G.R. No. L-1686; May 30, 1949
EL PUEBLO DE FILIPINAS vs. SANTOS TOLEDO, AUGUSTO GARCIA y PEDRO GARCIA

FACTS

On September 22, 1945, Magdalena Ronzairo was forcibly abducted by Benito Guevara and Santos Toledo (armed with a revolver) in Silang, Cavite. She was taken to a hut where she was successively raped by six men: Benito Guevara, Anacleto Vecido, Pedro Cahinhin, Santos Toledo, Pedro Garcia, and Augusto Garcia. The others helped by holding her down during each assault. Medical examination confirmed recent sexual penetration, a ruptured pudendum, and bruises on her body. Her clothing was torn and bloodstained. The accused appellants (Toledo and the Garcia brothers) denied the charges, but their defenses were deemed not credible by the trial court. The lower court convicted Santos Toledo of rapto con violencia and rape, and the Garcia brothers of rape.

ISSUE

Whether each accused should be held liable for multiple counts of rape for their collective and successive sexual assault on a single victim.

RULING

Yes. The Supreme Court (majority) modified the penalties. It held that each appellant should be convicted of six separate crimes of rape—one for each sexual act perpetrated by each man with the collective assistance of the others. The crime was committed with the aggravating circumstance of despoblado (uninhabited place). Each appellant was sentenced to suffer six indeterminate penalties, but pursuant to Article 71 of the Revised Penal Code, the total imprisonment shall not exceed 40 years. The award of indemnity was affirmed.

Separate Opinion (Dissent):
Justice Perfecto, concurred in by Bengzon and Montemayor, dissented. They argued that the multiple successive sexual intercourses by the six men on the same victim, on the same occasion, and in the same place constituted only one complex crime of rape. They voted to convict each appellant for only one crime of rape.

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