Teener, 16, gets 17 years for Bacolod doctor’s slay

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines – A teenager, one of the two suspects in the killing of a physician here, was sentenced to a maximum of 17 years in jail for the crime.

The 16-year-old male suspect, whose name was withheld for being a minor, was convicted for the killing of Dr. Andres Gumban, 63, in his house in Barangay Alijis here last May.

The suspects even videotaped the slay using their cell phone. The footage lasted for five minutes and 18 seconds.

In an eight-page decision read in a closed-door session on Tuesday, Regional Trial Court Branch 41 Judge Ray Alan Drilon sentenced the 16-year-old to a jail term of 10 to 17 years, and to pay P75,000 in civil indemnity.

Drilon said that given the voluntary plea of guilt entered by the minor during his arraignment last July 2 in the presence of his lawyer, Christine Umahag of the Public Attorney’s Office, and finding enough evidence of guilt against the accused, the court found him guilty beyond reasonable doubt.

However, since he is a minor, the sentence was immediately suspended in accordance with the provisions of Republic Act 9344 or the Juvenile Justice Welfare Act. 

The court set the disposition conference on the verdict against the minor, who hails from Cadiz City, on Jan. 13 next year, to specifically tackle the rehabilitation and reformation process for him at the Regional Youth Rehabilitation Center in Guimaras.

If the minor complies with the conditions in the disposition set by the court and the Department of Social Welfare and Development, there is a probability that he may regain his freedom instead of serving his sentence when he reaches 18.

Meanwhile, the judge scheduled the pre-trial hearing against the other suspect, Fof Pascual, 18, on March 18, 2013.

Autopsy showed that Gumban, a pulmonologist, sustained 35 stab wounds in different parts of his body.

The video recording made by Pascual and the minor, whom the doctor met through Facebook, was presented during the trial.