Celestino and Gloria.
According to him, Celestino had an ax to grind against him (Artemio) because he had been badgering Celestino
for his share of the lot where the hut stands, which was owned by Artemio’s deceased mother. On the other hand,
Gloria wanted to get rid of Artemio because she was already cohabiting with another man.

RTC Decision

Artemio was charged with 13 counts of rape. RTC Convicted Artemio, however, it acquitted him in all other 12
cases for lack of evidence.

SC Decision

As to credibility of the witnesses

It is doctrinally settled that the factual findings of the trial court, especially on the credibility of the witnesses,
are accorded great weight and respect and will not be disturbed on appeal. This is so because the trial court has
the advantage of observing the witnesses through the different indicators of truthfulness or falsehood, such as
the angry flush of an insisted assertion, the sudden pallor of a discovered lie, the tremulous mutter of a reluctant
answer, the forthright tone of a ready reply, the furtive glance, the blush of conscious shame, the hesitation, the
yawn, the sigh, the candor or lack of it, the scant or full realization of the solemnity of an oath, or the carriage
and mien. This rule, however, admits of exceptions, as where there exists a fact or circumstance of weight and
influence that has been ignored or misconstrued by the court, or where the trial court has acted arbitrarily in its
appreciation of the facts. We do not find any of these exceptions in the case at bar.
As to the competency of Elven to testify, we rule that such is not affected by Section 25, Rule 130 of the Rules
of Court, otherwise known as the rule on “filial privilege.” This rule is not strictly a rule on disqualification
because a descendant is not incompetent or disqualified to testify against an ascendant. The rule refers to a
privilege not to testify, which can be invoked or waived like other privileges. As correctly observed by the lower
court, Elven was not compelled to testify against his father; he chose to waive that filial privilege when he
voluntarily testified against Artemio. Elven declared that he was testifying as a witness against his father of his
own accord and only “to tell the truth.”

The alleged ulterior motive of Elven in testifying against his father also deserves scant consideration. Such
insinuation of ill-motive is too lame and flimsy. As observed by the OSG, Elven, who was of tender age, could not
have subjected himself to the ordeal of a public trial had he not been compelled by a motive other than to bring to
justice the despoiler of his sister’s virtue. There is no indication that Elven testified because of anger or any ill-
motive against his father, nor is there any showing that he was unduly pressured or influenced by his mother or
by anyone to testify against his father. The rule is that where there is no evidence that the principal witness for
the prosecution was actuated by improper motive, the presumption is that he was not so actuated and his
testimony is entitled to full credence.

As to exact time or date of the commission of the rape

We find as inconsequential the alleged variance or difference in the time that the rape was committed, i.e., during
the night as testified to by Elven, or between 6:00 and 7:00 a.m. per the testimony of Eddie. The exact time or
date of the commission of rape is not an element of the crime. What is decisive in a rape charge is that the
commission of the rape by the accused has been sufficiently proved. Inconsistencies and discrepancies as to minor
matters irrelevant to the elements of the crime cannot be considered grounds for acquittal. In this case, we believe
that the crime of rape was, indeed, committed as testified to by Elven and Eddie.

As to the inconsistencies of the testimonies

The alleged inconsistencies in the testimonies of both Elven and Gloria do not impair the credibility of these
witnesses. We agree with the trial court that they are minor inconsistencies, which do not affect the credibility of
the witnesses. We have held in a number of cases that inconsistencies in the testimonies of witnesses that refer
to minor and insignificant details do not destroy the witnesses’ credibility. On the contrary, they may even be
considered badges of veracity or manifestations of truthfulness on the material points in the testimonies. What
is important is that the testimonies agree on essential facts and substantially corroborate a
consistent and coherent whole.

As to the penalty of death

To justify the imposition of the death penalty in a rape committed by a father on a daughter, the minority of the
victim and her relationship with the offender, which are special qualifying circumstances, must be alleged in the
complaint or information and proved by the prosecution during the trial by the quantum of proof required for
conviction.

It must be stressed that the severity of death penalty, especially its irreversible and final nature once carried out,
makes the decision-making process in capital offenses aptly subject to the most exacting rules of procedure and
evidence. Accordingly, in the absence of sufficient proof of Cynthia’s minority, Artemio cannot be convicted of
qualified rape and sentenced to suffer the death penalty. He should only be convicted of simple rape and meted
the penalty of reclusion perpetua.

WHEREFORE, the decision of the Regional Trial Court, Branch 65, Tarlac, Tarlac, in Criminal Case No. 9375 is
hereby AFFIRMED with the MODIFICATION that that accused Artemio Invencion y Soriano is held guilty
beyond reasonable doubt as principal of the crime of simple rape, and is sentenced to suffer the penalty of reclusion
perpetua and to pay the victim Cynthia Invencion the sums of P50,000 as indemnity; P50,000 as moral damages;
and P25,000 as exemplary damages.
Costs de oficio.
SO ORDERED.