Ducat case filed in court

Businessman Armando "Jun" Ducat Jr. went on hunger strike last night after he was charged with 27 counts of serious illegal detention before the Manila regional trial court yesterday afternoon.

Ducat and Caezar Augusto Carbonell, who held hostage a bus full of schoolchildren last March 28, will remain detained at the Manila Police District (MPD).

Ducat had gone on a hunger strike to protest the government prosecutor’s resolution. He added that he leaves it up to Carbonell to join him.

According to reports, 100 residents of the Parola compound, where Ducat’s Musmos Daycare Center is located, will also go on a hunger strike in front of Manila City Hall. Should law enforcers disperse them, they will assemble at the daycare center instead.

Manila Chief City Prosecutor Jhosep Lopez said a panel of prosecutors, led by Assistant City Prosecutor Danilo Suarez, recommended the filing of serious illegal detention charges against Ducat and Carbonell for allegedly restraining the liberty of 26 kindergarten children and Marie Asuncion, who is the mother of one of the pupils at the daycare center.

They will also be charged with two counts of slight illegal detention for holding hostage a teacher Ronnie Rase and staff member Wilbert Voluntarioso. Serious illegal detention is a non-bailable offense.

Prosecutors also charged the two men with violation of Batas Pambansa 881, otherwise known as the Omnibus Election Code, since they were found in possession of an Uzi machine pistol and a .45 Colt caliber pistol, which is owned by Carbonell.

"Respondents Ducat and Carbonell are not authorized to possess the recovered Uzi pistol, ammunitions and two grenades per Certification of the Firearms and Explosives Division (FED) in Camp Crame," Suarez said.

However, Lopez said they dropped the charge of illegal possession of firearms, ammunition and explosives for lack of evidence. The two grenades, with no detonators and fillers were also not included because they were duds.

As for the child abuse charge filed by the Manila Social Welfare Department, the chief prosecutor said a prosecutor has yet to assess the merits of the case.

Since the parents of the children, the children themselves and teachers do not wish to pursue the charges against Ducat and Carbonell, Lopez said the MPD will stand as the complainant in the case.

"We are confident that the case would prosper in court even if we did not have the affidavits of the complainants. When we come to court, we would see to it that we will look for more evidence and ask people to testify for the prosecution. We would prepare more witnesses," Lopez said.

MPD officials Senior Inspector Edgar Reyes, Senior Police Officer 4 Fernando Cantillas, SPO3 Rogelio Carbonell, PO3 Jerry Campo, Superintendent Rogelio Rosales Jr., Superintendent Rodolfo Llorca, and Senior Inspector Jesus Respes "are competent persons to file criminal complaint against respondent," according to the prosecutors.

Suarez also cited that while the parents freely gave their consent to Ducat to bring the 26 children on a field trip to Tagaytay City, it became a case of serious illegal detention when Ducat allegedly instructed the bus driver Diogracias Bugarin to go back to the Bonifacio Shrine in Manila because they were supposed to pick up two local councilors.

"The consent of the parents ceased as respondent Ducat’s authority to take custody over the minor children ended. Hence, from then on the act of holding the children and teachers inside the bus clearly show that they were deprived of their liberty," he added.

Fewer than 100 supporters of Ducat and Carbonell staged a picket at the back of the Manila City Hall. Ducat’s daughter Irene cried after learning that her father would not be released from prison.

Ducat’s supporters blamed Manila Mayor Lito Atienza for allegedly pressuring the prosecutor’s office to recommend the filing of charges against them. They claimed that Ducat had done a lot for them while Atienza only made empty promises of offering free education for their children.

Meanwhile, Carbonell’s lawyer, William delos Santos, said they will just take their chances in court and refrain from filing any motion before the Department of Justice. Delos Santos claimed Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez had already prejudged the case by saying that Ducat and his client could even be charged with terrorism.