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PEOPLE vs. Sergio Betonio

PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee vs. SERGIO BETONIO, accused-appellant.

G.R. No. 119165 | 1997-09-26

D E C I S I O N


PANGANIBAN, J.:

The rape of a thirteen-year-old girl by her uncle who took advantage of his moral ascendancy and who on appeal had the gall to claim a "forbidden love affair" with the victim, goes beyond the reprehensible into the intolerable. We stress that in rape cases, the trial court's assessment of the credibility of witnesses the complainant's, most of all is usually accorded respect by appellate courts and is often determinative of an appeal's outcome.

The Case

This is an appeal from the Decision 1 dated May 7, 1993 of the Regional Trial Court of Tagbilaran City, 7th Judicial Region, Branch 3, 2 in Criminal...