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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Quezon City court convicts 3 ex-soldiers, 4 others for kidnapping 78-year old businesswoman

Quezon City court convicts 3 ex-soldiers, 4 others for kidnapping 78-year old businesswoman

Published Jul 1, 2026 12:13 pm  |  Updated Jul 1, 2026 02:10 pm
Seven people, including three former soldiers, were sentenced to life imprisonment after a Quezon City court found them guilty in a kidnap-for-ransom case last year.
It took only nine months of trial when the trial ended and such fete is an indication of improved case build-up but strong coordination with the Department of Justice (DOJ) according to Gen. Jose Melencio C. Nartatez, Jr., chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP).
Seven of the arrested suspects were sentenced to reclusion perpetua by a Quezon City Court without the eligibility of a parole. Four others who served as aides and caretakers were acquitted for failure to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
“This case is proof not only of good planning and conduct of operations but also efficient case build-up. In just nine months, we were able to get the conviction of seven kidnappers, including the mastermind and former military men,” said Nartatez.
“The strong coordination between the PNP and the DOJ in running after criminal elements in this case is but concrete evidence of what we can achieve in maintaining peace and order through certainty of conviction of those who would dare break the law,” he added.
The victim, whose family was engaged in large-scale manufacturing business, was forcibly taken by armed men along C3 Road in Quezon City on September 2, last year. The kidnappers later asked for P150 million ransom for her family.
The family asked for police assistance and during that time, the kidnapping appeared to be a well-planned criminal activity that the police found a hard time identifying the perpetrators.
Police, however, tracked the movement of the kidnaping group who hid the victim in a secured place in Batangas. The rescue operation was faced with numerous challenges, particularly that the victim involved is already a 78-year old woman.
But the big opportunity came when the kidnappers brought the victim to a bank in Quezon City to withdraw P8 million. Police rescued the victim and arrested three suspects during the operation.
Eight more people, including former members of the military, were arrested in follow-up operations.

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