Justice Secretary Leila M. De Lima reminded men that rape can also be committed by the husband against his wife.
The statement was issued as she commended the Department’s Regional Prosecution Office (RPO) XII for securing the conviction of a man charged with marital rape.
In a 13-page Judgement, the Regional Trial Court of Isulan, Sultan Kudarat Branch 19 found Benito Selvino Gumayao guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of rape.
He was sentenced to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua and to pay his complainant-wife a total of P150,000.
The Information filed by the prosecution against Gumayao alleged that the accused committed the crime on May 3, 2002 inside their family home at Brgy. Sto. Nino, Bagumbayan, Sultan Kudarat.
His wife claimed that she was not feeling well at that time so when “her husband arrived and eventually went to her and intimated to her that he wanted to have a sexual intercourse with her,” she refused.
This angered Gumayao who mauled complainant, causing her to faint. The complainant stated that when she opened her eyes, “her husband was already on top of her and succeeded in having sexual intercourse with her.”
In his ruling, Judge Renato Gleyo said that the Family Code “obligates the spouses to love one another but this rule sanctions affection and sexual intimacy, as expressions of love that are both spontaneous and mutual” and that it “excludes cruelty and coercion.”
De Lima said “sexual intimacy, aside from being a mechanism for procreation, is a gift that serves to bring color and life to a marital relationship. When the same is consummated without the wife’s consent through the use of force or coercion, the law provides protection to the victim.”
