The Court of Appeals has modified the sentence imposed by the Pasay City Regional Trial Court against a former vice mayor of a town in Cavite and four others for the kidnapping and murder of a businessman and his driver in 2008.
In 46-page decision, the CA’s Special Fourteenth Division, through Associate Justice Elihu Ybanez, ruled that instead of reclusion perpetua—which has a fixed duration of 20 years and one day to 40 years—the convicts should suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua without eligibility for parole.
The CA stressed that former Dasmariñas Vice Mayor Victor Caruncong, former commanding officer of the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force in Fort Sto. Domingo Chief Insp. Exequiel Cautiver, Mariano de Leon alias “Spider” and Alejandro Entrolizo should have been sentenced to death had not it not been for the passage of law prohibiting capital punishment.
In the same ruling, the CA exonerated Cautiver’s wife, Chief Insp. Penelope Cautiver, and directed the Superintendent of the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City to release her from custody unless she is being held for some other lawful cause.
“On the other hand, we find appellant Penelope’s participation in the crime not adequately proved with moral certainty. There was no evidence that she had conspired with the malefactors, nor that she actually participated in the commission of the crime,” the CA held.
The five accused were earlier found guilty by Pasay RTC Judge Eugenio Dela Cruz of Branch 117 of kidnapping Demosthenes Cañete, a businessman and retired pilot of the Philippine Airlines, and his driver Allan Garay.
They sought P20 million in ransom and threatened to kill the victims if their demand is not met.
Despite payment of ransom, the accused killed the victims during captivity.
Cañete’s body was found in Porac, Pampanga while Garay’s body was recovered in Valenzuela.
The appellate court also ordered the appellants to jointly pay the heirs of Cañete P100,000 as civil indemnity, P100,000 as moral damages, and P100,000 as exemplary damages, in addition to the P425,670.57 actual damages imposed by the trial court for the burial expenses of the victim.
“All the monetary awards shall earn an interest at the legal rate of six percent per annum from the date of finality of the court’s decision until fully paid,” the CA said.