Victim’s dad wants judge off Roldan case

The father of a three-year-old kidnap victim said yesterday he wants a Pasig judge to inhibit herself from handling the case of accused Dennis Roldan after she granted the former actor and congressman bail.

In a press conference in Manila, Roger Yu and support group Movement for Restoration of Peace and Order (MRPO) outlined the four courses of action they plan to take against Roldan and Judge Agnes Reyes-Carpio, of Branch 261 of the Pasig RTC.

Apart from filing a motion for Carpio to inhibit herself from the case, they will also a file a motion for reconsideration to reverse the decision then file a formal complaint with the court administrator or the Ombudsman over the blatant disregard for the rule of evidence and rule of law.

They will also request the Bureau of Immigration to uphold a hold departure order against Roldan and to take strict measures to prevent the former actor from fleeing the country.

In allowing Roldan to post P500,000 bail, Carpio said the prosecution failed to present clear and strong evidence against the accused.

However, the victim’s father said they were not supposed to present all their evidence against Roldan since it was only a bail hearing and not the trial proper. They were merely abiding by the directive of the judge, who repeatedly told them that they should give short statements for the bail hearing.

MRPO founder and adviser Teresita Ang See said the judge had assailed the prosecution for not providing corroboration and the details to implicate Roldan in the kidnapping.

"She tied the hands of the prosecutor so it could not present the details. We are all shocked and dismayed by the turn of events. We never expected the judge to make such a decision for Roldan to post bail. We proved beyond reasonable doubt that he was the mastermind in the kidnap," she said.

Yu said that when the case started, they decided to keep things quiet "para di malagyan ng kulay."

He noted that when his son saw Roldan on TV after the granting of bail last Tuesday, the boy said, "Daddy, bakit yung bad guy nasa TV? Di ba dapat ang bad guy nasa cage?"

Ang See noted that in one instance, the boy was present during the hearing.

"When the boy saw the suspects, he started cringing and crying. The father had to carry him out of the room. The judge saw this and yet she says that there is not enough proof," she said.

Yu said he was angry because the court placed more weight on the testimonies of Roldan’s two co-accused over those of seven arresting police officers, three of whom attested they saw Roldan in the kidnappers’ safehouse.

His wife Jenny, nanny and suspect-turned state witness Albert Pagdanganan also testified for the prosecution.

Other evidence submitted was the sim card from Roldan’s cell phone, which matched the number the kidnappers used to call the victim’s family to demand a P250-million ransom.

Yu said that while it has been 17 months since his son was abducted outside his school in Pasig, the boy has not completely recovered from the trauma. He is still undergoing therapy with a child psychologist and often suffers nightmares. He no longer goes to school, but they have hired a tutor for him. – With Non Alquitran