Home 
Nor was there any defect in the informations when they merely averred that the victim was the youngest sister of appellant. We do not agree with the defense that in order for relationship to qualify in this case, it must be mentioned that the victim is a “ within the second degree of consanguinity.”
This is not a novel question. The same issue was addressed by the Court in People v. Sanchez. In the said case, appellant argued that he could not be meted the death penalty for raping his sister for failure of the information to allege that said private complainant was a “within the third civil degree of consanguinity.”
The Court struck down appellant’s argument in the following tenor: We have held in People v. Ferolino, that: “If the offender is merely a relation – not a parent, ascendant, stepparent, or guardian or common law spouse of the mother of the victim – it must be alleged in the information that he is a relative by consanguinity or affinity (as the case may be) within the civil degree. That relationship by consanguinity or affinity was not alleged in the informations in these cases. Even if it was, it was still necessary to further allege that such relationship was within the third civil degree.”
The present case is not within the contemplation of said ruling considering that in the Ferolino case, the victim is a niece of the offender while in the present case the victim is a sister of the offender. It was deemed necessary in the Ferolino case to require that it must be specifically alleged in the Information that the offender is “ relative by consanguinity or affinity (as the case may be) within the third civil degree” because we acknowledge the fact that there are niece-uncle relationships which are beyond the third civil degree, in which case, death penalty cannot be imposed on an accused found guilty of rape.
However, a sister-brother relationship is obviously in the second civil degree and no other sister-brother relationship exists in civil law that falls beyond the third civil degree.
Consequently, it is not necessary in this case that the Information should specifically state that the appellant is a relative by consanguinity within the third civil degree of the victim. This is an exception to the requirement enunciated in the Ferolino case. — People vs. Ceredon y Pagaran, G.R. No. 167179, Jan. 28, 2008 (To be continued)
