Back

People vs. Bon [DECISION]

PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES Appellee, vs. ALFREDO BON, Appellant.

G.R. No. 166401 [Formerly G.R. Nos. 158660-67] | 2006-10-30

D E C I S I O N
 
TINGA, J.:
 
Two critical issues emerge in this case. The first relates to whether the Court should affirm the conviction of appellant Alfredo Bon (appellant) for six counts of rape and two counts of attempted rape, the victims being his then-minor nieces. On that score, we affirm. As a consequence though, we are ultimately impelled to confront a question much broader in both scope and import. While the Court had previously declined to acknowledge the constitutional abolition of the death penalty through the 1987 Constitution,[1] we now find it necessary to determine whether the enactment of Republic Act...