Professional Documents
Culture Documents
PP V Heinrich Ritter
PP V Heinrich Ritter
SUPREME COURT
Manila
THIRD DIVISION
G.R. No. 88582
March 5, 1991
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ATTY. CARAAN:
Q Will you kindly tell to this Honorable Court the exact words
used by Rosario Baluyot later on when you met her when you
asked her and when she told you that she was already able to
remove that object from her vagina?
A "Oy, Jessie, natanggal na, "she told me that. I asked her,
"Was it already removed?" And she answered, "Yes, it was
removed." But the same night, she again complained of pain
of her stomach. She sent one of her friends to call for me. And
as a matter of fact, Tomboy was uttering defamatory words
against me as she was groaning in pain. (TSN, Jan. 6,1988, pp.
72-73)
This encounter happened on the night of the day following the
day after both children were invited by the foreigner to the
hotel. (T.S.N. p. 73, January 6, 1988). Rosario was said to be
groaning in pain so we can just imagine the distress she was
undergoing at this point in time. If the device inserted by the
appellant caused the pain, it is highly inconceivable how she
was able to endure the pain and discomfort until May, 1987,
seven (7) months after the alleged incident. Evidence must
not only proceed from the mouth of a credible witness but it
must be credible in itself such as the common experience and
observation of mankind can approve as probable under the
circumstances. (People vs. Patog, 144 SCRA 429 [1986]).
At this juncture, we find Dr. Pedro Solis' testimony rather
significant. Dr. Pedro Solis, a witness for the defense is
considered an expert witness. (A Doctor of Medicine and a
graduate of the State University in 1940, a degree of Bachelor
of Laws and member of the Bar 1949, and a graduate of the
Institute of Criminology University. He was awarded Post
Graduate Diploma in Criminology in 1963, and also a graduate
of United Nations Asia and Far East Asia Institute on the
Prevention of Crimes in Tokyo Japan 1965. He was appointed
Medico Legal Officer of the National Bureau of Investigation in
1940 until 1944. He became Chief Medico Legal Officer in
1970 and became the Deputy Director of the NBI up to 1984.
He is at present a Professorial Lecturer on Legal Medicine at
the UP, FEU, UE, and Fatima College of Medicine; a Medico
Legal Consultant of the PGH Medical Center, Makati Medical
Center, UERM Medical Center, MCU Medical Center. He has
been with the NBI for 43 years. He has attended no less than
13 conferences abroad. He is the author of the textbooks
entitled "Legal Medicine" and "Medical Jurisprudence".) With
his impressive legal and medical background, his testimony is
too authoritative to ignore. We quote the pertinent portions of
his testimony:
Q Now Dr. Solis, would you kindly go over this object marked
as Exh. "C-2" which object was described as a part of a sexual
vibrator battery operated. Now, given this kind of object,
would you kindly tell us what would be the probable effect
upon a 12 years old girl when it is inserted into her vagina?
A Well, this vibrator must be considered a foreign body placed
into a human being and as such be considered a foreign
object. As a foreign object, the tendency of the body may be:
No. 1expel the foreign bodyNo. 2.The tendency of the
body is to react to that foreign body. One of the reactions that
maybe manifested by the person wherein such foreign body is
concerned is to cover the foreign body with human tissue, in a
way to avoid its further injury to the body.
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Q When you said shorter, how long would that be, Doctor?
A As I said, in my personal experience, hair pins, cottonballs
and even this lipstick of women usually, there are only about
two (2) weeks time that the patient suffer some abnormal
symptoms.
Q Now, considering that this is a bigger object to the object
that you mentioned, this object has a shorter time?
Q And how many times did you examine this patient Rosario
Baluyot on that day?
A I examined her twice on that day.
Q The first time that you examined her, what is the result of
your findings, if any?
A My first examination, I examined the patient inside the
delivery room. The patient was brought to the delivery room
wheel-chaired then from the wheel chair, the patient was
ambigatory (sic). She was able to walk from the door to the
examining table. On examination, the patient is conscious,
she was fairly nourished, fairly developed, she had fever, she
was uncooperative at that time and examination deals more
on the abdomen which shows slightly distended abdomen
with muscle guarding with tenderness all over, with maximum
tenderness over the hypogastric area. (T.S.N. p. 5, September
28, 1988)
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Result of Examination
Macro-photographic examination on the open end portion of
specimen #1 shows the following inscription:
MABUCHI MOTOR JAPAN RE 14 PAT (Exhibit "MM")
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The vibrator end was further subjected to a macrophotographic examination on the open end portion which
revealed the following:
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A Yes, sir.
Dr. Barcinal, another witness for the defense also testified that
he examined Rosario Baluyot on May 17, 1986 as a referral
patient from the Department of Surgery to give an OB-GYN
clearance to the patient prior to operation. (T.S.N. p. 6,
September 28, 1988)
Q And did you ask her why there is a foreign object lodge
inside her vagina?
A Yes, Sir I asked her.
Q And what did she tell you, if any?
Q Did she also tell you when, this Negro who used her and
who inserted and placed the foreign object on her vagina?
A Yes, Sir I asked her and she said he used me three (3)
months ago from the time I examined her.
Q Now, you said that you referred the patient to the ward,
what happened next with your patient?
The rule is that the death of the victim must be the direct,
natural and logical consequence of the wounds inflicted upon
him by the accused. And since we are dealing with a criminal
conviction, the proof that the accused caused the victim's
death must convince a rational mind beyond reasonable
doubt. (Emphasis supplied)
In People v. Tempongko, Jr., (144 SCRA 583, 592 [1986]), we
explained that:
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And finally, the Court deplores the lack of criminal laws which
will adequately protect street children from exploitation by
pedophiles, pimps, and, perhaps, their own parents or
guardians who profit from the sale of young bodies. The
provisions on statutory rape and other related offenses were
never intended for the relatively recent influx of pedophiles
taking advantage of rampant poverty among the forgotten
segments of our society. Newspaper and magazine articles,
media exposes, college dissertations, and other studies deal
at length with this serious social problem but pedophiles like
the appellant will continue to enter the Philippines and foreign
publications catering to them will continue to advertise the
availability of Filipino street children unless the Government
acts and acts soon. We have to acquit the appellant because
the Bill of Rights commands us to do so. We, however, express
the Court's concern about the problem of street children and
the evils committed against them. Something must be done
about it.