By Jeffrey Damicog
The Court of Appeals (CA) has upheld the conviction of former Quezon City Rep. and actor Dennis Roldan over the 2005 kidnapping-for-ransom case of a Filipino-Chinese boy.
(PIXABAY / MANILA BULLETIN)
The CA 14th Division has issued a decision which turned down the appeal of Roldan, whose real name is Mitchell Gumabao, to reverse the August 26, 2014 ruling of the Pasig City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 167.
“Verily, this Court agrees with the court a quo that the prosecution was able to prove beyond reasonable doubt the guilt of the accused through testimonial and documentary evidence,” read the CA decision penned by Associate Justice Ronaldo Roberto Martin and concurred by Associate Justices Ricardo Rosario and Eduardo Peralta.
“Findings of fact of trial courts are entitled to great respect and are binding on the Supreme Court in the absence of showing bias, partiality, or grave abuse of discretion on the part of the trial judge, the trial court’s evaluation of the credibility of witnesses will not be disturbed on appeal,” it pointed out.
The appellate court also cited “appellant failed to raise any significant error as to the factual findings of the trial court.”
“Appellant merely tried to fault the court a quo for considering only certain pieces of evidence which were found by this Court to be competent evidence while rejecting some parts thereof,” the CA said.
“However, as aforestated, there is nothing intrinsically wrong with this. Hence, the decision of the court a quo based on the evidence offered to it is binding, legal, and within its jurisdiction to issue,” it added.
Pasig RTC Presiding Judge Rolando Mislang had found Roldan guilty along with his co-accused for the crime of kidnapping Kenshi Yu who was just then 3 years old when the incident took place in 2005.
The RTC sentenced Roldan to reclusion perpetua or at least 30 years in prison as well as was ordered him to pay P100,000 in civil indemnity, P100,000 for moral damages and another P100,000 for exemplary damages to the family of the kidnap victim.
The victim was with his nanny on their way to school in Pasig City when he got snatched on February 9, 2005.
The suspects demanded P250 million as ransom but was lowered to P10 million following a plea from the victim's mother, Jennie.
Fortunately, a team from the Philippine National Police-Anti-Crime Emergency Response (PNP-PACER) managed to rescue the victim from a safehouse in Quezon City on February 20, 2005
(PIXABAY / MANILA BULLETIN)
The CA 14th Division has issued a decision which turned down the appeal of Roldan, whose real name is Mitchell Gumabao, to reverse the August 26, 2014 ruling of the Pasig City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 167.
“Verily, this Court agrees with the court a quo that the prosecution was able to prove beyond reasonable doubt the guilt of the accused through testimonial and documentary evidence,” read the CA decision penned by Associate Justice Ronaldo Roberto Martin and concurred by Associate Justices Ricardo Rosario and Eduardo Peralta.
“Findings of fact of trial courts are entitled to great respect and are binding on the Supreme Court in the absence of showing bias, partiality, or grave abuse of discretion on the part of the trial judge, the trial court’s evaluation of the credibility of witnesses will not be disturbed on appeal,” it pointed out.
The appellate court also cited “appellant failed to raise any significant error as to the factual findings of the trial court.”
“Appellant merely tried to fault the court a quo for considering only certain pieces of evidence which were found by this Court to be competent evidence while rejecting some parts thereof,” the CA said.
“However, as aforestated, there is nothing intrinsically wrong with this. Hence, the decision of the court a quo based on the evidence offered to it is binding, legal, and within its jurisdiction to issue,” it added.
Pasig RTC Presiding Judge Rolando Mislang had found Roldan guilty along with his co-accused for the crime of kidnapping Kenshi Yu who was just then 3 years old when the incident took place in 2005.
The RTC sentenced Roldan to reclusion perpetua or at least 30 years in prison as well as was ordered him to pay P100,000 in civil indemnity, P100,000 for moral damages and another P100,000 for exemplary damages to the family of the kidnap victim.
The victim was with his nanny on their way to school in Pasig City when he got snatched on February 9, 2005.
The suspects demanded P250 million as ransom but was lowered to P10 million following a plea from the victim's mother, Jennie.
Fortunately, a team from the Philippine National Police-Anti-Crime Emergency Response (PNP-PACER) managed to rescue the victim from a safehouse in Quezon City on February 20, 2005