Driver gets life for rape

THE Regional Trial Court (RTC) sentenced a 39-year-old man to reclusion perpetua or life imprisonment for raping a 24-year-old woman in 2006.

RTC Branch 11 judge Virginia Europa found Ruperto Rubillar Jr., former jeepney driver, guilty beyond reasonable doubt for raping Rebecca (not her real name) on October 12, 2006 inside the Davao Motel along Cabaguio Avenue, Davao City.

The penalty of reclusion perpetua is imprisonment for twenty years and one day to forty years.

The court also ordered Rubillar to pay the victim P75,000 for civil indemnity and P50,000 as moral damages.

Based on the judgment read by the RTC Branch 11 clerk of court, Lawyer Thea Guadalupe, the victim said she was sent by her mother to buy something. While she was waiting for a jeepney, Rubillar arrived onboard a motorcycle and offered her a ride.

She said she trusted the convict since the latter was a friend of his father.

She said Rubillar was driving the motorcycle fast that she even did not notice that they were at the motel already.

She said the convict held her while they walked towards the room. Rubillar pushed her to the bed, undressed her and raped her. She said she tried to resist.

On the other hand, Rubillar said they were in a machine shop along Cabaguio Avenue to pay the repair of his jeepney when the victim invited him to the Davao Motel. He said what happened between them was "consensual sex".

The court, however, disagreed about the "consensual sex" defense. Even if there were previous sexual intercourse, the court said it "cannot fault" the victim.

"It is noteworthy that the private complainant was merely 18 years old at the time of the incident and would surely be cowed by a man who was several years her senior and even one who is a friend of her father," the court said.

Further, the court said that the testimony of a rape victim "is enough to sustain a conviction since there were only two persons present during the act," adding that a person can be convicted if the testimony of the victim is credible and convincing.

"The accused, on the other hand, only had the 'sweetheart theory' as a defense, one which he was not able to prove satisfactorily," the court said.

The court noted that there were no other proofs such as love letters, photos or even saved text messages between the two presented to support his claim that they were lovers.

Drama took place inside the court room on Friday morning during and after the promulgation of judgment.

The victim kept on crying while listening to the clerk of court reading the court's judgment.

The convict, on the other hand, told his counsel that he felt like crying. His lawyer even advised him to just cry if he wanted to.

He kept on staring at his wife, who sat in front next to him, and to the complainant, who was a row behind the convict's wife.

It became more intense when it was announced that the court found Rubillar guilty beyond reasonable doubt.

The victim stood and hugged her sister tight who was sitting beside her.
Rubillar embraced his wife and his relatives who also attended Friday’s promulgation.

The victim and the convict refused to be interviewed. A staff from RTC Branch 11 said that the convict still has the right to either file his motion for reconsideration within 15 days before the court or submit his appeal before the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court.