THE SUPREME Court (SC) has upheld the conviction of four members of a kidnap for ransom (KFR) group behind the abduction and murder of a physician and a retired military officer in 1998.
In a 12-page decision written by Senior Associate Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe dated Nov. 11 and made publicly available Wednesday, the SC Second Division affirmed the penalty of reclusion perpetua (up to 40 years imprisonment) against the suspects in the deaths of retired Major Igmedio Arcega and Dr. Eliezer Andres Sr. in July 1998.
Accused Zaldy Bernardo, Monroy Flores, and Mila Andres Galamay were found guilty of kidnapping for ransom with homicide and sentenced to suffer reclusion perpetua without eligibility of parole. They were also ordered to pay PHP300,000 in indemnities and damages to the family of Andres. On the other hand, accused Rogelio Antonio was found guilty of murder for the death of Arcega and likewise ordered to pay PHP275,000 to the victim's family.
The SC ordered that the case against another accused, Danny Cortez, be closed and terminated following his death during the pendency of the case.
The victims went to Sta. Lucia Mall in Cainta, Rizal on July 2, 1998 to separately meet with a group of people selling gold bars.
After Andres failed to return, his son informed Arcega that his father went missing and the two then went back to the mall to look for the missing man and sensed they were being followed by a group of men, which included some of the accused.
Unsuccessful in finding Andres, his son and Arcega went home. Maj. Arcega would later on go missing himself the next day.
The abductors of Andres eventually sent a PHP10 million ransom demand to his family. He was brought to Jalajala, Rizal and the abductors burned his car in Norzagaray, Bulacan.
Andres was later shot to death and his body was dumped in Mabitac, Laguna while Arcega's body was later discovered buried in a lot in Jalajala.
The ransom call was identified by the family as that of Galamay, who was a frequent visitor in Andres' household and had frequent transactions with the victim.
Meanwhile, the ransom was delivered by the family on July 4, at a bus terminal in España, Manila with the help of police and not knowing the victims were already dead.
Pursuit operations later led to the arrest of the accused in a house in Camarin, Caloocan City. (By Benjamin Pulta)
No comments:
Post a Comment