2 ABB men get death for 1995 twin slay

Two alleged members of the urban hit squad Alex Boncayao Brigade (ABB) were sentenced yesterday to death by a Quezon City Regional Trial Court after they were found guilty of killing an 81-year-old executive of a fertilizer firm and his driver nine years ago.

Ruperto Lopez, 41, of Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City and Orlando Bondalian Jr., 39, of Balut, Tondo, Manila, were ordered by the court to pay the heirs of Leonardo Ty, an executive of the Union Hicari Fertilizer, the total amount of P600,000 each for moral and exemplary damages.

Judge Demetrio Macapagal Sr., of Branch 79 also ordered Lopez and Bondalian to pay the heirs of Nestor Encarnacio, 47, Ty’s driver, the same amount aside from the P1,620,000 in compensatory damages.

In a 28-page decision, Macapagal said the court found the testimony of witness Delea Villanueva, 66, cigarette and newspaper vendor, enough to convict the accused of two counts of murder for the killing of Ty and Encarnacio.

"The court finds the testimony of witness Villanueva to be credible, straightforward and convincing without any tinge of falsehood or sign of fabrication and unshaken on cross-examination by the defense counsels," Macapagal said in his decision.

Court records showed Villanueva was riding a passenger jeepney along Tandang Sora Avenue on Dec. 11, 1995 when he saw one of the suspects pulled out a gun and pointed at Encarnacio, driver of the blue Mercedes Benz owned Ty.

Records also showed that the three men, including Lopez and Bondalian, fired at Ty’s car while cohorts of the accused alighted from a passenger jeepney and peppered the vehicle with bullets.

The court gave credence to Villanueva’s testimony, who positively identified Lopez and Bondalian as among the suspects who repeatedly shot Ty and Encarnacio.