A LUCENA court yesterday sentenced three former police officers to double life imprisonment each for the march 2019 killing of the only son of the mayor of Sariaya, Quezon and his companion.
Convicted by Lucena RTC Branch 53 Presiding Judge Dennis Orendain were former Tayabas City police chief Col. Mark Joseph Laygo, Corporal Lonald Sumalping and Patrolman Roberto Legaspi.
They were indicted for killing Christian Gayeta, son of Sariaya Mayor Marcelo Gayeta, and his companion, Christopher Manalo, a worker in a funeral parlor owned by the Gayeta family in Sariaya.
The Gayeta family lawyer said the court sentenced the three former police officers to two life terms, one for each murder count.
“The sentence for each accused is life imprisonment. One case for the murder of Christan Gayeta and another for the killing of Christopher Manalo,” said lawyer Crisanto Buela. “They received two life sentences each.”
The elder Gayeta, who ran unopposed in the May 9, 2022 elections, welcomed the guilty verdict, saying his family has long waited for the court to render its decision.
“We waited for a long time for this development. I am happy even though my only son will not be returning to us that many lives were saved and my son was used as an instrument to finally put an end to the hideous acts of these former police officers,” he said.
Gayeta said he still does not know why his son and Manalo were killed, adding that although he is a politician, he has no enemies.
The accused said the younger Gayeta and Manalo engaged them in a firefight after they responded to reports of indiscriminate firing at a gasoline station in Tayabas City on March 14, 2019.
The police report tagged the victims as suspected gun-for-hires.
Gayeta sought the assistance of the National Bureau of Investigation to conduct a separate probe in the killings.
Investigation carried out by the NBI-Lucena office showed the two were already in police custody when they were killed, having been accosted earlier in a checkpoint.
The victims were apprehended after they were found to be carrying two pistols, violating the existing election gun ban.
Forensic examination showed the victims were shot at close range.
