THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES vs.

CLAUDIO BULAONG and FONSO

LAURECIO, G.R. No. L-37836 : July 31, 1981, EN BANC (Aquino, J.)

FACTS:

 In the Afternoon of December 5, 1972, Delena Sagapo, 14 and her

sister, Nena, 8, left their house in South Cotobato to perform an errand
for their father. They walked for 40 mins. And boarded a jeepney going
to Malungon. They decided to take a tricycle going to the house of
their relative, Pedro Mula at Laurel Street.
 Before they could ride a tricycle, Claudio Bulaong, appeared at the
market place. He pointed his gun at the two sisters and forced the both
of them to ride his jeep.
 Bulaong forced them to enter room 304 of the New Bay View Hotel
while holding his gun, he threatened to kill the two of them if they tried
to escape.
 Upon entering the room, he locked the door and removed Delena’s
Jeans and panties, pushed her on to the bed and undressed himself. He
then stripped her of her clothes and placed her on top of him.
 She resisted, spitting, kicking and scratching him. Bulaong spread
Delena’s legs and inserted his penis into her vagina and was able to
have sexual congress with her. He raped her 8 times in that same day.
 The next day, Bulaong and the two sisters left the hotel, they rode his
jeep and went to his parents’ unoccupied bungalow in Barrio Landan.
They were locked in a room, guarded by their armed houseboy, Fonso
Laurencio. Bulaong had sexual intercourse with Delena there.
 After being detained for 26 days, Nena, the 8 y.o. was able to escape.
She traversed the savanna with cogon grass and followed the creek to
their house.
 Nena told their parents what happened, and Dalama, their father,
reported the incident to Lt. Torcuator, who instead of taking action,
and directed Dalama to their Barangay Captain.
 Dalama together with Ante, a barrio councilor, went to Bulaong’s house
and asked him to return his daughter, they were successful and he was
able to take Delena home.
 The results of the exam conducted by the city health officer showed
that Delena had recent multiple lacerations in her vagina.
 A complaint for forcible abduction and rape was filed against Claudio
Bulaong as principal and Laurencio as an accomplice.
  At past 4:00 that day, the City judge interrogated Delena. It was
reduced in to writing. The next day, the judge also conducted the same
examination with Nena and Dalama.
 A warrant was issued for the arrest of Bulaong and Laurecio. No bail
was recommended. Both the accused surrendered voluntarily and
waived the preliminary investigation. City fiscal filed in FCI against
Bulaong and Laurecio an information for forcible abduction with rape.
The two entered a plea of not guilty.
 The Trial Court convicted Bulaong of 8 counts of forcible abduction with
rape, sentencing him to 8 penalties of Reclusion Perpetua and
Laurencio as accomplice, sentencing him to 4 years, 2 mos and 1 day
of Prision Correccional as minimum to 10 years and 1 day of Prison
Mayor as maximum.
DEFENSE:

 Delena was Claudio’s mistress, who with her parents’ consent lived
with him.
 He was infatuated with Delena and had told her that he wanted her to
be his second wife. As it is customary in the Bilaans to have a second
wife.
 Claudio and Delena allegedly became sweethearts sometime in
November 1972.
 Nena allegedly told Claudio that her sister wanted to talk to him. He
then went to Delena’s house and stayed there from 10 am – 1 pm.
 Claudio said that Delena borrowed 100 pesos from him to buy dress for
her sister Nena who will participate as second princess in the barrio
fiesta.
 Nena’s dress would be made by his wife. On the day that sisters went
to the shop in the city, Claudio followed them. When the sisters
arrived, they ate merienda at Satea’s restaurant on the Groung floor of
New Bay View Hotel.
 After eating merienda, Claudio directed his friend Delfin to take the
sisters to room 304.
 Claudio allegedly stayed with the 2 girls inside room 304. Nena slept in
the other bed, while he and Nena had sex twice in the other bed. He
discovered that she was no longer a virgin, where she confessed that
she had sex with 4 other men, a certain Robert, her cousins Kamad
and Nonoy and her Uncle.
 He told Delena that he could not take her as his second wife, but if she
behaved, he would support any offspring that they might have beget.
  The next morning they checked out from the hotel, he went to their
office and had breakfast with his mother. He then saw the sisters ride a
jeepney going back to the barrio.
 After the incident, they would secretly meet near the creek behind the
shelter of the Bulaong family and they will have sex there.
 Delena was allegedly brought by Rudy Ante, Barrio Councilor to the
house of the Bulaongs and she allegedly asked for a dowry, but he
denied her request. Dalama came after and asked him to give her
daughter a dowry consisting of PHP 2,000 cash and a carabao. But he
refused. Dalama was so mad that he wanted to kill his daughter.
Because of this, Delena was allegedly left by her relatives to Bulaong’s
custody as she might be killed by her father.
 Delena went home after 4 days as her father was not angry anymore.
 Bulaong allefed that Delena would “come and go” in their house.
PROSECUTION

 There was a serious discrepancy on Bulaong’s evidence. Mildred Areno,

a defense witness, admitted, when asked to testify as a rebuttal
witness for the prosecution, that according to the school register,
which was prepared by her as the Grade two teacher of Nena Segapo,
the latter was present in class on November 21, 1972.
 Yet, according to Bulaong and his witness Moreno Delfin, Nena was
with Delena in the afternoon of November 21, 1972 when Bulaong and
Delena allegedly had an assignation in the New Bay View Hotel and
that the sisters returned to their residence on the following day. That
testimony of Bulaong, which is the core of his defense in this case, is
false as shown in the school register and as rebutted by his own
witness, Mildred Areno.
 Delena and the members of her family are Bilaans or non-Christians
and, as such, are ethnically, socially and economically inferior to
Bulaong and his family, one of the two richest families in Barrio
Landan.

ISSUES:
1. WON the Trial Court acquired jurisdiction over the case.
2. WON the Verification shall be signed by the complainant.
3. WON the information filed is void.
4. WON the crime of forcible abduction with rape was proven beyond
reasonable doubt.
RULING:
1. YES, The trial court acquired jurisdicition. The forms “serve as mere
illustrations”. Jurisdiction over the crime in this case is conferred by law
not by the complaint or information which is merely the means by
which jurisdiction is invoked.

The complaint for abduction with rape was filed and sworn by the
complainant before the city judge. It was the basis of the preliminary
examination. The judge examined the witnesses under oath. The
examination was reduced to writing in the form of searching questions
and answers. On the basis of that examination, a warrant of arrest was
issued.

The accused waived in writing the second stage of the preliminary

investigation. In such a case, the fiscal is not called upon to conduct
another preliminary investigation

2. NO. The Complainant need not sign the verification. In a case involving
crimes against chastity, the prosecution may be conducted by the
fiscal on the basis of the complaint filed in the inferior court. There is
no need to file information. Art. 344 of RPC, reproduced in Sec. 4, Rule
110 of the Rules of Court, does not require that the offended girl in a
crime against chastity should sign the information filed by the fiscal.

3. NO. The information was filed on January 23, not on January 9.

Evidently, counsel de oficio is mistaken. He did not examine the record
carefully.

4. YES. The prosecution was able to prove Claudio Bulaong’s guilt beyond
reasonable guilt, as his defense is merely a “fairytale”. He had major
discrepancies with his statements as well as his witnesses’ statements.

DECISION:
The trial court erred in imposing eight reclusion perpetuas. Bulaong
committed the continuing complex offense of forcible abduction with
rape cranad(People vs. Manguiat and Sanqui, 51 Phil. 406; People vs.
Pineda, 56 Phil. 688).
As the rape was committed with the use of a deadly weapon, and the
crime is complex, the death penalty should be imposed. However, for lack
of necessary votes, the same is commuted to reclusion perpetua.
WHEREFORE, the lower court’s judgment is modified. Bulaong is
sentenced to reclusion perpetua and to pay an indemnity to the
offended girl in the sum of fifty thousand pesos. Costs de oficio.