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[G.R. No. UDK-13384.� October 18, 2004]
PEOPLE vs. BUNALADI
SECOND DIVISION
Gentlemen:
Quoted hereunder, for your information, is a resolution of this Court dated OCT 18 2004 .
G.R. No. UDK-13384 (The People of the Philippines vs. Rodolfo Bunaladi.)
Accused Rodolfo Bunaladi was charged with the crime of rape before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Malolos, Bulacan, Branch 13. The trial court rendered its Decision on 5 May 2004, convicting the accused and imposing upon him the penalty of death by lethal injection.
Accused timely filed a Motion for Reconsideration assailing the factual findings of the trial court, and at the same time praying that in the event the judgment of conviction is not set aside, the penalty of death be not imposed in view of the age of the accused who was more than seventy (70) years old at the time of rendition, of the trial court's judgment.
Pursuant to Article 47 of the Revised Penal Code, the trial court, in its Order dated 2 June 2004, partly reconsidered its decision and lowered the penalty from death to reclusion perpetua. In the same Order, the trial court also directed the transmittal of the records of the case to this Court "for automatic review."
The instant case deserves to be dismissed.
Section 3(d), Rule 122 of the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure provides that no notice of appeal is necessary in cases where the death penalty is imposed by the Regional Trial Court and that the same shall be automatically reviewed by the Supreme Court as provided in Section 10 thereof. [1] cralaw In this case, however, the penalty imposed by the trial court after reconsidering its decision is reclusion perpetua. Under Section 3(c) of Rule 122, an appeal to the Supreme Court in cases where the penalty imposed by the Regional Trial Court is reclusion perpetua is duly interposed by filing a notice of appeal.
A review of the records of the case shows that no notice of appeal was filed by the accused. Hence, the Court has not acquired jurisdiction over the case. Accordingly, the instant case is hereby ordered DISMISSED.
Very truly yours,
LUDICHI YASAY-NUNAG
Clerk of Court
(Sgd.) MA. LUISA L. LAUREA
Asst. Clerk of Court
Endnotes:
[1] cralaw See, however, the case of People v. Mateo, G.R. Nos. 147678-87, promulgated on 7 July 2004, mandating a review by the Court of Appeals of all criminal cases in which the penalty of death, reclusion perpetua or life imprisonment is imposed before the case is elevated to this Court.
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