Valenton, Francis Angelo T.

Criminal Law 2

1S

Baleros vs. People (G.R. No. 138033)

Facts: The petitioner is Renato Baleros, Jr. The respondent is the People of the Philippines. In
the case at bar, the witness Martina Lourdes Albano (Malou) and her classmates were presented
as witnesses for the private complainant. In the evening of December 12, 1991, the complainant
was sleeping in his bedroom at Celestial Marie Building. In the early morning the following day,
she was awakened by the smell of chemical on a piece of cloth pressed on her face. She cannot
move because someone was pinning her down on the bed. She wanted to scream but the hands
covering her mouth were very tight. That was the herein petitioner. Malou then continued to
fight of the attacker until her right hand got free and was able to grab hold of his sex organ which
she then squeezed. The herein petitioner tried to have carnal knowledge with her but was not
able to perform all the acts of execution. The man then there let go. The attacker the fled from
her room going through another bedroom through the window. The petitioner then was identified
and was charged and found guilty of attempted rape.

Issue: Is the appellant guilty of attempted rape or light coercion.

Held: The Supreme Court said that the appellant is not guilty of the crime of attempted rape.
The acts of the herein petitioner were not sufficient to tell beyond reasonable doubt that it would
constitute overt acts for the crime of rape. However, such acts can be considered as light
coercion or unjust vexation specifically under the second paragraph of Article 287 of the RPC. It
was only the complainant who thought that such act was an act of sexual assault.