I. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES vs.

BERNARDINO DOMANTAY
[GR NO. 130612, MAY 11, 1999]

II. FACTS

The accused was convicted of complex rape with homicide for the death of 6-year old Jennifer
Domantay and sentenced to death. He denied the accusations against him.

SPO1 Espinoza claimed that the accused-appellant agreed to answer all the queries that will be raised
by the investigator. He confessed everything that had happened without the presence of the counsel.
Espinoza also claimed that the accused admitted that he committed the crime and he even tells
where he put the bayonet that he used in stabbing the victim. But the accused-appellant denied that
there is a boundary dispute between him and the victim’s parents. The accused was not accompanied
by his counsel, neither was his statement made in writing.

A DPWR radio reporter named Celso Manuel conducted an interview to the accused-appellant two or
three meters away from the police station. The accused was accompanied by two police officers and
there is no lawyer that is present. The accused admitted again that he did the whole crime and
claimed that he used the victim to revenge on the victim’s parents.

III. ISSUE

Whether the confession of the accused is admissible or not

IV. INTERPRETATION

I. Failure of the court to take into account the confession made by the accused-appellant.
II. The court made a mistake in convicting the accused because the prosecution failed to prove his
guilt beyond reasonable doubt

V. Resolution

WHEREFORE, in light of all the foregoing, the Court hereby finds the accused, Bernardino Domantay
@ “Junior Otot” guilty beyond reasonable doubt with the crime of Rape with Homicide defined and
penalized under Article 335 of the Revised Penal Code in relation and as amended by Republic Act No.
7659 and accordingly, the Court hereby sentences him to suffer the penalty of death by lethal
injection, and to indemnify the heirs of the victim in the total amount of Four Hundred Eighty
Thousand Pesos (P480,000.00),and to pay the costs.