Woman faces kidnap raps in child custody battle with ex-husband

MANILA, Philippines - A woman is facing charges of “kidnapping and failure to return a minor” after she failed to return her eight-year-old son to her former husband based on a court-approved agreement.

In a resolution, dated Jan. 16, 2009, Quezon City Assistant Prosecutor Alfredo Agcaoili said Mary Pauline Javier had committed the crime charged by deliberately refusing to hand back the boy to his father. Assistant City Prosecutor Wilfredo Andres approved the resolution on the same day.

In his complaint, Arnell Cruz said he and Mary Pauline signed a compromise agreement for the support and custody of their son on Nov. 25, 2003, which the court approved on March 9, 2004.

They entered into the agreement before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court voided their marriage on June 28, 2005, according to the complaint.

The resolution said under Article 271 of the Revised Penal Code, when the father and the mother are living separately, and the custody of the child has been given to one of them, the other parent who takes the minor from the one having lawful custody of the child or induces him or her to leave his or her home is liable of the crime of kidnapping and failure to return a minor.

The resolution said Mary Pauline’s parents confirmed that their grandson has been with their daughter “for several months now, despite the subsisting judgment.”

The resolution said based on a court-approved 2004 compromise agreement, Arnell and Mary Pauline have joint custody of their son, alternately spending one week with each parent.

The resolution said Arnell had filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus to compel the family of Mary Pauline to produce their son.

“When the writ of habeas corpus was issued by the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City, Branch 225, Arnell attempted to serve it at the residence of Mary Pauline, but the house help told the special sheriff that they left early, so they went to the Bloomington Middle and Grade School in Caloocan City and tried to serve the writ there,” read the resolution.

The resolution said in the hearing on the return of the writ of habeas corpus on July 23, 2008, the Javiers, who were named as respondents, did not show up. They were represented by lawyer Ray Anthony Fajarito, who said he was just reporting that the writ of habeas corpus and the petition was received by Cecilia Javier, the mother of Mary Pauline.

The resolution said the following day, July 24, 2008, Arnell and the Special Sheriff Pedro Borja went to the boy’s school after coordinating with the Caloocan City Regional Trial Court to serve another writ of habeas corpus from the Quezon City Regional Trial Court.

“But the sheriff was told that (the boy) and the respondents did not go to school that day, so they went to the residence of respondents, and there the sheriff was told by Christian Jerome Javier that his sister and (the boy) were no longer residing there,” read the resolution.

In the same resolution, the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office dismissed the charges of qualified trespass to dwelling, grave threats, grave coercion and oral defamation filed against Arnell’s father, Armando Cruz, by Mary Pauline, her sister-in-law Nancy Javier, and her brother Christian Jerome for lack of probable cause. – Nestor Etolle