Regional Trial Court Judge Pampio Abarrintos yesterday found Arnel (family name withheld) guilty of three counts of murder and sentenced him to a maximum of 42 years in jail.In his 17-page decision, Abarrintos also ordered Arnel to indemnify the family of the three victims with P50,000 each.
"Three innocent children did not deserve their untimely and gruesome deaths. Worse, the perpetrator of the crime, as the court now sees it, is but himself, a child. But sad as it is, the service of justice do not always come with happy endings for this court is now convinced and is morally certain of the guilt of the accused," Abarrintos wrote in his decision.
Arnel was accused of hacking to death sisters Gina and Dinalyn Sumayang, 6, and 7, respectively, and Limbran Sustioso, 5, on Nov. 10, 1999.
The victims were on their way into the woods in Sitio Patan-on, Barangay Busay to gather firewood, when they chanced upon Arnel, who was also about to gather firewood.
It was while they were out in the woods when Arnel, who was 13 years old then, hacked the three children several times with the bolo he was carrying to cut down branches.
Sustioso and Dinalyn sustained nine hack wounds on the head while Gina had 11.
Arnel claimed in his testimony that at that time, he heard a voice prodding him to kill Sustioso. He said Sustioso used to tease him a lot.
Arnel also admitted in court that he turned on the Sumayang sisters and killed them to silence them. He said the sisters told him that they would tell their parents that he killed Sustioso.
Arnel, however, pleaded insanity, saying that he had lost his senses at that time because of the torment he was suffering as a result of the "deafening voice" he was hearing at that time.
His lawyers argued that Arnel was "momentarily devoid of reason and control" when the crime was committed.
But psychologists at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center who conducted tests on Arnel said the accused is neither an imbecile nor insane.
Abarrintos in his decision said that the accused "acted with discernment" when he killed the three victims.
Presidential Decree 603 otherwise known as the Child and Youth Welfare Code, provides for the suspension of sentence and commitment of youthful offenders.
But Abarrintos said this law cannot apply in the case of the Busay killings, because the crime committed was a heinous one.
Presidential Decree 1179, states that PD 603 cannot be applied to a youthful offender who is convicted for an offense punishable by death or life imprisonment.
Abarrintos, in an interview with reporters, said that Arnel will be detained at the Department of Social Welfare and Development Center for minor offenders in Candabong, Argao. After a month, he will undergo a psychological examination to determine whether he can already be detained together with hardened criminals at the Bagong Buhay Rehabilitation Center. — Freeman News Service