Sorority sister recalls Eileen Sarmenta’s last moments with friends

For Eileen Sarmenta's closest friends, the planned release by the Bureau of Corrections of convicted rapist and killer former Calauan, Laguna Mayor Antonio Sanchez brought back to mind details of her last happy moments with them and the horror they felt when they saw her remains.

One of them, a sorority sister in UP's Sigma Delta Phi, recalled in a friends-only Facebook post their last conversation before that fateful night in June 1993.

"Nasa akin pa 'yung panyo mo, naiwan sa meeting. Tomorrow ko na lang balik," the friend quoted Eileen as saying before she left the restaurant, a popular hangout for UP Los Baños students at that time.

The friend said it was the same handkerchief that was used to gag Eileen during her ordeal and which was still on her mouth when her body was seen the following day.

She asked that her name be withheld in this report for security concerns.

"Eileen Sarmenta was not just a sorority sister. She was my setmate, my batchmate, my friend. She was an active member of our sorority. She was an officer. She's a very sweet, kindhearted person," she said.

"Mabait na anak, kapatid, kaibigan. There's always that calmness in her sweet voice. That even if she tells you, pikon or galit na ko, hindi ka maniniwala," she added.

"There are things in life that we'd rather forget, we forgive and we move on for our own peace of mind. But that night... that last night... that last conversation... the series of events leading to how we found Eileen's body...the trial that proved that Sanchez and his men were guilty... sentenced to seven life terms," the friend said.

"This gruesome double murder-rape case of Sanchez and his cohorts, it's definitely not one of those things. After 26 years, we can't just forget. We will never forget. We can't just let this murderer and rapist go back to his family and enjoy the rest of his life," she added.

Court records showed that Eileen and fraternity brother Allan Gomez of the Upsilon Sigma Phi were abducted at the Agrix compound by Sanchez's men.

They were taken to Sanchez's house where she was raped and Gomez beaten up.

Eileen was later raped by Sanchez's cohorts before she was shot and killed. Gomez's body was recovered separately the day after.

Sanchez last week said that his release order had already been signed. He indicated that his release was already a done deal until it broke in the media.

He said he was no longer included in the New Bilibid Prison's food rations.

Sanchez's release, as well as the processing of good conduct time allowances of inmates, have since been suspended after he almost left the penitentiary credited with fully serving his seven life sentences in just over 20 years.

It seems Eileen and Allan weren't Sanchez's only victims.

"We were just young students, enjoying campus life in UPLB while school was not yet busy. But because of this monster and his policemen, UPLB community was never the same again," Eileen's friend said. —NB, GMA News