DENNIS ROLDAN PHOTO BY PEPS MANGUNAY
MANILA, Philippines–In what an anticrime group called a “benchmark” decision, the Pasig City Regional Trial Court (RTC) on Tuesday found former actor and ex-Congressman Dennis Roldan guilty of masterminding the kidnapping of a 3-year-old Chinese-Filipino boy in 2005.
After nine years of trial, Roldan—Mitchell Yap Gumabao, in real life—was sentenced to reclusion perpetua by Judge Rolando Mislang of the Pasig RTC.
Reclusion perpetua means life imprisonment, that is, the convict may be pardoned after serving a 30-year term.
The kidnapping occurred at Ortigas Center on Feb. 9, 2005.
Apart from Roldan, coaccused Rowena P. San Andres and Adrian C. Domingo were also found guilty and received the same sentence.
All three were ordered committed to the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa.
They were also ordered to jointly pay the victim P100,000 as civil indemnity, P100,000 as moral damages and P100,000 as exemplary damages.
Another coaccused, Octavio P. Garces, was acquitted on grounds of reasonable doubt.
Suzette Wang, Roldan’s alleged girlfriend who the prosecution said introduced the actor to the victim’s family, was ordered “archived.” She is at large and is believed to have fled the country.
Still another accused, Noel San Andres, died while the case was pending, according to court records.
5th judge
Mislang was the fifth judge assigned to the case. The four other judges had inhibited themselves, citing various reasons.
While the decision was being read, Roldan appeared stone-faced. Wearing a blue polo and jeans, he appeared in court without handcuffs.
He later told reporters he did not expect the verdict.
“I feel, of course, not happy because the decision was (unfavorable) to us,” he said, adding there were “many issues” not tackled in the decision.
“One of these is that the one who decided the case was not the one who heard the case,” he said.
Teresita Ang-See of Movement for Restoration of Peace and Order said: “The significance of this case is that it shows our victims that it pays to fight back. It doesn’t pay if you keep quiet.”
“Kidnapping will continue to be a perfect crime if you do not fight back, if you continue to just pay ransom, and you do not file cases … Roldan is a powerful figure with connections … (but) we have proven the case not just beyond reasonable doubt, but beyond any doubt,” Ang-See said.
The positive identification of Roldan by eyewitnesses led to his conviction, according to the court decision.
In a 26-page decision, Mislang found Roldan guilty beyond reasonable doubt. He said Roldan was not eligible for parole.
“It has also been held that even if the warrantless arrest was unlawful and the evidence obtained inadmissible, the conviction of accused (Roldan) would still be in order because he was positively identified by eyewitnesses,” the judge said.
The judge said Roldan’s positive identification by the victim “was a vital and decisive evidence which virtually sealed the accused’s culpability.”
Mislang canceled Roldan’s bail of P500,000 granted him in 2006.
The judge gave credence to the testimony of the boy, who testified in court and positively identified Roldan as the “big boss” who was seated in front of a van where he was brought after his kidnapping.
The judge also cited the boy’s testimony identifying San Andres as the woman staying with him in the safehouse where he was taken.
The judge also said one of the accused, Domingo, had been identified by the boy as the man who snatched him.
“These sufficiently and unquestionably prove that accused Domingo, San Andres and Gumabao [Roldan] were in conspiracy in the commission of the felony, as their acts, though separate, were in fact connected … thereby indicating a closeness of personal association and a concurrence of sentiment,” the judge said.
Free man
After four years spent in a detention unit at the Philippine National Police headquarters, the only accused acquitted on Tuesday is ready to go home.
As of Tuesday 5 p.m., Garces, a former chair of Barangay (village) East Kamias, was already being processed for release from the PNP Custodial Center in Camp Crame, said the center’s officer in charge, Supt. Peter Limbauan.
Garces was 50 years old when he was arrested for the kidnapping.
Limbauan said Garces was “happy” about the court’s decision, but declined to comment further pending Garces’ release.–With reports from Jaymee T. Gamil, PDI; and Nestor Corrales, INQUIRER.net
Originally posted: 5:36 pm | Tuesday, August 26th, 2014
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