Execution of two kidnappers pushed

As the lead agency against kidnap-for-ransom groups, the National Anti-Kidnapping Task Force (NAKTF) is pushing for the execution of two convicted kidnappers on Jan. 30.

NAKTF chief Angelo Reyes said the agency will not interfere in the scheduled executions of Roberto Lara and Roderick Licayan even with the recent arrest of two of their co-accused.

Lara and Licayan have been sentenced to die by lethal injection by a Marikina court after being found guilty of kidnapping a Chinese-Filipino businessman in 1998. Their death sentences have been affirmed by the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court, meanwhile, agreed to consider new evidence that could prove the innocence of Lara and Licayan. It set a hearing on Monday after the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) presented fresh evidence and called for the deferment of the executions, which would have been the first since 2000.

The court will consider the deferment request during the hearing.

NAKTF spokesman Lt. Col. Danilo Servando said Reyes had been "aggressively pushing" for the lifting of the moratorium on the implementation of the death penalty law until President Arroyo gave in to public clamor and ordered its reimplementation last month.

"The chief (of) NAKTF is aggressively pushing for the lifting of the moratorium on death penalty to curb kidnapping activities," he said.

Servando also downplayed the recent appeals made by the PAO for a stay in the executions. PAO cited the statements made by Pedro Mabansag and Nilo de los Reyes, two of the convicts’ co-accused who were arrested earlier this month.

PAO chief Persida Rueda-Acosta urged for a reopening of the case, pointing out that the courts should determine the degree of guilt of each of the accused.

She claimed both Mabansag and De los Reyes have cleared Lara and Licayan.

But Servando said it will now be up to the courts to decide whether there would be a stay in the execution because of the developments.

"The wheels of justice have started to turn. It will be up to the court to decide," he said.

In an effort to sustain the momentum in the fight against kidnapping, Servando said NAKTF will also release within the week a new list of 20 most wanted kidnappers in the country.

Servando said the new list also contains the corresponding warrants for their arrest pending before different courts in the country.

He added that each of those in the new hit list will also have corresponding cash rewards from P500,000 to P1 million for their capture.

"These posters are already for distribution. There are 20 kidnap-for-ransom personalities in this new wanted list and all of them have warrants of arrest," he said.

Following the neutralization of the Obeles kidnap-for-ransom group whose leader Dr. Roberto Obeles Yap was killed in Bataan last year and the arrest of other top known kidnappers, Servando said NAKTF is now updating the government hit list.

NAKTF initially came out with its most wanted with Yap topping the list with P1 million reward for his capture. Among the kidnap-for-ransom groups that have been neutralized were those of Allan Niegas who was arrested last Dec. 4 in Leyte, Vilmor Catamco of the Fajardo kidnap-for-ransom group on Dec. 2 in Masbate and Jose Lim Amuco last Dec. 15 in Iloilo.

Five of Niegas’ alleged cohorts in the kidnap-slay of Coca-Cola Export Corp. finance manager Betti Chua Sy were also arrested by NAKTF and local police authorities. One of the suspects, Maria Editha Demol, sister of the family driver of the Sys, surrendered to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) last Monday.

Demol admitted she was one of those who wrapped Sy’s body, but claimed she did not know the victim was already dead.

In a news conference at the NBI yesterday, one of the suspects, Baby Tamayo, was also presented and admitted her participation in the kidnapping of Sy.

NBI Director Reynaldo Wycoco said Tamayo surrendered to the NBI and expressed her willingness to identify the other suspects in the kidnap-slay case.

Wycoco said the kidnappers used Tamayo’s residence in Trece Martires City in Cavite as a safehouse where Sy was brought and killed.

Tamayo told Wycoco and Reyes during the news conference that it was at her residence where the gang hatched the plan to kidnap Sy.

On Nov. 17, the day when Sy was kidnapped, Tamayo claimed the group brought the already dead victim to her house.

She claimed the group stayed on until midnight and decided to dump Sy’s body at the seafront in Parañaque City the following day.

Despite Tamayo’s testimony, Wycoco said government prosecutors will still determine whether to make her a state witness if she is later proven to be the least guilty of the crime.

Reyes told the news conference that the mastermind in the kidnap-slay case remains at large. With the surrender of Tamayo, police now have seven of the 15 suspects under custody.

Meanwhile, Servando welcomed yesterday the unsolicited advice made by presidential candidate Sen. Panfilo Lacson to sustain the momentum against kidnap-for-ransom syndicates.

Lacson, the former national police chief, earlier commended NAKTF and the Philippine National Police (PNP) in its success in neutralizing kidnapping syndicates in recent years.

"It is a positive development. We welcome it," Servando said. - With Cecille Suerte Felipe