Republic of the Philippines designs forcefully drunk AAA, a 16-year-old minor, with an

SUPREME COURT 
COURT  intoxicating liquor and once intoxicated, brought said AAA at about
Manila dawn of March 26, 2004 at Alquizola Lodging house, Maranding,
Lala, Lanao del Norte and also within the jurisdiction of this
THIRD DIVISION Honorable Court, and once inside said lodging house, accused
RAYMUND CARAMPATANA and JOEPHEL OPORTO took turns in
having carnal knowledge against the will of AAA while accused
G.R. No. 183652 February 25, 2015 
2015  
MOISES ALQUIZOLA, with lewd designs, kissed her against her will
and consent.
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES and AAA, Petitioner,
AAA, Petitioner,
vs. 4
COURT OF APPEALS, 21st DIVISION, MINDANAO STATION, CONTRARY TO LAW.  
RAYMUND CARAMPATANA, JOEFHEL OPORTO, and MOISES
ALQUIZOLA,  Respondents.
ALQUIZOLA, Upon arraignment, accused, assisted by their respective counsels,
5
entered a plea of not guilty to the offense charged.  
DECISION 6
Following pre-trial,  trial on the me rits ensued. Acc used Christian
PERALTA, J.:   John Lim, however, remains at-large.

The factual antecedents follow:

Before the Court is a Petition for Certiorari questioning the
1
Decision   of the Court of Appeals (CA) dated June 6, 2008 in CA-
G.R. CR HC No. 00422-MIN. The CA reversed and set aside the On March 25, 2004, around 8:00 a.m., AAA attended her high school
2 graduation ceremony. Afterwards, they had a luncheon party at their
Decision  of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Kapatagan, Lanao del
Norte, Branch 21, dated February 28, 2006 in Criminal Case No. 21- house in Maranding, Lala, Lanao del Norte. AAA then asked
1211, and acquitted private respondents Raymund Carampatana, permission from her mother to go to the Maranding Stage Plaza
Joefhel Oporto, and Moises Alquizola of the crime of rape for the because she and her bandmates had to perform for an election
prosecution's failure to prove their guilt beyond reasonable doubt. campaign. She went home at around 4:00 p.m. from the plaza. At
about 7:00 p.m., AAA told her father that she would be attending a
In a Second Amended Information dated June 23, 2004, private graduation
Oporto, anddinner party withate
Carampatana, herdinner
friends.
at AAA, together
the house with Mark
of one Lim,
respondents Carampatana, Oporto and Alquizola werecharged,
Gemeno at Purok, Bulahan, Maranding. After eating, Lim invited
together with Christian John Lim, Emmanuel dela Cruz, Samuel
them to go to Alson’s Palace, which was merely a walking distance
Rudinas, Jansen Roda, Harold Batoctoy, and Joseph Villame, for
3 away from Gemeno’s house. Outside the Alson’s Palace, they were
allegedly raping AAA,  to wit:
greeted by Aldrin Montesco, Junver Alquizola, and Cherry Mae Fiel.
 After a while, they went inside and proceeded to a bedroom on the
That on or about 10:30 o’clock in the evening of March 25, 2004 at second floor where they again saw Montesco with Harold Batoctoy,
 Alson’s Palace, Maranding, Lala, Lanao del Norte, Philippines, and Jansen Roda, Emmanuel dela Cruz, Samuel Rudinas, a certain
within the jurisdiction of this HonorableCourt, the above-named Diego, and one Angelo. Rudinas suggested that they have a drinking
accused conspiring, confederating and mutually helping one another, session to celebrate their graduation, to which the rest agreed.
did then and there willfully, unlawfully and feloniously, with lewd
They all contributed and it was Joseph Villame who bought the her shirt on but without her lower garments. The upper half of her
drinks – two (2) bottles of Emperador Brandy. Then they arranged body was on top of the bed but her feet were on the floor. There
themselves in a circle for the drinking spree. Two (2) glasses were were also red stains on her shirt. After dressing up, she hailed a
being passed around: one glass containing the sweetener (Pepsi) trisikad and went home. When AAA reached their house, her father
and the other glass containing the liquor. At first, AAA refused to was waiting for her and was already furious. When she told them that
drink because she had never tried hard liquor before. During the she was raped, her mother started hitting her. They brought her to
session, they shared their problems with each other. When it was the Lala Police Station to make a report. Thereafter, they proceeded
 AAA’s turn, she became emotional and started crying. It was then to the district hospital for her medical examination.
that she took her first shot. The glasses were passed around and
she consumed more or less five (5) glasses of Emperador Brandy. Dr. Cyrus Acusta of the Kapatagan District Hospital examined AAA
Thereafter, she felt dizzy so she laid her head down on Oporto’s lap. in the morning of March 26, 2004, and found an old hymenal
Oporto then started kissing her head and they would remove her laceration at 5 o’clock position and hyperemia or redness at the
baseball cap. This angered her so she told them to stop, and simply posterior fornices. The vaginal smear likewise revealed the presence
tried to hide her face with the cap. But they just laughed at her. Then, of sperm.
Roda also kissed her. At that time, AAA was already sleepy, but they
still forced her to take another shot. They helped her stand up and
On the other hand, accused denied that they raped AAA. According
make her drink. She even heard Lim say, "Hubuga na, hubuga na,"
(You make her drunk, you make her drunk). She likewise heard to the defense witnesses, in the evening of March 25, 2004, Oporto,
Carampatana, Lim, and AAA had dinner at Gemeno’s house.
someone say, "You drink it, you drink it." She leaned on Oporto’s lap
Gemeno then invited Oporto to attend the graduation party hosted by
again, then she fell asleep. They woke her up and Lim gave her the
Montesco at Alson’s Palace, owned by the latter’s family. When they
Emperador Brandy bottle to drink the remaining liquor inside. She
reached the place, Oporto told Montesco that they had to leave for
tried to refuse but they insisted, so she drank directly from the bottle.
Barangay Tenazas to fetch one Arcie Ariola. At about 11:30 p.m.,
 Again, she fell asleep.
Oporto and Carampatana returned to Alson’s Palace but could not
find AAA and Lim. The party subsequently ended, but the group
The next thing she knew, Roda and Batoctoy were carrying her down agreed to celebrate further. AAA, Rudinas, Dela Cruz, Lim, and
the stairs, and then she was asleep again. When she regained Oporto contributed for two (2) bottles of Emperador Brandy and one
consciousness, she saw that she was already at the Alquizola (1) liter of Pepsi. Several persons were in the room at that time: AAA,
Lodging House. She recognized that place because she had been Carampatana, Oporto, Dela Cruz, Rudinas, Roda, Batoctoy, Villame,
there before. She would thereafter fall back asleep and wake up and Lim. Also present but did not join the drinking were Gemeno,
again. And during one of the times that she was conscious, she saw Montesco, Angelo Ugnabia, Al Jalil Diego, Mohamad Janisah
Oporto on top of her, kissing her on different parts of her body, and Manalao, one Caga, and a certain Bantulan. Gemeno told AAA not
having intercourse with her. She started crying. She tried to resist to drink but the latter did not listen and instead told him not to tell her
when she felt pain in her genitals. She also saw Carampatana and aunt. During the drinking session, AAA rested on Oporto’s lap. She
Moises Alquizola inside the room, watching as Oporto abused her. At even showed her scorpion tattoo on her buttocks. And when her legs
one point, AAA woke up while Carampatana was inserting his penis grazed Batoctoy’s crotch, she remarked, "What was that, penis?"
into her private organ. She cried and told him to stop. Alquizola then Roda then approached AAA to kiss her, and the latter kissed him
 joined and started to k iss her. For the last time, she fell unconscious. back. Oporto did the sameand AAA also kissed him. After Oporto,
Roda and AAA kissed each other again.
When she woke up, it was already 7:00a.m. of the next day. She was
all alone. Her body felt heavy and exhausted. She found herself with
 Meanwhile, earlier that evening, at around 9:00 p.m., Moises more times. At 3:00 a.m., he went back to Alson’s Palace to sleep. At
 Alquizola wa s at the Alq uizola L odging House drinking beer with his around 6:00 a.m., Oporto and Carampatana went back to the lodging
cousin, Junver, and Fiel. They stopped drinking at around midnight. house. They tried to wake AAA up, but she did not move so they just
Fiel then requested Alquizola to accompany her to Alson’s Palace to left and went home. Alquizola had gone outside but he came back
see her friends there. They proceeded to the second floor and there before 7:00 a.m. However, AAA was no longer there when he
they saw AAA lying on Oporto’s lap. Fiel told AAA to go home arrived.
because her mother might get angry. AAA could not look her in the
eye, just shook her head, and said, "I just stay here." Alquizola and On February 28, 2006, the RTC found private respondents
Fiel then went back to the lodging house. After thirty minutes, they Carampatana, Oporto and Alquizola guilty beyond reasonable doubt
went to Alson’s Palace again,and saw AAA and Oporto kissing each of the crime of rape. It, however, acquitted Dela Cruz, Rudinas,
other. AAA was lying on his lap while holding his neck. Roda, Batoctoy, and Villame for failure of the prosecution to prove
Subsequently, they went back to the lodging house to resume their guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The dispositive portion of the
drinking. Decision reads:

 After drinking, Batoctoy offered to bring AAA home. Bu t she refused WHEREFORE, in view of the foregoing considerations, judgment is
and instead instructed them to take her to the Alquizola Lodging hereby rendered:
House
rode a because sheto
motorcycle has a big
the problem.
lodging AAA,
house. Lim,they
When and Carampatana
arrived, AAA
a) Finding accused Raymund Carampatana GUILTY beyond
approached Alquizola and told him, "Kuya, I want to sleep here for
reasonable doubt of the crime charged, and the Court
the meantime." Alquizola then opened Room No. 4 where AAA,
hereby sentences him to suffer the indivisible prison term of
Oporto, and Carampatana stayed. There were two beds inside, a
reclusion perpetua; to pay AAA the amount of !50,000.00
single bed and a double-sized bed. AAA lay down on the single bed
for and by way of civil indemnity;
and looked at Carampatana. The latter approached her and they
kissed. He then removed her shirt and AAA voluntarily raised her
hands to give way. Carampatana likewise removed her brassiere. All b) Finding accused Joefhel Oporto GUILTY beyond
the while, Oporto was at the foot of the bed. Thereafter, Oporto also reasonable doubt of the crime charged, and the court hereby
removed her pants. AAA even lifted her buttocks to make it easier for sentences him to suffer a prison term of six (6) years and
him to pull her underwear down. Oporto then went to AAA and one (1) day of prision mayor as minimum to twelve (12)

kissed her on the lips. Carampatana, on the other hand, placed yearsofalso
sum of prisionasmayor
!50,000.00 moral as maximum;
damages and to pay AAA
another the
amount
himself in between AAA’s legs and had intercourse with her. When
he finished, he put on his shorts and went back to Alson’s Palace to of !50,000.00 as civil indemnity;
get some sleep. When he left, Oporto and AAA were still kissing.
 Alquizola then entered the room. When AAA saw him, she said, c) Finding accused Moises Alquizola GUILTY beyond
"Come Kuya, embrace me because I have a problem." Alquizola reasonable doubt as ACCOMPLICE in the commission of
thus started kissing AAA’s breasts. Oporto stood up and opened his the crime charged, and the court hereby sentences him to
pants. AAA held his penis and performed fellatio on him. Then suffer an indeterminate prison term of six (6) years and one
Oporto and Alquizola changed positions. Oporto proceeded to have (1) day of prision mayor as minimum to twelve (12) years
sexual intercourse with AAA. During that time, AAA was moaning and one (1) day of reclusion temporal as maximum; to pay
and calling his name. Afterwards, Oporto went outside and slept with  AAA the amount of !30,000.00 as moral damages and
 Alquizola on the carpet. Oporto then had intercourse with AAA two another sum of !30,000.00 for and by way of civil indemnity;
 d) Finding accused Emmanuel dela Cruz, Samuel Rudinas, WHEREFORE, finding reversible errors therefrom, the Decision on
Jansen Roda, Harold Batoctoy and Joseph Villame NOT appeal is hereby REVERSED and SET ASIDE. For lack of proof
GUILTY of the crime charged for failure of the prosecution to beyond reasonable doubt, accused-appellants RAYMUND
prove their guilt therefor beyond reasonable doubt. CARAMPATANA, JOEFHEL OPORTO and MOISES ALQUIZOLA
 Accordingly, the Court acquits them of said charge; and e) are instead ACQUITTED of the crime charged.
Ordering accused Carampatana, Oporto and Alquizola to
pay, jointly and severally, the amount of !50,000.00 as SO ORDERED.  
8

attorney’s fees and expenses of litigations; and the costs of

suit.
In sum, the CA found that the prosecution failed to prove private
respondents’ guilt beyond reasonable doubt. It gave more credence
The full period of the preventive imprisonment of accused to the version of the defense and ruled that AAA consented to the
Carampatana, Oporto and Alquizola shall be credited to them and sexual congress. She was wide awake and aware of what private
deducted from their prison terms provided they comply with the respondents were doing before the intercourse. She never showed
requirements of Article 29 of the Revised Penal Code. any physical resistance, never shouted for help, and never fought
against her alleged ravishers. The appellate court further relied on
 Accused Raymund Carampatana surrendered voluntarily on 26 the medical report which showed the presence of an old hymenal
March 2004 and detained since then up to the present. Accused laceration on AAA’s genitalia, giving the impression that she has had
 Alquizola also surrendered voluntarily on 26 March 2004 and some carnal knowledge with a man before. The CA also stressed
detained since then up to this time, while accused Joefhel Oporto that AAA’s mother’s unusual reaction of hitting her when she
who likewise surrendered voluntarily on 26 March 2004 was ordered discovered what happened to her daughter was more consistent with
released to the custody of the DSWD, Lala, Lanao del Norte on 31 that of a parent who found out that her child just had premarital sex
March 2004, and subsequently posted cash bond for his provisional rather than one who was sexually assaulted.
liberty on 17 September 2004 duly approved by this court, thus
resulted to an order of even date for his release from the custody of On July 29, 2008, AAA, through her private counsel, filed a Petition
the DSWD. 9
for Certiorari  under Rule 65 , questioning the CA Decision which
reversed private respondents’ conviction and ardently contending
Let the records of this case be sent to the archive files without that the same was made with grave abuse of discretion amounting to
prejudice on the prosecution to prosecute the case against accused lack or excess of jurisdiction.
Christian John Lim as soon as he is apprehended.
Thus, AAA raises this lone issue in her petition:
7
SO ORDERED.  
THE RESPONDENT COURT OF APPEALS ACTED WITH GRAVE
 Aggrieved by the RTC Decision, private respondents brought the  ABUSE OF DISCRETION IN ACQUITTING THE PRIVATE
10
case to the CA. On June 6, 2008, the appellate court rendered the RESPONDENTS.  
assailed Decision reversing the trial court’s ruling and, consequently,
acquitted private respondents. The decretal portion of said decision The private respondents present the following arguments in their
reads: Comment dated November 7, 2008 to assail the petition:
I.  At the on set, the Co urt stresses that rules of procedu re are m eant to
be tools to facilitate a fair and orderly conduct of proceedings. Strict
 A JUDGMENT OF ACQUITTAL IS IMMEDIATELY FINAL AND adherence thereto must not get in the way of achieving substantial
EXECUTORY AND THE PROSECUTION CANNOT APPEAL THE  justice. As long a s their purpose is sufficiently met an d no violation of
 ACQUITTAL BECAUSE OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL PROHIBITION due process and fair play takes place, the rules should be liberally
 AGAINST DOUBLE JEOPARDY. construed. 13 Liberal con struction of the rules is the controlling
principle to effect substantial justice. The relaxation or suspension of
procedural rules, or the exemption of a case from their operation, is
II.
warranted when compelling reasons exist or when the purpose of
 justice requires it. T hus, litigations should, as much as possible, be
THE PETITIONER FAILED TO PROVE THAT THERE IS GRAVE decided on their merits and not on sheer technicalities.  
14

 ABUSE OF DISCRETION AMOUNTING TO LACK OR EXCESS OF

JURISDICTION ON THE PART OF PUBLIC RESPONDENT.
 As a general rule, the prosecution cannot appeal or bring error
proceedings from a judgment rendered in favor of the defendant in a
III. criminal case. The reason is that a judgment of acquittal is
immediately final and executory, and the prosecution is barred from

CERTIORARI WILL ISNOT

RECONSIDERATION LIEFILED.
FIRST UNLESS A OFFICE
IV. THE MOTIONOF FOR
THE appealing
be violated.lestSection
15 the constitutional prohibition against double jeopardy
21, Article III of the Constitution provides:
SOLICITOR GENERAL IS THE APPELLATE COUNSEL OF THE
11
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES IN ALL CRIMINAL CASES.   Section 21. No person shall be twice put in jeopardy of punishment
for the same offense. If an act is punished by a law and an
The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) filed its own Comment on ordinance, conviction or acquittal under either shall constitute a bar
 April 1, 2009. It assigns the followin g errors: to another prosecution for the same act.

I. Despite acquittal, however, either the offended party or the accused

may appeal, but only with respect to the civil aspect of the decision.
THE PRIVATE COMPLAINANT MAY VALIDLY APPEAL AN Or, said judgment of acquittal may be assailed through a petition for
ORDER OF ACQUITTAL AS TO THE CIVIL ASPECT OF THE certiorari under Rule 65 of the Rules of Court showing that the lower
CRIME. court, in acquitting the accused, committed not merely reversible
errors of judgment, but also exercised grave abuse of discretion
II. amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction, or a denial of due
16
process, thereby rendering the assailed judgment null and void.  If
there is grave abuse of discretion, granting petitioner’s prayer is not
THE APPELLATE DECISION OF ACQUITTAL IS NULL AND VOID 17
tantamount to putting private respondents in double jeopardy.  
FOR HAVING BEEN RENDERED WITH GRAVE ABUSE OF
DISCRETION AMOUNTING TO LACK OR EXCESS OF
JURISDICTION, AN EXCEPTION TO THE PRINCIPLE OF DOUBLE  As to the party with the proper legal stand ing to bring the action, the
18
12
JEOPARDY.   Court said in People v. Santiago:  

The Court will first resolve the procedural issues.