"It’s his third death sentence," said the branch clerk of court, who asked not to be named. "He was earlier found guilty in two other kidnapping cases by other courts."
The promulgation was read at the National Bilibid Prisons (NBP) in Muntinlupa because Pepino, an inmate at the maximum security detention center of the prisons, could not be brought out under NBP regulations.
The judge found him guilty of complicity in the abduction of Filipino-Chinese businesswoman Anita Ching, a travel agency operator, on Oct. 18, 1998 in Quezon City.
The victim and other witnesses had positively identified Pepino as among the 10 suspects who kidnapped her. Ching told the court that her family had paid a P500,000 ransom. The kidnappers had originally demanded P30 million for her freedom.
"Not having testified during trial, Pepino relied only on evidence assailing the legality of his arrest," said the judge in his nine-page order. "As against the positive identification made by the private complainant, the court is left with no option but to find him guilty as charged."
The judge ordered him to pay Ching P500,000 in actual damages and P50,000 in moral damages and other costs.
Pepino was arrested by National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents in Lahug, Cebu, City on Dec. 7, 1997. He accused the NBI of arresting him without an arrest warrant.
Two other suspects, Alfredo Pelenio and Daisy Balaan, were arrested a day earlier along Quirino Highway.
Pelenio subsequently escaped police custody and was gunned down in a shootout with police in Badian, Cebu province.
Balaan, who was charged as an accomplice, was released after posting bail. Nothing has been heard of her since then.