People v. Buca

PEOPLE v.
BUCA
GR 209587, Sept. 23, 2015
Recit-Ready Case Summary: Anjoy Buca was charged with rape in an information that stated that such took place "sometime in the
months prior to Dec. 2002." He argues that the statement in the Information that the rape occurred sometime before December 24,
2002 despite the fact that the prosecution established that the crime was committed on December 24, 2002 violates Section 11, 18
Rule 110 of the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure, as amended. Court held NO, because the assailed information sufficiently
alleges the date of the comission of the offense.
General Rule of Law/Doctrine: The date or time of the commission of the rape is not a material ingredient of the crime and need not
be stated with absolute accuracy. What is material is that the occurrence of rape is established.
FACTS: On January 7, 2003, BBB executed an Affidavit-Complaint. Three (3) Informations were filed against accused-appellant Anjoy.
One of the three accusatory portions of the three (3) Informations state:
I. In Criminal Case No. 52,260-2003:
"That sometime in the months prior to December 2002, in the City of Davao, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this
Honorable Court, the above-mentioned [accused], by means of force and intimidation, did then and there willfully,
unlawfully and feloniously, had carnal knowledge of the child AAA, seven (7) years old, by forcibly inserting his penis into
her vagina.
CONTRARY TO LAW";
Accused-appellant argues that the statement in the Information that the rape occurred sometime before December 24, 2002 despite the
fact that the prosecution established that the crime was committed on December 24, 2002 violates Section 11, 18 Rule 110 of the
Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure, as amended, on the requirement of stating the date of the commission of the offense and the
right of the accused to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation against him.
ISSUE: Whether the Information as worded sufficiently alleged the date of the commission of the offense
HELD: YES. The information charging accused-appellant of rape sometime before December 24, 2002 when the crime was committed
exactly on December 24, 2002 is sufficiently compliant with said Section 11. In addition, as correctly pointed out by the CA, the
Information is valid as under Section 6, Rule 110 of the 2000 Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure, an information is deemed sufficient
if it states the name of the accused; the designation of the offense given by the statute; the acts or omissions complained of as
constituting the offense; the name of the offended party; the approximate date of the commission of the offense; and the place where
the offense was committed.
It is evident in this case that accused-appellant was able to testify about the incident on December 24, 2002 because the date alleged
was not vague or covering an unreasonable period as to deprive him the opportunity to prepare his defense which is the essence of the
right allegedly violated. It is worthy to note that the records are bereft of any objection by the accused-appellant about the date of the
commission of the crime at the time of arraignment, during the formal offer of exhibits and at the time the prosecution put AAA on the
witness stand to establish the rape committed on December 24, 2002. In People v. Gianan, the Court held that an accused-appellant's
failure to raise a timely objection that the time difference alleged in the information covered a broad period constitutes a waiver of his
right to object. We further observe that accused-appellant did not even disavow knowledge of the incident on that date but, in fact,
admitted that he spoke with AAA at their house on December 24, 2002 and even entered AAA's house. The testimony of accused-
appellant leads us to conclude that the allegation was sufficient to inform him of the date the crime charged occurred which enabled
him to prepare his defense. Thus, we find the allegations in the Information and the subsequent conviction of accused-appellant by the
lower courts valid and lawful under the circumstances.
1
SUBJECT - Name

People v. Buca

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

People v. Buca

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

People v. Buca

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

PEOPLE v.

I. In Criminal Case No. 52,260-2003:

You might also like