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Thursday, November 18, 2004
2 brothers, one a minor, face 110 years in jail
By Raquel C. Bagnol
DAVAO CITY -- Two brothers accused of bludgeoning to death four people in Matina in Davao City escaped the death penalty after they owned up to the crime in exchange for a plea bargain.
The Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Davao City Wednesday granted the suspects' plea to reduce the four counts of murder charges filed against them to homicide.
But the suspects, according to a government prosecutor, will bid goodbye to their freedom and spend a total of 110 and 72 years, respectively, in jail for killing four people and wounding three others in Matina, Davao City in September.
Chemuel, 21, and his 16-year-old brother (full names withheld because one is a minor), aided by public lawyer Lope Calio, formally admitted on Wednesday before the sala of Judge Wenceslao Ibabao of RTC Branch 33 their guilt in exchange for a lower penalty.
Government prosecutor Jose Garcia Jr., in an interview, said the plea-bargaining agreement was not opposed by relatives of the victims and the prosecution panel.
The admission prompted Ibabao to lower the charges from four counts of murder, three counts of frustrated murder and theft to four counts of homicide, three counts of frustrated homicide and theft.
Garcia said Ibabao sets the judgment of the brothers on November 22 for the eight separate cases where Chemuel will be convicted to a total of 110 years imprisonment and his brother to 72 years in jail.
Garcia said the younger suspect's conviction will be suspended and he will spend time at the Regional Rehabilitation Center for Youth (RRCY) until he reaches the age of 21.
During the court proceedings, the items reportedly stolen by the suspects, including cash, cellphones and other valuables, were returned to the complainants.
Earlier, the City Prosecutor's Office (CPO) amended the murder cases against the two brothers.
Garcia said they already amended the original resolution and inserted the word "premeditation" in the complaint sheet against the two brothers after a new witness surfaced claiming that the crime was planned.
Garcia said putting the word "premeditation" in the complaint sheet makes the charges against the two brothers stronger.
Results from the Philippine National Police (PNP) Crime Laboratory 11 showed the suspects were not under the influence of illegal drugs when they allegedly killed 55-year-old Diosdado Lacorte, his wife Evelyn, 48; son-in-law Julius Villarmia, 21, and grandson Kenneth, 9, at Matina, Davao City on September 11.
The brothers also attacked Diosdado's daughter Grace Lacorte-Hashiogochi; her Japanese husband Tamutso; and Julius' daughter Maria Carmela Beatriz, 3, but the three luckily survived.
The two brothers were arrested at their grandfather's house in Barangay Calumpang in General Santos City two days after the incident.
(November 18, 2004 issue)
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