2 meted death in killing of Rizal trader, 2 workers

For killing a gas station owner and his two employees five years ago, two holdup men were meted the death penalty by the Binangonan, Rizal regional trial court (RTC) yesterday.

Judge Silvino Pampilo Jr. of RTC Branch 67 also ordered the two convicts, George Marciales and Orly Nabia, to indemnify the families of businessman Felix Regencia and his workers Alexander Diaz and Byron Dimatulac the sum of P3,234,950 in total damages.

Regencia was the owner of the Caltex gasoline station in Barangay Tayuman, and Diaz and Dimatulac were his gas attendants.

Pampilo issued arrest warrants for the convicts’ two accomplices, Paul Pobre and a certain Jun, who remain at large.

Both Marciales and Nabia denied any role in the killing, but Pampilo dismissed their alibis.

"The positive, forthright declarations of the eyewitnesses outweighed the negative self-serving denials of the accused," said Pampilo in his 18-page decision.

Court records show that the four holdup men, armed with handguns, barged inside the gasoline station’s office at about 3:30 p.m. of June 22, 2000 and announced the heist.

After handing over P5,000 in earnings, Regencia and Diaz grappled for the holdup men’s guns.

Seeing the incident through the glass windows, Dimatulac rushed inside and tried to help Regencia and Diaz.

But Marciales managed to free himself from the three and fired at them, hitting them in the head and other parts of the body.

Two other gas attendants, Ronalyn Cruz and Relen Perez, testified that they saw Marciales standing some five meters away from them and looking at the gas station’s office prior to the robbery.

They said they ran for their safety to a nearby computer shop where they heard the gunshots.

After 15 minutes, Cruz and Perez rushed to their office and saw Regencia crawling toward the door. Diaz was already dead, while Dimatulac was still breathing.

Regencia and Dimatulac later died in the hospital.

Cruz and Perez claimed three of the holdup men fled toward Angono town, while the fourth escaped toward the Binangonan town proper.

Nabia was arrested while he was being treated for a gunshot wound at the Morong General Hospital. Marciales was nabbed a day later.