1.

People vs. Lualhati

In statutory rape it is not necessary to prove that the victim was

intimidated or that force was used against her. The Miranda case
involved the crime of seduction, the ruling is applicable to rape
inasmuch as the prosecution of both offenses is covered by Article 344.
The law deems it the wiser policy to let the aggrieved woman and her
family decide whether to expose to public view or to heated
controversies in court the vices, faults and disgraceful acts occurring in
the family. It prohibits a prosecution for seduction, abduction, rape, or
acts of lasciviousness, except upon a complaint made by the offended
party or her parents, grandparents, or guardian, nor, in any case, if the
offender has been expressly pardoned by the above-named persons,
as the case may be. It does not prohibit the continuance of a
prosecution if the offended party pardons the offender after the cause
has been instituted, nor does it order the dismissal of said cause. The
only act that riding to Article 344 extinguishes the penal action and the
penalty that may have been imposed, is the marriage between the
offender and the offended party.

People vs. Dela Cerna

The minority of the victim must be proved with equal certainty and
clearness as the crime itself. Otherwise, failure to sufficiently establish
the victim's age is fatal and consequently bars conviction for rape in its
qualified form. Both the age of the offended party and her relationship
with the accused must be alleged in the information as part of the
constitutional right of the accused to be informed of the nature and
cause of the accusation against him. A rape victim's testimony against
her father is entitled to much credibility since respect for elders is
deeply ingrained in Filipino children and is even recognized by law.
Once filed, control of the prosecution is removed from the offended
party's hands and any change of heart by the victim will not affect the
state's right to vindicate the atrocity committed against itself. In
seduction, abduction, rape and acts of lasciviousness, two modes are
recognized for extinguishing criminal liability - pardon and marriage.
The rape incidents in this case occurred prior to the effectivity of RA
8353, "The Anti-Rape Law of 1997" which took effect on October 22,
1997 and classified as a crime against persons. Such being the case, it
shall apply the old law and treat the acts of rape committed as private
crimes.

People vs. Nicolas

Rape has been classified into a crime against person. And may now
be prosecuted de officio. Presence of the other people in the vicinity
does not deter the commission of rape. There is no rule that rape
can be committed only in seclusion. Lust is no respect of time or
place and can be committed in small, confined places like one room
and in the presence of other family members. Knowledge of the
offender of the mental disability of the victim at the time of the
crime rape and makes it punishable by death.

2.

A.
No, force and intimidation was employed to consummate the
rape. There is no any sort of weapon that made her fear for her life,
neither any physical harm nor threaten to take Nicole’s life nor any of
her relatives if he did not have sex and the vaginal contusions on the
labia minora are also consistent with consensual sex.

B.

NO. The information charges the accused with rape by means of

force, threat, and intimidation and taking advantage of the intoxication
of the victim. But no evidence was introduced to show force, threat
and intimidation applied by the accused upon Nicole even as
prosecution vainly tried to highlight her supposed intoxication and
alleged unconsciousness at the time of the sexual act. But it must be
stressed that the Information did not alleged deprived of reason or
otherwise unconscious. Based on a toxicology expert testified on
Nicole’s degree of intoxication, it was more reliable test of a person’s
intoxication adding that factors like urinating, sweating or dancing
decrease the alcohol in the body.

C.

The court see was the unfolding of a spontaneous, unplanned

romantic with both parties carried away by their passions and stirred
up by the urgency of the moment caused probably by alcoholic drinks
they took. Nicole’s portrayal of herself as a demure provinciana, going
on a first time vacation to Subic and expressed her disgust to see an
American guy with a Filipina girl, seated on his lap, cavorting in the
bar, and another couple kissing amid those people around in the club.

D.

YES. I agree with the ruling of the Court of Appeals. Because there
is no reasonable ground, Smith is acquitted of the crime of rape. The
facts of the case did not complied to the elements of rape. As the
evidence as to said means of committing of rape can not be considered
and which objected to at every step during the trial. A women going to
a club or bar, hardly drinking, dancing with a stranger and it follows.
Therefore, a person like that is not prone on a “one night stand” to a
stranger.

3.

Information such as rape incidence is vital, for any type of intervention

to take place. However, that rape is considered an offence only when it
is reported and in many instances, it goes unreported. Some of the
factors that may encourage women who have been raped to come
forward with their cases. In order to address rape, the concerns of rape
survivors have to taken seriously. Police personnel, religious
authorities and health workers need to be sensitive in dealing with
rape survivors. Already in some countries, government organizations
and NGO have taken the initiative to set up crisis center for rape
survivors in collaboration with the different sectors of the community.
Moreover, countries which have recently passed laws or reformed their
penal codes to broaden the definition of rape (which includes marital
rape), have done so as an outcome of the lobbying efforts of women's
groups. The challenge to make sure that the law is not prejudicial
against women remains, and that the law is properly enforced to
ensure the protection of women. By providing suitable legal support
and health services, it is hoped that the responsibility of dealing with
rape would fail on society rather than on women, and survivors would
then feel encouraged to come forward to report rape.
 4.

Debt Bondage refers to any representation, through publication,

exhibition, cinematography, indecent shows, information technology,
or whatever means, of a person engaged in real or simulated explicit
sexual activities or any representation of the sexual parts of a person
for primarily sexual purposes.

5.

A mail-order-bride crime can be prosecuted under RA 9208. It is

also a form of trafficking of a person. RA 6955, an act to declare
unlawful the practice of matching Filipino women for marriage to
foreign nationals on a mail-order basis and other similar practices,
advertisement, publication, printing or distribution of brochures, fliers
and other propaganda materials. RA 9208, to institute policies to
eliminate trafficking in persons especially women and children,
establishing the necessary institutional mechanisms for the protection
and support of trafficked person.

6.

YES. A person who uses or engages a trafficked person is liable

under RA 9208. The law will have to go after suspected traffickers and
club owners using these women for prostitution or white slavery. The
assumption is that prostitutes are trafficked women. They are now
considered not as criminals but as victims. Trafficking is defined as an
act, which uses any person for prostitution, pornography, white
slavery, and other acts punishable by law. It is shift the burden away
from the prostituted women. Pimps and operators of prostitution den
or clubs, including the customers, can be held liable and punished
under the said law. The new law is a significant victory for the women's
sector.

7.

The trafficked persons shall be recognized as victims of the act or

acts of trafficking and such shall not be penalized for crimes directly
related to the acts of trafficking or in obedience to the order made by
the trafficker in relation. The consent of a trafficked person to the
intended exploitation set shall be irrelevant.
EL BRYAN P. MAINIT
ELECT 31-C
Women, Children and the Law
Monday / 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm