Dennis Roldan found guilty of kidnapping Fil-Chi boy in 2005

By AMANDA FERNANDEZ, GMA News

Published August 26, 2014 10:27am

(Updated 4:30 p.m.) A Pasig City regional trial court on Tuesday found actor and former Quezon City congressman Dennis Roldan and two other co-accused guilty of kidnapping a Filipino-Chinese boy in 2005.

Presiding Judge Rolando Mislang of Pasig City RTC Branch 167 ruled that Roldan, whose real name is Mitchell Gumabao, and two others were guilty of kidnapping then-three-year-old Kenshi Yu in 2005.

Roldan and his co-accused Rowena San Andres and Adrian Domingo were present at the hearing on Tuesday. The victim and his mother were not present during the promulgation.

The victim's father, meanwhile, passed away in an accident in 2008.

Dennis Roldan arrives at the Pasig RTC for the promulgation of verdict of his kidnapping case. @gmanews pic.twitter.com/xF2XQ7LQkv

— Amanda Fernandez (@MandeeFernandez) August 26, 2014

Roldan was sentenced to reclusion perpetua or at least 30 years in prison, and was ordered 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.

Roldan's other co-accused, Octavio Garces, was acquitted.

Another accused – Suzette Wang – remains at large while two more accused – Noel San Andres (husband of Rowena) and Romeo Orcajada – are both deceased.

After the hearing, Roldan, Rowena San Andres and Domingo were immediately brought to the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City.

While Roldan was out on bail, the three other respondents remained detained since their arrest in 2005.

In 2006, Roldan posted a P500,000 bond after a year of detention at the Pasig City jail.

He was arrested on Feb. 20, 2005 following a successful rescue of the kidnap victim in Quezon City’s Cubao district.

Will file appeal

Roldan's legal counsel, lawyer Orlando Salatandre Jr., said they will file a petition before the Court of Appeals.

Salatandre stressed that some "vital issues" were not included in the decision. "The testimony of the child, when he was first asked to identify the suspects, he was not able to identify [Roldan]..."

For his part, Roldan, who was accompanied by his wife and children, said he is confident that they would still be able to appeal the decision.

"This is just a beginning," he said. "Hindi pa naman tapos ang labanan, simula pa lang. Hindi naman matatapos ang buhay natin sa isang desisyon lang. Start tayo ulit. Hanggang may buhay, mag pag-asa."

He also questioned the "hasty" decision of the court since it was only assigned to Judge Mislang on March 26, 2014, after Judge Rowena Modesto San Pedro of Branch 158 inhibited herself from the case.

"Nag-hearing kami ng seven years e, tapos I just couldn't imagine na in one month, nabasa niya 'yung pinaghearingan namin, and nakapag-come up ng decision," he said.

In the course of the trial, four judges were forced to inhibit the case.

'Big Boss'

In February 2005, the three-year-old boy with his nanny were walking to school in Pasig City when they were allegedly approached by Noel San Andres and Domingo. The boy was then snatched by the suspects and carried to a white Honda CRV vehicle.

According to the group Movement for Restoration of Peace and Order, which has been helping the Yu family in the case, the suspects demanded P250 million as ransom, but lowered it to P10 million after the victim's mother, Jennie, pleaded to them.

The group claimed the amount would have been used to pay the $2 million Gumabao and Wang lost while gambling in Las Vegas.

The boy was eventually rescued from a safehouse in Quezon City on February 20, arresting the suspects, except for Wang.

In April 2005, the Department of Justice's state prosecutor filed before the Pasig RTC kidnapping charges, a non-bailable case, against Roldan.

However, a year after his arrest, Roldan was allowed by Pasig RTC Branch 261's Judge Agnes Reyes Carpio to post P500,000 bail in July 2006.

On April 14, 2008, Kenshi, appeared before the court and identified Roldan as the "big boss" who kidnapped him.

On August 5, 2008, Kenshi once again pointed to Roldan after lawyers of the prosecution asked him to identify the leaders of the kidnappers.

During the cross examination, the boy was asked who taught him to call Roldan "big boss," and he answered: "I thought of it myself."

In an interview before the hearing on Tuesday, MRPO's Joan Orendain said the Yu family did not attend the promulgation due to fear for their safety.

'Stop kidnapping'

At a press conference, the MRPO lauded the court decision.

"MRPO is very happy today for the success of the Yu case. The Yu victory is the victory of all kidnap for ransom cases,"Ka Kuen Chua, MRPO chairman.

"We want to support for all the victims to come out in fighting this fight and to restore order," he added.

For her part, MRPO's founding chairperson Teresita Ang See called for the other victims of kidnapping to come out and report to authorities.

"Kaya takot ang victims dahil after nila maggastos and lahat lahat, paano kung maimpluwensyahan, sinasabi namin, the criminal justice system has its flaws, but it is the only one we have. Kaya magtulungan tayo para mapahusay at mapaayos..." she said, noting that there have been 16 reported cases of kidnapping since the start of 2014.

"Malaking pampalubag loob ito, benchmark namin ito, Dennis Roldan is a powerful figure with connections," she added. "It pays to fight back, it will continue to become a perfect crime if you do not fight back." — KG/RSJ, GMA News

Tags: dennisroldan, kidnapforransom, kidnapping