This case has been cited 1 times or more.
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2001-06-21 |
YNARES-SANTIAGO, J. |
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| There is treachery if the attack was so sudden and unexpected that the deceased had no time to prepare for his defense.[29] When Lapot, Gabitan, Villaflor, Cerilles, the two other waitresses and the rest of the group were already in the pumpboat, they were suddenly fired upon by accused-appellants. Placed in that dangerous situation, their only means of escape was to be far from the reach of the bullets. The remaining immediate option was to move the pumpboat as fast as they can towards the sea. Those on board had no time to prepare for any defense or even to seek cover. Under these circumstances, the suddenness and severity of the attack constituted treachery.[30] It could not be reasonably said that the victims should have expected accused-appellant Tan to chase them after the latter left them outside the disco house. Moreover, from the point of view of accused-appellants - one of whom was standing on top of the firetruck while another was at the rear of the truck - they were in a more advantageous position considering that the fire truck was on a higher level than the pumpboat. The pumpboat had no hard covering from which Gabitan's group could hide and protect themselves from the burst of gunfire. Not even the sea would be a good shelter for the bullets can easily penetrate the water. | |||||