REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

REGIONAL TRIAL COURT

Sixth Judicial Region
Branch 62 – Bago City
Family Court
-oOo-

PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES,

Complainant

CRIM. CASE NO. VI-14-INV

14L-00141
- versus – For: Other Sexual Abuse (Lascivious
Conduct under Sec. 5(b) Art III of R.A 7610
in relation to R.A 7369)
FRANCISCO RONALDO G.
CRUZ JR.,
Accused.

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PRE-TRIAL BRIEF

THE PROSECUTION, through the undersigned Branch Trial

Prosecutor, and unto this Honorable Court, most respectfully submits this Pre-
Trial Brief, to wit:

A. SUMMARY OF ADMITTED FACTS AND PROPOSED

STIPULATION OF FACTS

1. That the IDENTITY of the Accused and the JURISDICTION, being

conferred by law.

2. That AAA is a Filipino, a minor, 5 years of age, and a resident of

San Juan Street, Barangay Ubay, Municipality of Pulupandan,
Negros Occidental Philippines.

3. That the accused FRANCISCO RONALDO G. CRUZ JR., is a

Filipino, of legal age, and a resident of San Juan Street, Barangay
Ubay, Municipality of Pulupandan, Negros Occidental Philippines.

4. That the victim and the accused are neighbors San Juan Street,
Barangay Ubay, Municipality of Pulupandan.
5. That the victim is familiar with the accused since he is a close friend
of AAA’s father.

6. That on September 15, 2015 at 8 o’clock in the morning, AAA’s

mother went out working as a laundrywoman and AAA was left
with her younger sister while his brothers were in school.

7. That at about 11 o’clock in the morning AAA went out of their house
to play with his friends BBB and CCC.

8. That Jona Rona, neighbor of the accused and AAA, saw the Accused
was talking to AAA, his son and other playmates at around 11:30am
on September 15, 2014, handing them some food which they
accepted.

9. That while the children were playing, the accused called AAA inside
his house, inducing with a plastic full of chocolates and candies.

10.That AAA, BBB and CCC eventually went inside the house of the
accused.

11.That while AAA’s playmates were watching television, he asked the

accused to lead him to the comfort room.

12. That instead of ushering the victim to the comfort room, the accused
led the victim to his room.

13. That the accused, after telling the victim to keep quiet, he took off
the victim’s pants and briefs and proceeded in sucking the victim’s
penis.

14.That at about 2 o’clock in the afternoon of the same day, AAA’s

mother went home and saw AAA playing outside their house.

15.That the mother asked AAA to come inside their house so that she
can change his clothes as they are very dirty.

16.That when she pulled AAA’s pants and brief, she noticed that it was
red and swollen.

17. That AAA told his mother about what the accused did to him.

18. That at about 4 o’clock, AAA together with his mother went to
Police Station 8 in the office of Women’s and Children Protection
Desk to seek help for her son.

19.That while in the Police Station 8, AAA confided to SPO1 Dalisay

that the accused sucked his penis.
 20. That AAA was examined by Dr. Hayden Koko on the same day,
September 15, 2014.

B. ISSUES TO BE TRIED

1. Whether or not FRANCISCO RONALDO G. CRUZ JR. is guilty

of committing the crime of OTHER SEXUAL ABUSE
(LASCIVIOUS CONDUCT Under Sec. 5(b). Art III of
R.A.7610 in relation to R.A. 8369).

2. Whether or not FRANCISCO RONALDO G. CRUZ JR. is

civilly and criminally liable for OTHER SEXUAL ABUSE
(LASCIVIOUS CONDUCT Under Sec. 5(b). Art III of
R.A.7610 in relation to R.A. 8369).

C. APPLICABLE LAWS AND JURISPRUDENCE

1. Section 5 (b), Article III of R.A. No. 7610, defines and

penalizes acts of lasciviousness committed against a child as
follows:

Section 5. Child Prostitution and Other

Sexual Abuse. -- Children, whether male or female,
who for money, profit, or any other consideration
or due to the coercion or influence of any adult,
syndicate or group, indulge in sexual intercourse
or lascivious conduct, are deemed to be children
exploited in prostitution and other sexual abuse.

xxxx

(b) Those who commit the act of sexual

intercourse or lascivious conduct with a child
exploited in prostitution or subject to other sexual
abuse; Provided, That when the victims is under
twelve (12) years of age, the perpetrators shall be
prosecuted under Article 335, paragraph 3, for rape
and Article 336 of Act No. 3815, as amended, the
Revised Penal Code, for rape or lascivious conduct,
as the case may be: Provided, That the penalty for
lascivious conduct when the victim is under twelve
(12) years of age shall be reclusion temporal in its
medium period.

2. Elements of Acts of Lasciviousness, as defined in Article 336

of the RPC:
 (1) That the offender commits any act of lasciviousness or
lewdness;
(2) That it is done under any of the following
circumstances:
a. By using force or intimidation; or
b. When the offended party is deprived of reason or
otherwise unconscious; or
c. When the offended party is under 12 years of age;
and
(3) That the offended party is another person of either
sex.

3. Section 5, Article III of R.A. No. 7610, additional elements of

sexual abuse:

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.

Corollarilly, Section 2 (h) of the rules and regulations of

R.A. No. 7610 defines Lascivious conduct as:

The 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.

4. Article III Child Prostitution and Other Sexual Abuse

Sec. 5. (b) Those who commit the act of sexual

intercourse of lascivious conduct with a child exploited in
prostitution or subject to other sexual abuse; Provided,
That when the victims is under twelve (12) years of age,
the perpetrators shall be prosecuted under Article 335,
paragraph 3, for rape and Article 336 of Act No. 3815, as
amended, the Revised Penal Code, for rape or lascivious
conduct, as the case may be: Provided, That the penalty
for lascivious conduct when the victim is under twelve
 (12) years of age shall be reclusion temporal in its
medium period.

5. PEOPLE v. ALEJANDRO [G.R. No. 168103, August 2,

2010]

“Section 5 of R.A. No. 7610 does not merely cover

a situation of a child being abused for profit, but also one
in which a child is coerced to engage in lascivious conduct.
To repeat, intimidation need not necessarily be irresistible.
It is sufficient that some compulsion equivalent to
intimidation annuls or subdues the free exercise of the will
of the offended party. This is especially true in the case of
young, innocent and immature girls who could not be
expected to act with equanimity of disposition and with
nerves of steel. Young girls cannot be expected to act like
adults under the same circumstances or to have the
courage and intelligence to disregard the threat.”

6. PEOPLE v. BITANCOR [G.R. No. 147968. December 4,

2002]

“It is well-entrenched jurisprudence that the lone

testimony of the victim in a prosecution for rape, if
credible, is sufficient to sustain a verdict of conviction.
The rationale is that, owing to the nature of the offense,
the only evidence that can be adduced to establish the guilt
of the accused is usually only the offended party’s
testimony.”

7. PEOPLE v. BARELLANO [G.R. No. 121204, December 2,

1999]

“Basic is the rule that the defense of alibi should be

rejected when the identity of the accused has been
sufficiently and positively established by eyewitnesses to
the crime because alibi cannot prevail over the positive
identification of the accused by the prosecution
witnesses.”

8. PEOPLE v. DANDO [GR No. 120646, February 14, 2000]

“In cases where the defense is alibi - in order to

overcome the evidence of the prosecution, the accused
must establish not only that he was somewhere else when
the crime was committed but also that it was physically
impossible for him to have been at the scene of the crime
at the time it was committed.”
 9. PEOPLE v. CALOPE [ 229 SCRA 413, 1994]

“Alibi must be supported by credible corroboration

from disinterested witnesses, and where the defense of
alibi is not corroborated, it is fatal to the accused.”

10. PEOPLE v BARCELONA [G. R. No. 125341, February 9,

2000]

“The behavior and reaction of every person cannot

be predicted with accuracy. It is a time-honored precept
that “different people react differently to a given situation
or type of situation and there is no standard form of
behavioral response when one is confronted with a strange
or startling experience.” Not every rape victim can be
expected to act conformably to the usual expectations of
every one. Some may shout; some may faint; and some
may be shocked into insensibility, while others may
openly welcome the intrusion.”

11. PEOPLE v. MARCELINO BUGARIN [G.R. Nos. 110817-

22, June 13, 1997]

“Even if there was no violence or force employed

against the complainant, the moral influence of the
accused-appellant over the complainant sufficed to make
the crime of rape.”

12. PEOPLE v. DICHOSON [352 SCRA 56, 66]

“Lone testimonies of the offended party, if credible

is sufficient to establish the guilt of the accused. Such is
the testimony of the victim who is young, immature and
has no motive to falsely testify against the accused.”

D. DOCUMENTS TO BE PRESENTED

1. Judicial Affidavit of AAA.

PURPOSE: To prove the fact that AAA, together with his

friends, was playing inside the house of the Accused. He was
then led to enter a room where the accused told him to be silent
and began touching his penis, took off his pants and started to
suck his penis. Moreover, this is to prove the emotional distress
that the child has suffered.

2. Birth Certificate of AAA.

 PURPOSE: To prove the identity and minority of the AAA.

3. Judicial Affidavit of BBB and CCC (playmates)

PURPOSE: To prove the fact that AAA was invited to play

outside their house by his playmates at around 10:30am on
September 15,2014 while he was eating. They waited for him to
finish and left AAA’s house at around 11:00am. Moreover, they
saw AAA talking to the accused and followed him as they enter
the house of the Accused to play.

4. Judicial Affidavit of Jona Rona (neighbor)

PURPOSE: To prove the fact that the Accused was seen talking
to AAA, his son and other playmates at around 11:30am on
September 15,2014, handing them some food which they
accepted. They were seen to enter the house of the Accused and
was seen back on the streets playing at around 1:30pm.

5. Judicial Affidavit of Mrs. Juana Demagiba (Mother of the

Victim)

PURPOSE: To prove the fact that she was the first person who
witnessed and has seen the swelling of his son’s private parts
after she took off his clothes for a half bath after he arrived at
their house from playing at around 4:00PM on September 15,
2014. Moreover, to prove the fact that when she asked the victim
as to what happened, the child narrated to him in details that the
Accused instructed him to go with him in exchange of chocolates
and when they were inside the house of the Accused, the latter
placed the penis of the victim to his mouth and suck it.

6. Police Blotter dated September 14, 2018

PURPOSE: To prove the fact that the mother of the victim

wasted no time after she learned of what happened to her child,
she proceeded to the nearest Police Station in Pulupandan,
reported and had it recorded to the authorities, in the person of
SPO2 Juan Cardo Dalisay as the investigating officer.

7. Medical Certificate issued by Dr. Hayden Koko

PURPOSE: To prove the fact that the private parts of the victim
was examined by Dr. Hayden Koko on September 14, 2014 at
 5:00PM, right after the happened, and that it was found out that
there was injury in the scrotum and penis of the victim.

8. Photographs of the scrotum and penis of the victim

PURPOSE: To prove the fact, in support to the medical report of

the Physician, that the victim’s private parts swell after it was
sucked by the Accused.

E. NAMES OF WITNESSES

1. AAA

To testify on the substantiate and testify on the affidavit he

executed in relation to this case and to identify related documents
and exhibits. To testify for 30 minutes.

2. BBB and CCC (Playmates)

To testify on the affidavit executed that she was one of the

playmate who discovered the commission of the crime, and
identify the presence of the accused at the crime scene.

3. Mrs. Juana Demagiba (Mother of the Victim)

To corroborate and testify upon the discovery of swollen

abrasion on the child’s penis, the process of interviewing the
playmate, and reporting to the police station.

4. PO2 John Hadid (Police Investigator)

To testify on the police blotter he executed upon the reporting of

the mother and the child and the investigation made by him.

5. Dr. Hayden Koko

To testify on the medical certificate or report executed and signed

containing the actual injuries incurred and suffered by the child
after due examination.

F. AVAILABLE TRIAL DATES

 The PROSECUTION needs at least 7 trial dates, which may be set
by the Honorable court at its convenient calendar date, applying the 1-day
witness rule.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED.

11 July 2018, Bacolod City, Philippines.

MA. THERESA B. TOMBIEN

Senior Assistant City Prosecutor
Branch 62, Trial Prosecutor
Bago City
ROLL NO. 42201
IBP NO. OR 030226
Issued on 1/10/18
MCLE NO V – 0010968 – 10/8/15
Until April, 2019

COPY FURNISHED:

FRANCISCO RONALDO G. CRUZ JR.

Respondent
San Juan Street, Barangay Ubay,
Municipality of Pulupandan,
Negros Occidental Philippines
 PRE-TRIAL BRIEF

(PEOPLE v. CRUZ)

A Paper Presented to
Judge Frances Guanzon
Professor - College of Law
University of St. La Salle
Bacolod City

In Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for the Degree of
Juris Doctor

By:

Abellana, Sharmaine
Bargaso, Leah
Chua, Lodelyn
Gallana, Janin Aizel
Madera, Bebelan
Pandanduyan, Nicca
Trinidad, Rey Ann

July 11, 2018