BY ZEA CAPISTRANO
DAVAO CITY – A regional trial court (RTC) in Taguig City sentenced seven persons to reclusion perpetua (up to 40 years imprisonment) for their role in the 2016 Roxas night market bombing here that left 17 people dead and 69 others wounded.
In its Facebook account, the city government of Davao posted the copy of the decision of Taguig RTC Branch 266 Judge Judge Marivic Vitor declaring the accused — TJ Tagabaya Macabalang, Wendel Apostol Facturan, Musali Mustapha, Jessy Vincent Guinto Original, Zack Haron Lopez, Jackson Mangulamas Usi, and Ausa Abdullah Mamasapano – “guilty beyond reasonable doubt for the complex crime of multiple murder and multiple attempted murder.”
Aside from the penalty of reclusion perpetua, the court ordered the accused to jointly pay damages to the families of the 15 dead victims and 69 injured victims.
However, all the accused were acquitted of the crime of terrorism under Section 3(f) of the Republic Act No. 9372 or the Human Security Act of 2007.
The court said the prosecution’s evidence failed to establish the third element of the crime, which is the “desire to coerce the government to give in to an unlawful demand.”
In a statement, Acting City Mayor Sebastian Z. Duterte said the city government “welcomes the conviction of individuals who perpetrated the September 2, 2016 deadly terror attack in Roxas Night Market.”
Duterte said the ruling “underscores the delivery of justice for the fatalities of the bomb attack, the survivors, their loved ones, the entire City of Davao and all the Dabawenyos who endured the impact of the said terror attack.”
“Four years after the grisly attack, we continue to mourn with the families of the victims and the survivors. Day in and day out, these families are constantly reminded of the horror brought by the bomb explosion to their lives,” he said.
Duterte added that “although the perpetrators were convicted as murderers, they would have been convicted as terrorists as well – if only the Philippines has a good anti-terror law.”
