May the accused, who is an adopted brother of the victim’s mother, be convicted of Qualified Sexual Assault:
In XXX257134 v. People[1], the Court modified the penalty imposed on the accused, who was convicted by the CA of the crime of Qualified Sexual Assault, ruling that, while the prosecution properly alleged the age of the victim and the his relationship to the accused, who was an adopted brother of the victim’s mother, their relationship was neither one of consanguinity or affinity, rather, the accused is the adoptive uncle of the victim. Considering that the adoption creates a relationship between the adopter and the adopted only, the qualifying circumstance of relationship is absent, thus:
“However, as regards Crim. Case No. 15-0427, there is a need to modify certain aspects of the CA ruling. First, it is well to point out that the CA found petitioner liable for Qualified Sexual Assault, due to the existence of the qualifying circumstance of minority (i.e. AAA257134 was just nine [9] years old when the crime occurred) and relationship (i.e. petitioner is AAA257134’s “uncle”). However, while such minority and relationship were indeed alleged in the information, a closer perusal of the records would readily show that their relationship is neither by consanguinity nor by affinity; rather, petitioner is a mere adoptive uncle of AAA257134. In Reyes v. Elquiero (Reyes), the Court, through Justice Samuel H. Gaerlan, held that “[t]he legal relationship created by adoption extends only to the adopter and the adoptee.” Reyes further reiterated the ruling in Teotico v. Del Van Chan, ehich declared that:
The relationship established by the adoption, however, is limtied to the adopting parent, and does not extend to his other relatives, except as expressly provided by law. Thus the adopted child cannot be considered as a relative of the ascendants and collaterals of the adopting parents, nor of the legitimate children which they may have after the adoption, except that the law imposes certain impidements to marriage by reason of adoption. Neither are the children of the adopted considered as descendants of the adopter. The relationship created is exclusively between the adopter and the adopted, and do not extend to the relatives of either. (Emphasis supplied)
In light of this, the qualifying circumstance of relationship between petitioner and AAA257134 is absent. As such, the Sexual Assault committed by petitioner against AAA257134 is not in its qualified form, but merely in its simple form.XX” (Citations omitted)
[1] XXX257134 v. People, G.R. No. 257134, February 6, 2023