10/10/23, 5:18 PM Case Digest: PEOPLE v.

CONRADO LUCAS Y BRIONES

by Aliza
    
PEOPLE v. CONRADO LUCAS Y BRIONES, GR Nos. 108172-73, 1994-05-25 (/juris/view/c7d4b?
user=gVVNPTktpY0dqSkUySGRmYmMyWVZqbVZNUG01VkoyUEdRZE1KVXhVbXRiND0=)

Facts:

on 16 February 1991, Chanda Lucas y Austria, then seventeen years old, charged her natural father, accused
Jose Conrado Lucas, of attempted rape committed against her on 12 February 1991. She... revealed therein
that she was first raped by him when she was only nine years old

On 19 February 1991, Chanda, assisted by her mother, Ofelia Austria-Lucas, filed two separate sworn
criminal complaints for rape... and for attempted rape

On 26 November 1983, she was sleeping in the bedroom with her brother and... sisters. Their mother did not
sleep in their house at that time. At about 2:00 to 3:00 a.m., she awoke and realized that her father was
removing her panty and shorts. He cautioned her to keep quiet. Then, her father, who was already naked,
went on top of her and placed his... sexual organ inside her vagina. She was hurt but did not resist because her
father threatened to kill her. Only her older sister Cynthia witnessed the incident. Chanda reported the
incident to her mother and her aunt but the former did nothing. When her aunt said that her father... should
be jailed, her mother did not agree

Since then, her father had been repeatedly molesting her, especially when her mother was not around. The
last assault on her womanhood occurred on 12 February 1991 when she was already seventeen years old.

Before he had sex with her at 3:00 a.m. on 12 February 1991, he first moved her brothers and sisters, who
were sleeping in the same room with her, to another place. She did not resist because he had a balisong with
him and told her that he can take her life... anytime

After the sexual assault, he stood up holding his balisong... and again said that she has only one life and that he
can take it anytime.

the trial court... finding the accused guilty beyond reasonable doubt of two crimes of rape.

Issues:

IN CONVICTING HIM OF THE CRIME OF RAPE IN CRIMINAL CASE NO. Q-91-18466 INASMUCH AS THE
SAME IS MORE SERIOUS THAN THE OFFENSE CHARGED.

Ruling:

There was a consummated rape on 12 February 1991. According to Chanda's testimony, at 3:00 a.m. that day,
the accused, who had a balisong with him, laid down beside her, threatened her that she had only one life
which he can take away any time; removed her... shorts and panty and then moved on top of her and inserted
"his organ to her organ." Thereafter, he stood up holding his balisong and reiterated his earlier threat.

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Considering, however, that the complaint for this incident subject of Criminal Case No. Q-91-18466 charges
the accused with the crime of attempted rape, then, as correctly pointed out by the accused in his second
assigned error and concurred in by the Office of... the Solicitor General, he cannot be convicted of
consummated rape.

Section 4, Rule 120 of the Rules of Court provides that "[w]hen there is variance between the offense
charged in the complaint or information, and that proved or established by the evidence, and the offense as
charged is included in or necessarily includes the offense proved,... the accused shall be convicted of the
offense proved included in that which is charged, or of the offense charged included in that which is proved."
The offense charged in Criminal Case No. Q-91-18466 (attempted rape) is necessarily included in the offense
that was proved

(consummated rape). Accordingly, the accused should be convicted of attempted rape only.

The penalty for attempted rape is prision mayor, which is two degrees lower than that provided by law for
rape.

The accused is entitled to the benefits of the Indeterminate Sentence Law, and for attempted rape he may be
sentenced to a penalty whose minimum should be within the range of prision correccional and whose
maximum should be... within the range of prision mayor, taking into account the modifying circumstances.

The alternative circumstance of relationship provided for in Article 15 of the Revised Penal Code should be
appreciated against the accused considering that the... offended party, Chanda, is his descendant. In crimes
against chastity, such as rape, relationship is aggravating.

Prior to R.A. No. 7659... the presence of modifying circumstances would not affect the penalty of reclusion
perpetua prescribed for the crime of rape because such a penalty was then indivisible and under

Article 63 of the Revised Penal Code, when the law prescribes a single indivisible penalty, it shall be applied
by the courts regardless of any mitigating or aggravating circumstances that may have attended the
commission of the deed.

However, pursuant to Section 21 of R.A. No.

7659, which amended Article 27 of the Revised Penal Code, reclusion perpetua has now a defined duration,
i.e., from twenty (20) years and one (1) day... to forty (40) years. There is, however, no corresponding
amendment to Article 76 of the same Code for the purpose of converting reclusion perpetua into a divisible
penalty with three specific period --... minimum, medium, and maximum -- and including it in the table
provided therein showing the duration and the time included in each of the periods.

It may thus be said that although the law has now fixed the duration of reclusion perpetua, it did not make
explicit its intention to convert it into a divisible penalty.

In any event, Article 65 of the Code which provides:

"ART 65. Rules in cases in which the penalty is not composed of three periods. -- In cases in which the penalty
prescribed by law is not composed of three periods, the courts shall apply the rules contained in the
foregoing... articles, dividing into three equal portions of time included in the penalty prescribed, and forming
one period of each of the three portions."... may be applied. Accordingly, the time included in the penalty of
reclusion perpetua (twenty [20] years and one [1] days to forty [40] years) can be divided into three equal

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portions, with each composing a period. The periods of reclusion... perpetua would then be as follows:...
minimum - 20 years and 1 day to 26 years and 8 months... medium - 26 years, 8 months and 1 day to 33
years and 4 months... maximum - 34 years, 4 months and 1 day to 40 years

Taking into account the presence of the aggravating circumstance of relationship in Criminal Case No. Q-91-
18465, the accused may finally be sentenced to thirty-four (34) years, four (4) months and one (1) day of
reclusion perpetua.

Considering again such aggravating circumstance, the accused may be sentenced in Criminal Case No. Q-91-
18466 to an indeterminate penalty ranging from four (4) years, two (2) months and one (1) day of prision
correccional maximum as... minimum to ten (10) years and one (1) day of prision mayor maximum as
maximum.

In Criminal Case No. Q-91-18465, accused JOSE CONRADO LUCAS y BRIONES is hereby sentenced to
suffer the penalty of Thirty-four (34) years, Four (4) months and One (1) day of reclusion perpetua and... to
pay the offended party the sum of P50,000.00 as civil indemnity; and

In Criminal Case No. Q-91-18466, said accused is hereby found GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of the
crime of ATTEMPTED RAPE only and is hereby sentenced to suffer an... indeterminate penalty ranging from
Four (4) years, Two (2) months and One (1) day of prision correctional maximum as minimum to Ten (10) years
and one (1) day of prision mayor maximum as maximum and to pay the offended party the sum of P30,000.00
as civil... indemnity

Principles:

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