7 get life for kidnap of businesswoman

MANILA, Philippines — After nine months of trial, seven of the 11 suspects in the kidnapping of a 78-year-old businesswoman were convicted yesterday by a Quezon City court.

The Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 225 found the seven kidnappers, including the mastermind, guilty beyond reasonable doubt and sentenced them to life in prison without eligibility for parole.

They were ordered to pay the victim P300,000 each in civil, moral and exemplary damages, with six percent interest per annum from the time of finality of the court decision until fully paid.

The court acquitted four other suspects and ordered their release from the QC-Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) announced the conviction, but withheld the names of those convicted, for unclear reasons.

Three of the suspects were former military men: two Marines and an Army soldier.

Court records showed that the businesswoman, who was engaged in the manufacture of industrial goods along C3 Road in Quezon City, was kidnapped after leaving her office on Sept. 2, 2025.

According to police, the kidnappers demanded P150 million in ransom from the victim’s family and held her captive for nine days in Laurel, Batangas.

The kidnappers brought the victim to a bank in Quezon City to withdraw P8.1 million from her account on Sept. 11 last year.

Police rescued the victim in the bank and arrested three of the suspects during the operation.

Brig. Gen. Edwin Balles, acting director of the PNP Anti-Kidnapping Group, welcomed the development as “iconic” with the synergy among authorities, the victim’s family and other stakeholders.

Teresita Ang-See, founding chair of the civil society group Movement for Restoration of Peace and Order, said the swift court ruling would encourage more victims to report crimes and cooperate with authorities.

“Our justice system will succeed if we cooperate and nothing will happen if no one reports,” Ang-See said.