Court of Appeals affirms conviction of Tsinoy's kidnappers

MANILA, Philippines –  The Court of Appeals (CA) has affirmed the conviction of two men charged with kidnapping a Filipino-Chinese woman, an employee of a steel firm owned by her sibling, and her co-worker in 2004.

The CA’s fourth division upheld the sentence of reclusion perpetua – 20 to 40 years in jail – the Las Piñas Regional Trial Court Branch 275 imposed on Sandy Germinal and Reynaldo Badilla for kidnapping Josephine Chua and Ivy Balibag, employees of Ever Four Trading, on June 14, 2004.

Of the seven men convicted in the case, only Germinal and Badilla elevated the case to the CA. The Las Piñas court also found Maximo Altecin, Renato Igloria, Reynario Batis, Rudy Katangkatang, and Dioscoro Ranci guilty beyond reasonable doubt.

Germinal claimed he was an innocent bystander who happened to live right across the house where the victims were kept. Badilla said he was asked to drive for a fee, but he did not know he would be transporting kidnap victims.

The CA, in upholding the lower court’s ruling, said the victims were able to recount their ordeal, replete with details, that they could not have simply concocted.

According to court records, the two women were on their way to the company warehouse when a Mitsubishi L-300 van blocked their path on Capricon street in Pamplona Park subdivision.

Armed men forced them into the van and brought them to a safehouse owned by Katangkatang in Barangay Bigaa, Cabuyao Laguna. The kidnappers demanded P3 million for the release of the two women.

The two women were rescued after police officers arrested Badilla, who provided information that led to the arrest of the other kidnappers. The two women were held captive for 20 hours.

Katangkatang and Germinal were guarding the victims when they were arrested by members of the Police Anti-Crime Emergency Response, National Anti-Kidnapping Task Force, and city police.

However, while the lower court ordered the convicts to pay each of the victims P500,000 in moral damages, the CA reduced the amount to P200,000, based on prevailing jurisprudence.