G.R. No. 225511. March 20, 2019

G.R. No. 225511. March 20, 2019 is a Decision 2019 by the Supreme Court of the Philippines.
== Case Details ==
People of the Philippines Vs. Vicente Vañas y Balderama
http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2019/march2019/225511.pdf
Mariano Del Castillo
== Info ==
For committing the crime of qualified rape in Criminal Case No. 6072, appellant should have been meted the death penalty if not for the proscription in RA 9346. In lieu of the death penalty, appellant is sentenced to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua, without eligibility of parole
To be sure, the exact phrase "exploited in prostitution or subjected to other abuse" need not be mentioned in the Information. Moreover, "[t]he use of derivatives or synonyms or allegations of basic facts constituting the offense charged is sufficient." However, this established legal precept is not satisfied in this case since the Information failed to describe in intelligible terms with such particularity as to apprise the appellant, with reasonable certainty, the offense charged. The Information did not contain words of similar or identical meaning to describe the offense allegedly violated."In other words, the [Information] must contain a specific allegation of every fact and circumstance necessary to constitute the crime charged, the accused being presumed to have no independent knowledge of the facts that constitute the offense. Under Section 9 of Rule 117 of the 2000 Revised Rules on Criminal Procedure, [failure of the accused] to raise an objection to the insufficiency or defect in the information would not amount to a waiver of any objection based on said ground or irregularity."
== Decision ==
WHEREFORE, the appeal is PARTIALLY GRANTED. Appellant xxx is found GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of qualified rape in Criminal Case No. 6072 and is sentenced to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua without eligibility for parole and to pay "AAA" the amounts of P100,000.00 as civil indemnity, Pl 00,000.00 as moral damages and Pl00,000.00 as exemplary damages. All monetary awards shall earn interest at the rate of six percent ( 6%) per annum from date of finality of this Decision until fully paid. Appellant is ACQUITTED in Criminal Case No. 6073.
== Trivia ==
* *rape
* *bill of particulars