Republic of the Philippines
SUPREME COURT
Manila
EN BANC
G.R. No. L-39882 February 20, 1934
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, plaintiff-appellee,
vs.
ARSENIO DE LA CRUZ, defendant-appellant.
Laurel, Del Rosario and Lualhati and Francisco G. Perez for appellant.
Office of the Solicitor-General Hilado for appellee.
BUTTE, J.:
This is an appeal from a judgment of the Court of First Instance of Pampanga convicting the defendant-appellant of the crime of consummated rape upon the following information:
Que en hacia el 2 de febrero de 1933, en el Municipio de Arayat, Provincia de Pampanga, Islas Filipinas, el referido acusado, Arsenio de la Cruz, por medio de engaņo fuerza, amenaza e intimidacion, voluntaria, ilegal y criminalmente, yacio con Filomena Maņo contra su voluntad. Hecho cometido contra la ley con las circunstancias agravantes de nocturnidad, despoblado y premeditacion.
The appellant makes the following assignments of error:
1. The lower court erred in convicting the accused of the alleged rape committed against Filomena Maņo on the complaint filed by her aunt, Romana Maņo, when her father is yet living and within the Philippine Islands.
2. The lower court erred in not acquitting the accused.
The testimony of Romana Maņo (pp. 38, 39, t.s.n.) recites that Filomena Maņo is the niece of Romana Maņo and is living with, and supported by the latter; that the father of Filomena Maņo is working in the adjacent Province of Tarlac. The Solicitor-General contends that Romana Maņo is "to all intents and purposes the legal guardian of said offended party" and he argues that she is competent to sign the information to this case.
Article 344 of the Revised Penal Code, paragraph 3, is as follows:
"Tampoco puede procederse por causa de estupro, rapto, violacion o abusos deshonestos, sino en virtud de denuncia de la parte agraviada, o de sus padres, o abuelos o tutor, ni despues de haberse otorgado al ofensor, perdon expreso por dichas partes, segun los casos." Without passing at this time on the question whether the tutor (legal guardian) may file a complaint in the temporary absence of the parents or grandparents of the offended party, it suffices to say that we cannot accept the view of the Government that an aunt who has the temporary custody of a minor in the absence of her father occupies the position of a tutor (legal guardian). The word "tutor" (guardian) appearing in article 344, supra, must be given the same meaning as in section 551 of the Code of Civil Procedure, that is to say, a guardian legally appointed in accordance with the provisions of Chapter XXVII of the Code of Civil Procedure.
The argument of the Solicitor-General that delay and inconvenience and possibly a complete defeat of justice might arise if the father, as in the present instance, is absent from the province, addresses itself rather to the Legislature which has it in its power to enlarge the list of persons who might file complaints in such cases as this.
As the court lacks jurisdiction to hear and determine the information, the judgment below must be reversed with costs de oficio.
Street, Abad Santos, Imperial, and Diaz, JJ., concur.
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