Carpenter gets 40-year jail term for murder

CEBU, Philippines - A carpenter was sentenced to suffer a penalty of 40-year imprisonment after he was found guilty of murder.

Regional Trial Court Branch 18 Judge Gilbert Moises also ordered Ardin Cadampog of Magay, Compostela to pay the heirs of Florencio Leonor Napolis the amount of P151,500 as civil indemnity, actual, moral, and exemplary damages.

In an 8-page decision promulgated yesterday, Moises found sufficient evidence to prove that Cadampog was guilty of killing Napolis in October 2008.

Alicia, wife of the victim and resident of Highway 77, Talamban, Cebu City, recalled that they were having dinner at 8 p.m. in her nephew’s house when her husband was shot dead.

Alicia said she saw the accused wearing dark jacket, short pants and bull cap running away from the crime scene after the shooting. Cadampog was allegedly mad at her husband after the latter uprooted his malunggay (horse radish) plant.

Alicia’s testimony was corroborated by at least two witnesses who saw Cadampog hurriedly left the crime scene. Mark Francis Enguito and Margie Tambagan’s description of the accused coincide with the testimony of Alicia.

The accused denied the charges claiming that he was in Magay, Compostela when the crime happened. He was arrested on November 3, 2008. (FREEMAN)