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PEOPLE vs Juan Gonzales Escote Jr and Victor Acuyan [SEPARATE OPINION, VITUG, J.]

PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. JUAN GONZALES ESCOTE, JR. @ Jun Mantika of Sta. Lucia, Angat, Bulacan and VICTOR ACUYAN y OCHOVILLOS @ Vic Arroyo of Sto. Ni?o, Poblacion, Bustos, Bulacan, accused-appellants.

G.R. No. 140756 | 2003-04-04

SEPARATE OPINION

VITUG, J.:

Should an attendant aggravating circumstance of treachery, exclusive to crimes against persons, be appreciated in the special complex crime of robbery with homicide which Article 294 of the Revised Penal Code categorizes as a crime against property? I humbly submit that it should not be appreciated.

A brief background. At past midnight on 28 September 1996, a Five Star passenger bus with plate No. ABS-793, bound for Bolinao from Manila, stopped at the Balintawak junction to pick up some passengers. Six passengers, among them victor Acuyan and Juan Gonzales Escote, boarded the bus. Escote seated...