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[G.R. No. 136861.January 23, 2001]

PEOPLE vs. BONIFACIO LOPEZ @ OPRING

EN BANC

Gentlemen:

Quoted hereunder, for your information is a resolution of this Court dated JAN 23 2001.

G.R. No. 136861(The People of the Philippines vs. Bonifacio Lopez y Marcella @ Opring .)

Before the Court is a motion seeking reconsideration of our decision dated November 15, 2000, which affirmed the judgment of conviction imposed upon accused-appellant, except for the award of mora1 and actual damages.

Accused-appellant posits that the requisites for appreciating treachery are:(1) the employment of means, methods, or forms of execution that give no opportunity to the victim to defend himself or to retaliate; and (2) the means, methods or forms of execution were deliberately and consciously adopted.Accused-appellant maintains that it has not been fully established that accused-appellant deliberately or consciously adopted the particular means of killing his victim. He thus submits that he should be held answerable only for homicide.

After another review of the record, we find no reason to reverse or modify our previous judgment.

The Court is convinced that the victim was treacherously attacked by accused-appellant. True, the victim was able to escape after the initial assault. However, the totality of the acts of accused-appellant were definitely treacherous. The victim was already defenseless when accused-appellant attacked her the second time. The use against the victim of a weapon, the dragging of the victim out of the jeepney, and the number of wounds inflicted on her despite her helpless condition and her pleas to be spared of any more attack, all demonstrate a conscious, deliberate, and determined assault with intent to kill. All in all, the manner in which the stabbing was done tended directly and specially to ensure the accomplishment of accused-appellant's purpose of killing the victim (People vs. Gatchalian, 300 SCRA 1 [1998]).

WHEREFORE, the instant motion is hereby DENIED. This denial is FINAL.

Very truly yours,

LUZVIMINDA D. PUNO
Clerk of Court

(Sgd.) MA. LUISA D. VILLARAMA

Asst. Clerk of Court

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