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PEOPLE vs Eladio Viernes

PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, appellee, vs. ELADIO VIERNES y ILDEFONSO, appellant.

G.R. Nos. 136733-35 | 2001-12-13

D E C I S I O N

PANGANIBAN, J.:

Under the Rules of Court, a judgment of conviction in a criminal prosecution may be modified only upon motion of the accused. As a rule, the prosecution is prohibited from seeking, and the trial court from granting, a more severe penalty than that imposed in the original decision. This is especially true in a case in which the new and amended penalty imposed is death.

The Case

Before us is an appeal[1] from the April 6, 1998 Decision and the May 21, 1998 Order[2] of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Lipa City (Branch 12) in Criminal Case Nos. 0532-97, 0533-97 and 0534-97. The assailed Decision convicted...