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PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES vs. Reyes

THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. ROGELIO REYES, defendant-appellant.

G.R. Nos. L-36874-76 | 1974-09-30

D E C I S I O N

FERNANDO, J:

The state policy on the heinous offense of rape is clear and unmistakable. Life is made forfeit under certain circumstances. 1 At first blush, the harshness of the penalty may give cause for concern, considering that by the very nature of its commission, it is both sordid and joyless, the pleasure derived, if any, being minimal. To be thereafter sentenced to a long period of confinement, perhaps for the rest of one's life, even to suffer death, may appear excessive. Nonetheless, there is sound reason for such severity. It is an intrusion into the right of privacy, an assault on human dignity. No legal system...