EVIDENCE OF MENTAL RETARDATION:

     People vs. Dalandas, G.R. No. 140209, December 27, 2002; People vs. Cartuano, G.R. No. 112457-58, March 29, 1996, does not preclude the presentation by the State of proof other than clinical evidence to establish the mental retardation of the victim. For sure, the courts are not entirely dependent on the results of clinical examinations in establishing mental retardation. In People vs. Almacin, G.R. No. 113253, February 19, 1999, for instance, the Court took into consideration the fact that the victim was illiterate and unschooled in concluding that she was mentally incapable of assenting to or dissenting from the sexual intercourse. Also, in People vs. Dumanon, (G.R. No. 123096, December 18, 2000), the High Court concurred in the trial court’s observation and conclusion that the victim was a mental retardate based on her physical appearance and on her difficulty to understand and answer the questions during her testimony. (People vs. Butiong, G.R. No. 168932, October 19, 2011, Bersamin, J.).