Caloocan court sends 12 men to death row for kidnapping

Twelve members of the so-called "P50-million Gang," a notorious kidnap-for-ransom group, were sentenced to death yesterday for the abduction of a businessman almost three years ago.

A 13th member of the group, the wife of one of the convicts, was meted a life sentence by Caloocan Regional Trial Court Judge Ba-yani Rivera.

The 12 sentenced to die by lethal injection were Federico Cave, 53; Mamerto Obtenalla, 45; Generoso Nuevo, 42; Gerrydel Cave, 32; Sonny Castante, 28; James Bond Bucala, 28; Eddie Obtenalla, 28; Richard Ordañez, 26; Ernesto Cave, 45; Elmer Garcia, Freddie Colobong and Amadeo Prado.

Their leader, identified as a certain Amado Bucala, is still at large.

The gang earned its name because it always asked for a ransom of P50 million from families of its victims. The group is also known for keeping its victims in safehouses for periods stretching up to six months under dire conditions.

In his 27-page decision, Rivera said he found sufficient grounds to convict the accused of kidnapping and robbery.

Rivera ordered the group to pay victim Allan Co, then a 27-year-old businessman residing on F. Roxas street in Grace Park, Caloocan City, a total P2.6 million in damages.

Court records showed that Co was on his way to his garments factory in his To-yota RAV-4 at about 9:30 a.m. on Sept. 23, 1998 when his path was blocked by a blue Toyota Corolla.

Five armed men got off the car and demanded that Co step out of his vehicle. Two of the accused – Ordañez and Nuevo – allegedly hit Co on the head with a gun before dragging him into their car.

The men blindfolded Co and took him to a safehouse on Kansas street, Villa Sol Subdivision in Angeles City. They took his gold necklace and wallet containing P15,000 in cash.

As its usual practice, the group demanded P50 million from Co’s family, but Co’s relatives refused to pay up and instead sought the help of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) in rescuing the businessman.

The PAOCTF was able to rescue Co on Oct. 24, 1998 with the help of the information given by a certain Raymund Rivera, a teenager who was also abducted by the group and was released only after ransom was paid.

PAOCTF agents found Co chained like a dog to a window.

The 12 accused refused to admit their guilt during the trial and were even laughing and exchanging jokes when their sentence was read. They maintained innocence and claimed they were merely workers in the house of Bucala, the group’s alleged mastermind.

Bucala, who is known as Engineer Joven Corpuz, allegedly maintains at least two safehouses in Pampanga for kidnap victims.

Lolita Prado, wife of accused Amadeo Prado and believed to be the 13th member of the kidnap group, was teary eyed when she heard that she was spared from the death penalty.

She had told the court that she was merely doing household chores for the group and never participated in criminal activities.