In a 37-page decision, Judge Benedicto Cobarde also ordered Maj. Rodolfo Bonanza to pay the family of victim Peter Garbo a total of P594,340 broken down as follows: P50,000 as indemnity, P24,500 for funeral expenses, P100,000 as moral damages and P419,840 representing Garbo’s lost income.
The judge ruled that Bo—nanza’s life sentence would not entitle him to parole. Cobarde anchored his decision on the testimonies of Garbo’s 16-year-old son Rommel and two taxi drivers, Lomeriano Sagomi and Virgincito Catapon, who witnessed the killing.
The three eyewitnesses positively identified Bonanza as the driver of a blue car with license plate GDR 137 who shot Garbo at the departure area of the airport’s parking lot in the morning of April 19, 1999.
Bonanza killed Garbo when the attendant ran after him for failing to pay the P10 parking fee.
Cobarde rejected the alibi of defense witnesses, who were all members of the military.
"The stick-togetherness of fighting men belonging to the same military group is common knowledge. Esprit de corps has always been a significant bond among military men, especially those in the officer corps," he said.
Cobarde said the defense failed to prove that it was physically impossible for Bonanza to have been at the crime scene.
But the prosecution successfully established that the office of Bonanza, where he allegedly had a meeting when Garbo was shot, was only about a five-minute ride to the crime scene.
Defense lawyer Democrito Barcenas said he will appeal the court’s decision after consultation with his client.
Garbo’s widow, Felisa, said she was not satisfied by the amount of damages the court has awarded them, but added that she was nevertheless happy that true justice prevailed.
She admitted that her family did not expect to win a conviction in the case because Bonanza was "powerful."
Airport general manager Alfonso Alerre welcomed the verdict, expressing hopes that Bonanza’s conviction would serve as a lesson for everybody, especially those whom he described as hot-tempered. — Freeman News Service