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New Rape
Law 1997 an amendment
REPUBLIC ACT
NO. 8353
AN ACT
EXPANDING THE DEFINITION OF THE CRIME OF RAPE,
RECLASSIFYING THE SAME AS A CRIME AGAINST PERSONS,
AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE ACT NO. 3815, AS AMENDED,
OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE REVISED PENAL CODE, AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives
of the Philippines in Congress assembled:
Section 1.
Short Title. - This Act shall be known as "The
Anti-Rape Law of 1997."
Section 2.
Rape as a Crime Against Persons. - The crime of
rape shall hereafter be classified as a Crime Against
Persons under Title Eight of Act No. 3815, as amended,
otherwise known as the Revised Penal Code. Accordingly,
there shall be incorporated into Title Eight of the same
Code a new chapter to be known as Chapter Three on
Rape, to read as follows:
"Chapter Three "
Rape
"Article 266-A. Rape: When And How Committed. - Rape is
committed:
1)
By a man who shall have carnal knowledge of a woman
under any
of the following circumstances:
a)
Through force, threat, or
intimidation;
b)
When the offended party is deprived of reason or
otherwise unconscious;
c)
By means of fraudulent machination
or grave abuse of authority; and
d)
When the offended party is under twelve (12) years of age or is demented, even though none of the
circumstances mentioned above be present.
2)
By any person who, under any of the circumstances mentioned in paragraph 1 hereof, shall commit an act of
sexual assault by inserting his penis into another
person's mouth or anal orifice, or any instrument or
object, into the genital or anal orifice of another
person.
"Article 266-B. Penalty. - Rape under paragraph 1 of the
next preceding article shall be punished by reclusion
perpetua.
"Whenever the rape is committed with the use of a deadly
weapon or by two or more persons, the penalty
shall be reclusion perpetua to death.
"When by reason or on the occasion of the rape, the
victim has become insane, the penalty shall become
reclusion perpetua to death.
"When the rape is attempted and a homicide is committed
by reason or on theoccasion thereof, the penalty
shall be reclusion perpetua to death.
"When by reason or on the occasion ofthe rape, homicide
is committed, the penalty shall be death.
"The death penalty shall also be imposed if the crime of
rape is
committed with any of the following
aggravating/qualifying circumstances:
l)
When the victim is under eighteen
(18) years of age and the offender is a parent, ascendant, step-parent, guardian,
relative by consanguinity or affinity within the third
civil degree, or the common-law spouse of the parent of
the victim;
2)
When the victim is under the custody of the police or
military authorities or any law enforcement or penal institution;
3)
When the rape is committed in full view of the spouse,
parent, any of the children or other relatives within the third
civil degree of consanguinity;
4)
When the victim is a religious engaged in legitimate
religious vocation or calling and is personally known to be such
by the offender before or at the time of the commission
of the crime;
5)
When the victim is a child below seven (7) years old;
6)
When the offender knows that he is
afflicted with the Human Immuno-Deficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immune Deficiency
Syndrome (AIDS) or any other sexually transmissible
disease and the virus or disease is transmitted to the
victim;
7)
When committed by any member of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines or para-military units thereof or the
Philippine National Police or any law enforcement agency
or penal institution, when the offender took advantage
of his position to facilitate the commission of the
crime;
8)
When by reason or on the occasion
of the rape, the victim has suffered permanent physical mutilation or disability;
9)
When the offender knew of the pregnancy of the offended
party at the time of the commission of the crime; and
10)
When the offender knew of the mental disability,
emotional disorder and/or physical handicap of the offended party
at the time of the commission of the crime.
"Rape under paragraph 2 of the next preceding article
shall be punished by prison mayor.
"Whenever the rape is committed with the use of a deadly
weapon or by two or more persons, the penalty shall be
prison mayor to reclusion temporal.
"When by reason or on the occasion of the rape, the
victim has become insane, the penalty shall be reclusion
temporal.
"When the rape is attempted and a homicide is committed
by reason or on the occasion thereof, the penalty shall
be reclusion temporal to reclusion perpetual.
"When by reason or on the occasion of the rape, homicide
is committed, the penalty shall be reclusion perpetua.
"Reclusion temporal shall be imposed if the rape is
committed with any of the ten aggravating/ qualifying
circumstances mentioned in this
article.
"Article 266-C. Effect of Pardon. - The subsequent valid
marriage between the offended party shall extinguish the criminal
action or the penalty imposed.
"In case it is the legal husband who is the offender,
the subsequent forgiveness by the wife as the offended party shall
extinguish the criminal action or the penalty: Provided, That the crime
shall not be extinguished or the penalty shall not be abated if the
marriage is void ab initio.
"Article 266-D. Presumptions. - Any physical overt act
manifesting resistance against the act of rape in any degree from
the offended party, or where the offended party is so situated as to
render her/him incapable of giving valid consent, may be
accepted as evidence in the prosecution of the
acts punished under Article 266-A."
Section 3. Separability Clause. - If any part, Sec., or
provision of this
Act
is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the other parts
thereof not
affected thereby shall remain valid.
Section 4. Repealing Clause. - Article 336 of Act No. 3815,
as amended,
and all
laws, acts, presidential decrees, executive orders,
administrative
orders,
rules and regulations inconsistent with or contrary to
the provisions
of
this Act are deemed amended, modified or repealed
accordingly.
Section 5. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect
fifteen (15) days after
completion of its publication in two (2) newspapers of
general circulation.
Approved: September 30, 1997.
CHAPTER
I: CONCEPT, NATURE AND ESSENCE OF RAPE
Concept of Rape
In general, rape is defined as
the act of having carnal knowledge of a woman by a man,
forcibly and against her will, or without conscious
permission, or where permission has been extorted by
force or fear of immediate harm (Evans v. State, 21 S.E.
2nd 336, 337, 47 Ga. App. 631).
Stated otherwise, it is the act of
unlawful sexual intercourse between persons not married
to each other accomplished through the use of force or
fear of force by the man and implying lack of consent by
the woman (Legal Dictionary by Gifis, 1975 ed).
The Revised Penal Code defines
rape as the carnal knowledge of a woman by using force
or intimidation, or when she is deprived of reason or
otherwise unconscious, or when she is under twelve years
of age (Art. 335).
Nature of Rape
Rape, like prostitution, is as old as mankind. It is a
most detestable crime which ought to be severely and
impartially punished (2 Chaty’s Blackstone 165; People
vs. Leones, 117 SCRA 383; U.S. vs. Flores, 26 Phil. 726;
People vs. Quintal 125 SCRA 734). It is nauseating
(People vs. Ramos 165 SCRA 488). It is horrible (People
vs. Erinia, 50 Phil. 998). It is an accusation easy to
make, hard to prove, but harder to defend by the party
accused, though innocent (U.S. vs. Flores, supra; People
vs. Leoparte, 187 SCR.A 190; People vs. Cabading, 174
SCRA 48). It is of such a nature that it can only be
established by clear and positive evidence and cannot be
made to depend upon inference or dubious circumstantial
evidence (People vs. Fortin, L-7392, August 11, 1955).
Rape is an offense, to which, as is often the case, only
two people can testify, thus requiring the most
conscientious effort on the part of the arbiter to weigh
and appraise the conflicting testimonies (People vs.
Nazareno, 80 SCRA 484).
“The detestable crime of rape, in which a man shows his
most heinous side, is one of the hardest to prove. The
testimony of the offended party most often is the only
one available to prove directly its commission
corroboration by other witnesses is seldom available. In
fact, the presence of such eyewitnesses could, in
certain cases, place a serious doubt as to the
probability of its commission. Perforce, courts of
justice are most often placed in the necessary position
of having to accept such uncorroborated testimony
sufficient to establish the guilt of the accused, if the
same is in other regards conclusive, logical and
probable (People vs. Landicho, 43 OG 3767).
Rape by
its nature, is usually committed in private. Reason:
self-preservation (People vs. Landicho, supra; People
vs. Dazo, 58 Phil. 420). It is a crime that takes only a
short time to consummate (People vs. Tamayo, 120 SCRA
412), and may be committed even in places where people
congregate (People vs. Mangalino, 182 SCRA 329), in a
jeep (People vs. Izon, 173 SCRA 118), in a narrow
bathroom (People vs. Paras, 124 SCRA 286), along the
roadside, within school premises or even inside a house
where there are other occupants (People vs. Reyes, 203
SCRA 707). It is reprehensible (People vs. Ramirez, 69
SCRA 144).
Rape is essentially an offense of secrecy, not generally
attempted except in dark or deserted and secluded
places, away from prying eyes. (People vs. Nuflez, 208
SCRA 34).
Rape is not a continuous offense, but each act of
intercourse constitutes a distinct and separate crime
for which separate indictment may be preferred (75 GS
465).
The crime of rape is not to be presumed (People vs.
Alvarez, 55 SCRA 81; People vs. Reyes, 60 SCRA 126), but
should be proven by clear and conclusive ev.idence (U.S.
vs. De Dios, 8 Phil. 279; People vs. Teodosio, 198 SCRA
121). Hence, courts are admonished t exercise
painstaking care in scrutinizing the testimony of
complainant (U.S. vs. Ramos, 35 Phil. 671; People.vs.
Topacio, OG1 1358).
“There is need, therefore, for the
most careful scrutiny of the testimony of the state,
both oral and documentary, independently of whatever
defense is offered by the accused. Only if the judge
below and the appellate tribunal could arrive at a
conclusion that the crime had been committed precisely
by the person on trial under such an exacting test
should the sentence be one of conviction. It is thus
required that every circumstance favoring his innocence
be duly taken into account. The proof against him must
survive the test of reason, the strongest suspicion must
not be permitted to sway judgment. The conscience must
be satisfied that on the defendant could be laid the
responsibility for the offense charged that not only did
he perpetrate the act but that it amounted to a crime.
What is required is moral certainty (People vs. Reyes,
supra).
The
testimony of complainant should not be received with
precipitate credulity and when her case depends upon her
uncorroborated testimony, it would not be sufficient
unless it is in all respects candid and free from
suspicion (People vs. Arriata, 60 Phil. 326; People vs.
Fausto, 51 Phil. 882).
Crimes
against chastity by their very nature usually involve
only two persons — the complainant and the offender.
Seldom, if ever, is there an eyewitness to the
commission of the offense. As a consequence, conviction
or acquittal of the accused depends almost entirely on
the credibility of complainant’s testimony. It is,
therefore, for a good reason that courts should examine
with the greatest care the complainant’s story and
subject it to a thorough scrutiny to determine its
veracity in the light of human nature and experience
(People vs. Martinez, 126 SCRA 102).
“In crimes against chastity, the testimony of the
injured woman should not be received with precipitate
credulity; and when the conviction depends at any vital
point upon her uncorroborated testimony, it should not
be accepted unless her sincerity and candor are free
from suspicion x x x” (People vs. Francisco, 185 SCRA
516).
The Essence of the Crime of
Rape
The essence of the crime of rape is not the fact
of intercourse, but the injury and outrage to the
modesty and feeling of the woman, by means of the carnal
knowledge feloniously and forcibly effected (State v.
Rome, 56 Ariz 174, 185). It consists in carrying out the
carnal act of the offender with a woman against her will
and each carnal access that is consummated is a complete
attack on the honor, person and liberty of the offended
woman, which requires a separate penalty for each of the
defendant (People vs. Bernardo, et al., 39 OG 3479).
The injury in rape cases
is not inflicted on the unfortunate victim alone. The
consternation it causes her family must also be taken
into account.
The State’s Policy on Rape
The State condemns with severity the crime of rape. It
regards it as an intrusion into the right of privacy —
an assault on human dignity.
“The State’s policy on the heinous offense of rape is
clear and unmistakable. Life is made forfeit under
certain circumstances. At first blush, the harshness of
the penalty may cause for concern, considering that by
the very nature of its commission, it is both sordid and
joyless, the pleasure derived, if any, being minimal. To
be thereafter sentenced to a long period of confinement,
perhaps for the rest of one’s life, even to suffer death
may appear excessive. Nonetheless, there is sound reason
for such severity. It is an intrusion into the right of
privacy, an assault on human dignity. No legal system
worthy of the name can afford to ignore the traumatic
consequences for the unfortunate victim and previous
injury to the peace and good order of the community.
Nonetheless, the seriousness with which the state
rightfully views the matter with the corresponding
imposition of the punishment that fits the crime calls
for extreme care on the part of the judiciary to avoid
an injustice done to an accused. For it is equally true
that only two people can testify, thus requiring the
most conscientious effort on the part of the arbiter to
weigh and appraise the conflicting testimony. if a
reasonable doubt exists, the verdict must be one of
acquittal.” (People vs. Reyes, 60 SCRA 126; People vs.
Nazareno, 80 SCRA, supra).
The imposition of
severe penalty on rape is a manifestation of the high
respect the country accords to its female population.
Any departure from such a norm is a betrayal of a
deep-seated national tradition (U.S. vs. Flores, 26
Phil. 262; People vs. Quaizon, 78 SCRA 513). It shows
the legislative intention to curb the rampancy of that
sexual offense to protect women against the unbridled
bestiality
persons who cannot control their libidinous proclivities
(People vs. Babasa, 87 SCRA 672).
‘The state, as pareizs patriae, is
under the obligation to minimize the risk of harm to
those, who, because of their minority, are as yet unable
to take care of themselves fully. Those of tender years
deserve its utmost protection. Moreover, the injury in
cases of rape is not inflicted on the unfortunate victim
alone. The consternation it causes her family must also
be taken into account. It may reflect a failure to abide
by the announced concern in the fundamental law for such
institution.” (People vs. Cawili, 65 SCRA 24).
The severe
penalty imposed on the crime of rape reflects the
societal feeling of revulsion for the degradation
imposed on an unwflhing victim or one presumed unable to
give consent (People vs. Lopez, 74 SCRA 205, citing
Brownmiller’s “Against Our Will”).
“(W) with the changing mores,
there should be less occasion for a resort to violence
or intimidation. Aptly has it been said that further
refinement in the techniques of persuasion could
possibly lead to the same result and at that, to the
mutual satisfaction of both parties. On a clear showing,
therefore, that the requisites of the law exist, it is
imperative, if it is to serve its deterrent purpose,
that the offender be subjected to the repressive measure
his deplorable conduct has elicited”. (Ibid).
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