16 charged for kidnapping

The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently filed charges before the Manila Regional Trial Court against 16 persons who allegedly abducted a Filipino-Chinese national two years ago in Tondo, Manila.

Only five of the alleged kidnappers are in police custody: Jose Villamor, Aaron Toribio, Danilo Perpetua, Jonathan Rinos, and Andres Vertudazo.

Villamor, Toribio and Perpetua are detained at the Quezon City Jail, while Rinos and Vertudazo are detained at the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in Leyte, respectively.

State Prosecutor Bernardo Parico denied bail for the five men in custody. The other alleged kidnappers – Nestor Urgel, Jaime Sabares, Noel Olazo, Cesar Gulle, Pablo Amago, Edgardo and Eduardo Castillo, Pablito Patlanog, and three other persons identified only as Rudy, Lito, and Lea, are still at large.

The kidnappers were alleged members of the Abuyo-Waray Waray kidnap-for-ransom group.

The victim, Jonathan Tiu, was abducted on Feb. 11, 2004 in Tondo, Manila and held him for two days. He was freed on Feb. 13, 2004 after his family paid P8 million.

Tiu, however, was able to identify at least five of his abductors – Vertudazo, Toribio, Sabares, Patlanog and Villamor. One of the respondents in the case reportedly surrendered on June 25, 2005 and gave a sworn statement to the authorities.