Wednesday, August 06, 2008 Victim maintains Roldan masterminded his kidnapping
A SIX-year-old kidnap victim who was a scion of a wealthy Chinese family on Tuesday "positively" identified former Quezon City congressman and action star Dennis Roldan as the mastermind behind his abduction more than three years ago.
During the resumption of the hearing of the kidnapping case before the sala of Judge Rodolfo Bonifacio of the Pasig Regional Trial Court (RTC)-Branch 159, the boy accompanied by his father approached Roldan before pointing at the former lawmaker as the "big boss" in the crime.
The victim, who was afraid at first, asked the judge if he can be accompanied by his father so that he can approach and identify Roldan before the court.
Aside from Roldan, the child was also able to identify Rowena San Andres, an alleged accomplice as the "bad mother" that he was referring to before the court.
The child likewise told the court that San Andres did "horrible" things to him.
"She (San Andres) asked me to step on the clothes. She also tapped the hat that I was wearing. She made me eat food without spoon and fork," the victim said.
When asked as to why he did not tell his family or the police about his kidnapping for the past years, the boy said: "I don't find it important."
But he answered as to why he now spoke before the court about the kidnapping.
"If I don't tell, the bad guys will be free," said the boy, adding that his father explained to him its importance.
Roldan, Mitchell Gumabao in real life, is out on bail. He was charged for allegedly masterminding the kidnapping of the victim - who was then three years old - in February 2005.
The kidnappers initially demanded at least P250 million in exchange for the boy's release, police said.
The boy was with his nanny, Shirley Gontine, when unidentified men on board a Honda CRV bearing license plate XDU-148 blocked their path and forcibly took the victim.
Before he shot to fame as an actor, Roldan played for the Gilbey's Gin team at the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) in the 1980s.
He was elected Quezon City councilor in 1988 and congressman of the city's third district in 1992. He ran for a second term in 1995 but lost to former environment secretary Michael Defensor.
But defense lawyer Orlando Salatandre Jr. argued that the victim can easily identify Roldan, who was seated alone in the corner, since he "outstand" all of those inside the courtroom.
Salatandre also capitalized on the fact that the boy could not remember most of the details during his abduction.
"We are not bothered by his testimony. We hope that the honorable judge will not favor his testimony. It has been three years since the kidnapping and we believe the 'selective memory' of the child only raised the suspicion that he was taught what to say before the court," Salatandre said in an interview outside the court.
"He could not even remember what he was wearing when he was kidnapped," he added.
The boy was accompanied by his father at the witness stand. But unlike his first time in the witness stand, the victim was confident to answer the questions that the lawyers were asking him.
During the hearing, the victim remained consistent when asked whether he remember the faces of his abductors, saying he remembered "clearly" their faces. The child also was able to recall sequence of the event during his kidnapping.
In an interview, Citizens Action Against Crime spokesperson Teresita Ang-See said the "consistent" testimony of the child during his cross-examination only proves that he is traumatized by the action the Roldan's group inflicted onto him.
"His consistency and the way he reacted when he approached Roldan only showed that the child, like any other child, can remember these kinds of trauma or instances despite his young age," Ang-See added.
It was the second time that the Filipino-Chinese victim pointed at Roldan as the mastermind in the kidnapping.
Tuesday's hearing lasted for more than an hour. (AH/Sunnex)
