Emotions ran high as the death verdict on Emmanuel Paulo of Sta. Cruz, Lubao, Pampanga, was read at the sala of Manila Judge Luis Arranz of Branch 11 of the Regional Trial Court.
The judge also ordered Paulo to indemnify the heirs of the victims a total of P125,000 in moral and exemplary damages.
"Thank you, Lord," Pacita Bedaña cried out with both arms raised and tears rolling down her cheeks.
She was thankful that justice has been served against the killer of her daughter Leonora Bedaña and her Taiwanese husband Chun Shien Chang last May 7, 1994.
Amid the cries of triumph, a brother of the convicted man shot back, "Walang kasalanan ang kapatid ko (My brother is innocent)!"
His outburst caught the ire of the victim’s male relatives with one even trying to hit Paulo.
Members of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) quickly intervened and escorted the convicted man out of harm’s way.
Arranz hit the gavel several times calling for silence and order at his sala which was jampacked with reporters, photographers, camera crews and kibitzers.
Court records revealed that Paulo, together with one Armando Villanueva and three others killed Bedaña and her foreigner husband during a robbery at the victim’s residence at Room 404 of the TSE and Sons Building on Mabini street in Malate, Manila.
Cherry Torres and Melrose Chicano – the friends of the victims – were also inside the victim’s unit. They, too were robbed of their belongings.
Torres testified that Paulo, Villanueva and three others arrived at 12 noon looking for Chang, 27, who worked as an agent for a recruiting firm.
When the accused failed to find Chang, Paulo and Villanueva hogtied and blindfolded Bedaña and the two women. They then waited until Chang arrived.
Later, a blindfolded Torres managed to untie herself and saw the couple in a pool of blood.
During police investigation, Torres and Chicano managed to identify Paulo and Villanueva from police photos. Paulo was later arrested in a police operation.
In his defense, Paulo denied any knowledge of the crime, claiming he was in Pampanga at that time with his father, who had just arrived from Guam.
However, the court found the testimony of the two surviving witnesses to be credible.
"The positive identification of the accused, when categorical and consistent and without ill motive, prevails over alibi and denial," Arranz said in his 26-page decision.