Bacolod woman gets 40 years for arson

MANILA, Philippines — A Bacolod City resident was sentenced to 40 years in prison for starting a fire on a two-story building and causing P8.8 million in damages 10 years ago. Online news site Visayan Daily Star (www.visayandailystar.com) reported Thursday that Bacolod judge Roberto Chiongson found Carla Novele Benedicto Garcia, 34, guilty of arson. Garcia, detained at the Bacolod City Jail in Handumanan village, was also ordered to compensate Carmelita Garde Tan, owner of the building, P7.812 million. She was also ordered to pay her landlords Cesar and Ma. Luisa Lao-as P1 million. The judge also ordered that the amount bear interest of 12 percent per year. But Garcia, after her sentencing, insisted she was denied justice. Court records showed Garcia set on fire a two-story semi-concrete building at the corner of BS Aquino Drive and Acacia Street in Villamonte, Bacolod City, on Sept. 4, 1998. Records showed Tan was the owner and Lao-as rented it. At the time Garcia was one of the boarders of the Lao-as couple. The couple rented the first floor of the building while Tan and her family lived on the second floor. Engineer Ceasar Lao-as testified that in the afternoon of Sept. 4, 1998, he saw Garcia acting strangely and showing signs of anger. He did not mind her because he was busy working, but when Garcia went to her room, he heard her throwing things around and called his wife to check on what was happening. He heard his wife shouting that Garcia was burning the house so he rushed to her room, Lao-as said. Lao-as said he saw Garcia standing beside her cabinet with the clothes in it burning. She was holding a lighted candle with a strange look on her face, and she was smiling, he said. Garcia was either intoxicated or on drugs at the time, he said. The fire spread quickly because of the wallpaper and the curtains in the room. He and his family lost everything they owned, Lao-as told the court. Ma. Luisa Lao-as also testified that she was informed by the other boarders that Garcia was sniffing drugs. She talked to the father of the accused, lawyer Carmelo Benedicto, who was the one paying for the rent of the room occupied by Garcia of her intention to ask her to leave, Mrs. Lao-as said. But Benedicto prevailed upon her to allow his daughter to stay in the meantime, she said. Garcia, who testified that she was married but separated, denied that she set the boarding house on fire and that she takes prohibited drugs. But she admitted that for several years she stayed in Cebu to avoid arrest because she had to take care of her daughter. The arson case was filed against her on February 1999 and she was arrested on May 24, 2006. "Jurisprudence teaches that flight is a strong indication of guilt," the judge said. Fire Officers Cornelio Silva and Julio Baldecasa, who were presented as expert witnesses, said their investigation traced the origin of the fire to a wooden cabinet in Garcia's room. They also cited testimonies of witnesses and evidence from the ashes that led them to conclude that Garcia deliberately set fire to the building. - GMANews.TV