Isidro Olivarez vs. Court of Appeals and People of the Philippines
G.R. No. 163866, July 29, 2005
465 SCRA 465
FACTS:
An information for violation of R.A. 7610, the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act was filed against Isidro Olivarez by the prosecution with the MTC San Pedro Laguna. The case originated from a complaint filed by the offended party with the MTC San Pedro, Laguna which was the basis upon which an information for violation of R.A. 7610 was filed against petitioner. This Information states that petitioner committed acts of lasciviousness on the person of Cristina Elitiong, by touching her breasts and kissing her lips, against her will.
The trial court found petitioner guilty of the crime charged. On appeal, the Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court’s decision and denied the MR so petitioner filed a Petition for Review before the SC.
ISSUE:
Whether or not petitioner’s right to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation against him was violated for failure to allege in the information the essential elements of the offense, which are age of the offended party and that she is an abused or exploited child as defined in the law, for which he is being charged.
RULING:
NO. All the elements of sexual abuse under Section 5, Article III of R.A. 7610 were averred in the Complaint mentioned in the Information of which a copy was furnished to the petitioner in which he was informed of the age of the complainant. The prosecution has also established the minority of the offended party through competent evidence. Cristina testified that she was 16 years old and a certification from the Office of the Local Registrar of San Pedro, Laguna was presented showing that she was born on October 17, 1980.
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused is entitled to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation against him. A complaint is sufficient if it states the name of the accused; the designation of the offense given by the statute; the acts or omissions complained of as constituting the offense; the name of the offended party; the approximate date of the commission of the offense; and the place where the offense was committed. The complaint or information shall state the designation of the offense given by the statute, aver the acts or omissions constituting the offense, and specify its qualifying and aggravating circumstances. If there is no designation of the offense, reference shall be made to the section or subsection of the statute punishing it. The acts or omissions complained of as constituting the offense and the qualifying and aggravating circumstances must be stated in ordinary and concise language and not necessarily in the language used in the statute but in terms sufficient to enable a person of common understanding to know what offense is being charged as well as its qualifying and aggravating circumstances and for the court to pronounce judgment.
While it is necessary to allege the essential elements of the crime in the information, the failure to do so is not an irremediable vice. When the complaint or the resolution by the public prosecutor which contain the missing averments is attached to the information and form part of the records, the defect in the latter is effectively cured, and the accused cannot successfully invoke the defense that his right to be informed is violated.
The information merely states that petitioner was being charged for the crime of “violation of R.A. 7610” without citing the specific sections alleged to have been violated by petitioner. This omission is not sufficient to invalidate the information. The character of the crime is not determined by the caption or preamble of the information nor from the specification of the provision of law alleged to have been violated, they may be conclusions of law, but by the recital of the ultimate facts and circumstances in the complaint or information. The sufficiency of an information is not negated by an incomplete or defective designation of the crime in the caption or other parts of the information but by the narration of facts and circumstances which adequately depicts a crime and sufficiently apprise the accused of the nature and cause of the accusation against him.
NOTES:
The elements of sexual abuse under Section 5, Article III of R.A. 7610 are as follows:
1. The accused commits the act of sexual intercourse or lascivious conduct.
2. The said act is performed with a child exploited in prostitution or subjected to other sexual abuse.
3. The child, whether male or female, is below 18 years of age.
Lascivious conduct, defined
Section 32, Article XIII, of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of R.A. 7610 defines lascivious conduct as follows:
[T]he intentional touching, either directly or through clothing, of the genitalia, anus, groin, breast, inner thigh, or buttocks, or the introduction of any object into the genitalia, anus or mouth, of any person, whether of the same or opposite sex, with an intent to abuse, humiliate, harass, degrade, or arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person, bestiality, masturbation, lascivious exhibition of the genitals or pubic area of a person.
A child is deemed subjected to other sexual abuse when the child indulges in lascivious conduct under the coercion or influence of any adult. In this case, Cristina was sexually abused because she was coerced or intimidated by petitioner to indulge in a lascivious conduct. Furthermore, it is inconsequential that the sexual abuse occurred only once. As expressly provided in Section 3 (b) of R.A. 7610, the abuse may be habitual or not. It must be observed that Article III of R.A. 7610 is captioned as “Child Prostitution and Other Sexual Abuse” because Congress really intended to cover a situation where the minor may have been coerced or intimidated into lascivious conduct, not necessarily for money or profit. The law covers not only child prostitution but also other forms of sexual abuse.
Myline Cordial 
Leave a comment