School guard gets life term for murder

HILONGOS, LEYTE , Philippines  – After eight years, the widow and family of an engineer and owner of a passenger van company in Leyte finally got justice after Regional Trial Court-branch 18 Judge Ephraim Abando sentenced the killer to life imprisonment.

Abando, in his decision issued last September 24, found the accused Isabelo Ladica Labin guilty of murder for the killing of Engr. Nello Laguna inside the campus of the Hilongos National Vocational School on July 12, 2004.

Labin, the school security guard, shot Laguna at close range, records of the case stated. Abando gave weight on the fact that the victim was unarmed and defenseless when the shooting incident occurred.

“Even the attack was frontal, the use of a gun was so sudden and so unexpected that the victim had no time for his defense, weaponless and put to near paralysis sitting inside the car …”, the decision said.

Laguna was shot several times inside his Honda CRV where he seeks refuge after a heated argument with Labin inside the school near the guard house. Witnesses said Labin accosted the victim for refusing to sign the visitor logbook and this started their heated argument.

Labin, with his unlicensed .38-caliber revolver, then chased Laguna who hurriedly went inside his parked car and frantically tried to close its window, but the guard inserted his gun through the half-closed window and fired several times, ignoring the victim’s plea not to shoot.

Autopsy report showed that the first bullet, of the total five, proved to be fatal as it hit the victim’s vital organs.

The court further ordered Labin to pay the heirs of Laguna with P2,618,400 representing lost earnings on top of P50,000 for moral damages, P115,000 in actual damages, P30,000 in exemplary damages and P50,000 more for civil indemnity.  (FREEMAN)