Facts: Herein accused Carmelo Lacaba was convicted of raping his physically handicapped niece, Beverly Lacaba, on two occasions, first on February 1995 and second on March 15, 1996. On both occasions, a knife was pointed at the victim to consummate the dastardly act. The trial court imposed the penalty of death by virtue of RA 8353, the Anti-Rape Law of 1997 which penalizes rape with death when the offender knew of the physical handicap of the victim at the time of the commission of the crime.
Issue: Whether the death penalty was properly meted out.
Held: Under Art 335 of the RPC as amended by RA 7659, the penalty for rape when committed with the use of a deadly weapon is reclusion perpetua to death. The absence of any aggravating circumstance would justify the imposition of the lesser penalty. The Anti-Rape law cannot be given retroactive effect as the act took effect only on October 22, 1997, a year after the commission of the last incident of rape.
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