Remains of 3 kidnap victims unearthed

TANAUAN CITY, Batangas — Acting on information given by two arrested kidnapping suspects, police dug up yesterday the skeletal remains of a trader and his two aides who were abducted late last year, from an old, 26-foot deep well near a sugarcane plantation here.

The remains were said to belong to 66-year-old businessman Jesus Cabalza, his security escort Gilberto Hermano, 35, and driver Antonio Bebita, 50, who were snatched in Barangay San Vicente in Sto. Tomas town, also in Batangas, on Sept. 1 last year.

Also abducted along with the victims was Cabalza’s secretary, Regina Casipi. The kidnappers, however, later released her to relay their demand for a P30-million ransom to Cabalza’s family.

Director Nestorio Gualberto, chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, said the kidnappers later agreed to lower the ransom to P1 million and scheduled the payoff on Sept. 5.

However, Cabalza’s family, for unknown reasons, lost contact with the kidnappers. — Arnell Ozaeta, Rene Alviar and Jaime Laude