DOJ Sends Ex-talisay Mayor’s Son, 5 Others To Jail

The Department of Justice (DOJ) commended on Tuesday the Office of the City Prosecutor of Talisay City, Cebu for the conviction of a son of former Talisay City Mayor Socrates Fernandez and five other persons for two counts of slight illegal detention.

DOJ Secretary Emmanuel L. Caparas said that “prosecutors of the OCP-Talisay vigorously pursued the case as they did in other cases filed before them, and this should be emulated by other OCPs as well.”

Fernandez’ son Joavan and his co-accused were charged for abducting Osbert Abellana and his cousin, Winston, in August 2008 and depriving them of their liberty for about an hour.

Joavan had suspected the Abellanas of involvement in the loss of his father’s car’s spare tire.

In a 15-page ruling, the Cebu City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 6 sentenced Joavan, Benideck Gabasa, Mark Perez, Teodoro Ligaray and two minors to suffer the penalty of imprisonment of from nine years and four months to 16 years and five months for the kidnapping of Winston and from 12 years to 20 years for the abduction of Osbert.

Likewise, they were also ordered to pay, jointly and severally, Php100,000 to each of the Abellanas as moral damages, and Php50,000 to Osbert as exemplary damages.

However, the sentences of the two minors were suspended pursuant to Section 38 of Republic Act No. 9344, or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006. (PNA) SCS/PTR