FROM HATER'S TO LOVER'S B2(SANDRO MARCOS)

chapter 51

London:

In the court:

The secretary read the testimony!

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[ GR No. L-27352, Oct 31, 1969 ] MARCOS FAMILY  v. ELAINE JONES +
DECISION
140 Phil. 610

PER CURIAM:

Automatic review of the decision of the Court of First Instance of Rizal (Crim. Case No. 13526) convicting therein accused Ruben Ablaza for kidnapping and serious illegal detention and sentencing him to the supreme penalty of death with all the accessory penalties set by law.

In an information filed in the Court of First Instance of ilocos Norte hospital elaine Jones  John Doe and Peter Doe were accused of the crime of kidnapping with serious illegal detention, said to have been committed as follows:

"That on or about the 22nd day of March 2018, in the municipality of Makati, province of Rizal, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, being then private individuals, conspiring, and confederating together and mutually helping and aiding one another, did then and there willfully, unlawfully and feloniously kidnap take and carry away and detain one ALEXANDRA EL MARCOS. a female 20 years of age, against her will and consent.
"Contrary to law, with the aggravating circumstance of the use of motor vehicle."
The prosecution, through its lone witness, complainant ALEXANDRA EL MARCOS tried to establish that in November, 2018 accused  jones forcibly took her from her aunt's place in Caloocan City and brought her to a house in a barrio in Hagonoy, Bulacan, where she was criminally abused by her abductor.  After her rescue by the Philippine Constabulary men, a criminal case for forcible abduction with rape was filed against Ablaza in the Court of First Instance of Bulacan.

On 22 March 2018, and while that case in Bulacan was still pending, alexandria el Marcos.who was sweeping the front of her aunt's house in Makati, Rizal, was again grabbed by two men and forcibly taken to a taxicab where a third man, who turned out to be Ablaza, was waiting.  Then the vehicle sped away before anybody could come to the aid of the struggling girl.  Inside the cab, Annabelle was seated at the rear between Ablaza and a companion; her head was pressed down to the floor of the taxi, with Ablaza covering her mouth with his hand to prevent her from crying out for help.  She was first brought to the house of Ablaza's compadre in Caloocan, but then, informed that the police were already in their pursuit, she was moved to the house of another compadre, where she was kept for a week.  Later, at the instance of Ablaza, Annabelle was taken to Bulacan to ask that the complaint against him be dropped.  This did not materialize, because when they were inside the Malolos municipal building Annabelle's uncle, in company of Constabulary men, came and took her.  She also testified that for the duration of her detention the accused and his compadres were always guarding her to prevent her escape.[1]

For the defense, only accused Ruben Ablaza took the witness stand, and gave an entirely different version of the incident.  According to this accused, in 1962, he and complainant Annabelle Huggins were sweethearts; that as Annabelle was complaining of being maltreated by her aunt, they decided to elope, which they did in November, 1962.  He and Annabelle stayed in the house of his uncle in Hagonoy, Bulacan, where they were later found by the police authorities.  Thereafter, he was charged for abduction with rape before the Court of First Instance of Bulacan.

Sometime in March 1963, he received a letter from Annabelle asking him to get her from her aunt's residence in Makati, Rizal (Exhibit "1").  The accused took a taxicab and went to the place indicated in the letter, and there he saw Annabelle; that, at his call, she came near and entered the cab with him; that they agreed to get married, but upon complainant's suggestion, they first went to Malolos so she could drop the case against him; that when they were in the municipal building, however, the Philippine Constabulary men and the aunt arrived and Annabelle changed her mind.  With the above testimonies, both parties rested their cases.