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[G.R. No. 137047.
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES vs. ALEJANDRE DE LOS SANTOS Y RENEGADO
En Banc
Gentlemen:
Quoted hereunder, for your information, is a resolution of the
Court dated
G.R. No. 137047 (People of the Philippines vs. Alejandre De Los em>Santos Y. Renegado )
Before the Court is a motion seeking reconsideration of our
decision dated
As ground for equitable relief, appellant claims that he had already reached the age of 72 upon the promulgation of the aforementioned decision, and, pursuant to Section 22 of RA 7659, the penalty of death upon him should have been reduced to reclusion perpetua.
In support of his claim, appellant submits Civil Registry Form No. IC issued by the Office of the Civil Registrar of Lupi, Camarines Sur verified by the Assistant Registrar Officer and Municipal Civil Registrar which contains:
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
We certify that the records of births filed in the archives of this
Office include those which were registered from 1931 to present. However, the records of births during the
period 1931 to FEBRUARY, 1948 were totally destroyed by GLOBAL
WAR/TYPHOON. Hence, we cannot issue
as requested a true transcription from the Register of Births or true copy of
the Certificate of Live Birth of ALEJANDRE DELOS SANTOS, who is alleged
to have been born on
We also certify that for every registered birth, this Office submits a copy of the Certificate of Live Birth to the Office of the Civil Registrar - General, National Statistics Office, R. Magsaysay Blvd., Sta. Mesa, Manila. In view of this, the interested party is hereby advised to make further verification in the archives of that office. [1] cralaw
Section 22 of RA 7659 amending Article 47 of the Revised Penal Code provides in part:
SEC. 22 Article 47 of the same Code is hereby amended to read as follows:
Art. 47. In what cases the death penalty shall not be imposed; Automatic Review of Death Penalty Cases. - The death penalty shall be imposed in all cases in which it must be imposed under existing laws except when the guilty person is below eighteen (18) years of age at the time of the commission of the crime or is more than seventy years of age or when upon appeal or automatic review of the case by the Supreme Court, the required majority vote is not obtained for the imposition of the death penalty, in which cases the penalty shall be reclusion perpetua.
xxx xxx xxx
True, the above provision prohibits the imposition of the death penalty when the guilty person is more than 70 years of age. [2] cralaw However, basic and well established is the rule that he who alleges a fact has the burden of substantiating his allegation by preponderance of evidence and any declaration or assertion not so substantiated is, at best, a self-serving statement or declaration which is inadmissible in evidence for being hearsay. [3] cralaw While appellant in this case claims to have been born on February 10, 1930, hence, 72 years old by the time the Court promulgated the October 15, 2002 decision sought to be reconsidered, the certification issued by the office of the civil registrar as to appellant's date of birth is not sufficient to substantiate said allegation and consequently cause the modification of the judgment imposing the death penalty. At best, said certification only proves that the records of births from 1931 to 1948 were destroyed.
Appellant was convicted for the rape of his own granddaughter who was then 12 years of age, a crime which warranted the imposition of the severest penalty of death.
After reviewing the records once more, the Court finds no reason to reverse or modify our previous judgment.
WHEREFORE, the instant motion is DENIED. This denial is FINAL.
Very truly yours,
LUZVIMINDA D. PUNO
Clerk of Court
(Sgd.) MA. LUISA D. VILLARAMA
Assistant Clerk of Court
Endnotes:
[1] cralaw Rollo, p. 144.
[2] cralaw People vs. Alcantara , 21 SCRA 906. [1967], People vs. Del Mundo , 114 SCRA 719 [1982].
[3] cralaw Victory Liner, Inc. vs. Court of Appeals, 293 SCRA 378 [1998].
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