SC affirms jail sentence on Gokongwei son-in-law's kidnappers

MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court on Monday affirmed the jail sentence meted on the kidnappers of tycoon John Gokongwei's son-in-law who was killed in a botched rescue operation by law enforcers in November 1997. In a 21-page decision penned by Associate Justice Dante Tinga, the SC’s Second Division denied the petition of the kidnappers of Ignacio Earl Ong seeking the reversal of the rulings of the Tanauan City, Batangas Regional Trial Court and the Court of Appeals finding them guilty of kidnapping for ransom with homicide and carnapping. The Batangas RTC earlier handed down a death sentence on accused Millano Muit, Sergio Pancho Jr., Rolando Dequillo, and Romeo Pancho, which the CA later commuted to reclusion perpetua with no eligibility to parole. Suspect Joseph Ferraer later on turned state witness while another suspect, Eduardo Hermano alias “Bobby Reyes," remained at large. In its ruling, the High Court said the accused all took active part in the criminal conspiracy and performed different roles to consummate their plan to kidnap Ong. Ong, married to Faith Gokongwei, was managing the family-owned ILO Construction Company in Lipa City at the time of the kidnapping. Ong, however, died after sustaining 10 gunshot wounds in the face and body, while four of his six kidnappers also got killed during an exchange of fire between Lipa City police officers and the suspects during a rescue operation. “All the appellants took active part in the criminal conspiracy and performed different roles to consummate their common plan. The roles which Muit and his other companions played in the actual abduction were described earlier. As for Dequillo, he was the one who procured the guns used by the group. Pancho, Jr. served as the driver of the back-up vehicle, and Romeo was the group’s informant," the Court ruled. The Supreme Court, however, reduced the amount of the civil indemnity meted on the accused to just P75,000 and moral damages to P500,000, as well as temperate damages of P25,000 and exemplary damages of P100,000 for the crime of kidnapping for ransom with homicide and P25,000 for the crime of carnapping. The SC gave weight on the testimony of several witnesses, including Ferraer and Roger Seraspe, Ong’s personal driver. Ferraer testified that while he was not directly involved in the act of kidnapping, he had consented, albeit hesitantly, to allow the suspects to use his house as a safehouse until such time that a ransom has been paid by their “visitor." Seraspe, for his part, positively identified the suspects as the ones who forcibly took Ong and the keys of the Pajero that was used as getaway vehicle. The SC said the extra judicial confessions of Pancho, Jr., Dequillo, and Muit strengthened the case against them. The Court likewise junked their claims that they were coerced and tortured into executing their extra judicial confessions, pointing out that they were assisted by their counsels. Thus they cannot simply disclaim any knowledge of the contents of their sworn statements, the Court added. “One of the indicia of voluntariness in the execution of appellants’ extra-judicial statements is that each contains many details and facts which the investigating officers could not have known and could not have supplied, without the knowledge and information given by appellants," said the SC. - GMANews.TV