Manila judge sends 7 men to death chamber

A Manila judge sentenced yesterday seven men accused of kidnapping to die by lethal injection after they were found guilty of abducting a 12-year-old Chinese boy and his maid seven years ago inside a Chinese temple in the Binondo district.

While still awaiting for President Arroyo to enact the law abolishing the death penalty , Judge Manuel Barros, of Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 54, meted the death penalty on kidnap-for-ransom gang leader Tranquilino Martinez, a real estate broker and a resident of Batasan Hills, Quezon City, and his cohorts Venancio Untalan, Christopher Baylon, Thea Po, Arcadio Marbit, Eduardo Delgado, and a Renato Corpuz.

Barros said that the sentence can be reduced to reclusion perpetua once the President signs the measure abolishing the death penalty before she leaves the country for her visit to the Vatican.

"In the light, however, of recent public reports that a bill was passed by Congress abolishing the death penalty and substituting it with reclusion perpetua without parole, but, which has not been approved into law by the President of the Philippines and, therefore, not legally operative, the sentence herein imposed shall be modified accordingly in the event of the subsequent approval and effectivity of that law," Barros said in his 14-page decision.

The eighth accused, Nestor or Begote, remains at large.

Four of the accused — Martinez, Untalan, Baylon and Po — were also found guilty of robbing the kidnap victim, a Grade 6 pupil, and his father, Domingo Ong, of valuables amounting to more than P13,000.

Those who committed robbery were sentenced to at least eight years in prison.

Untalan, who was accused of raping the 38-year-old maid, was acquitted of the charge on the grounds that "the victim" was not able to testify in court to substantiate that circumstance."

The promulgation was held at the New Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa City yesterday since one of the accused, Martinez, was already incarcerated at the maximum security prison after a Quezon City court found him guilty of committing another crime.

After hearing both sides of the KFR and robbery case and careful perusal of the facts, the court placed more credence on the statements and evidence presented by the prosecution.

The court ruled that the victim and his father pointed to and identified the accused as participants in the robbery and kidnapping as well as the nature and extent of their respective participation in their criminal conspiracy.

"All of them must, therefore, be held criminally responsible for the kidnapping committed. With respect to the robbery, only the four accused who actually participated in the unlawful taking shall be held liable," the court ruled.

Temple abduction

Court records showed that at around 3 p.m. of March 15, 1999, the accused Martinez, Untalan, Baylon and Po, armed with guns and bladed weapons, entered the premises of the Chinese temple Too Guan Tong located at the Ligaya Building on Alvarado street in Binondo, Manila.

Ong was the temple’s caretaker and treasurer, and from him, the accused took a wristwatch, two rings, a wallet containing P6,000. They took from the boy his wristwatch and P300 in cash.

The accused then hogtied the victims, including the maid.

They left the temple at around 2 a.m. the following day, taking along the boy and the maid.

For five days, the suspects transferred the victims from various safehouses reaching as far as Pacita Complex in Laguna.

Although there were instances when they boarded public vehicles, the boy was unable to seek help because the kidnappers threatened to kill his family if he resisted.

The boy’s parents called anti-crime crusader Teresita Ang-See, who advised them to report the incident to the now defunct Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF).

At the PAOCTF, police showed them the pictures of various suspects. From the photos they were able to point out Martinez, who had a pending warrant for his arrest.

The kidnappers had demanded P10 million for the release of the boy and the maid. After negotiations, the amount was reduced to P150,000.

The first payoff was scheduled on March 19, 1999 at 10 p.m. near the Baclaran Church.

The kidnappers did not show up.

They rescheduled their meeting for the following day at 7:30 p.m. at the Baclaran seaside.

The marked money was placed inside a white plastic bag.

Once the deal has been made, Martinez boarded a motorcycle driven by Delgado.

A police officer, also on board a motorcycle, blocked their get-away vehicle, causing the two suspects riding in tandem to lose their balance and fall on the pavement.

After their capture, the arrested suspects revealed the location of the two victims.

The PAOCTF rescued the maid in Barangay de Fuego, General Trias, Cavite, and conducted a follow-up operation in Barangay Tambo, Parañaque City, where they found the boy.