DAVAO CITY — She was crying Tuesday morning May 17, when Mrs. Lovella Maguad, mother of the two young children who were brutally murdered called this office to inform that today us the promulgation of judgment for the suspects in the killing of her children Crizzle Gwynn and Crizvlle Louis.
The Maguad children were brutally killed by their 16-year-old working student Kristine ( not her real name) inside their house on December 10, 2021 with another minor who acted as accomplice.
A very emotional mother shivered when I asked her if she was ready for the decision “I’d ben restless and sleepless for he last weeks, I don’t know how to feel as I am getting ready to hear the decision today.”
In a six-page decision rendered by Presiding Judge Alandrex Betoya of the Regional Trial Court Branch 16, in Kabacan. North Cotabato on May 17 the suspects who are still minors were sentenced up to a maximum of 31 years.
Betoya sentenced Kristine, the working student of the family who planned about the brutal murder , to a maximum of it 31 years and four days for the two counts of murder cases.
For the first murder case, Kristine was sentenced to a minimum of ten (10) years imprisonment to a maximum of 20 years of Reclusion Temporal and for her second murder case, she was sentenced to a minimum of ten (ten) years to a maximum of 14 years and eight (8) months of Prison Mayor.
While Kristine’s companion who is also a minor was sentenced up to 29 years for the two cases of murder.
If the court will maximized Kristine’s sentence she will stay inside a detention facility for 31 years while her companion will stay for 29 years for the double murder case.
The court decision noted, that the convicts cannot be given parole or pardon.
Given that the accused were minors during the commission of the crime, the decision cannot be rendered as Judge Betoya cited Section 46 of the Supreme Court Rules on Children in Conflict with the law will start serving their sentence when they reached 21 years old as reinforced in Section 38 of the Republic Act 9433 also known as the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006.
Because the respondents were minors, they will remain under the custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development until they reach the age of 21.
The Maguad couple waited for their turn to be accommodated inside the court as the judge needed to finish all the cases for the court to be clear during the promulgation.
In an interview with Newsline Mrs. Maguad said “I’m partly comfortable because the court sentenced the female perpetrator is Janice a minimum of eight years and a maximum of 31 years and the male Cañedo 21 to 37 years, for us though, as I said before even if what will be the judgment of the court will come with a decision it will not heal us.”
As of now temporarily the girl will stay at the DSWD until she reaches 18 and they will serve the sentence but she said it is still very painful.
The Maguad family in San Isidro Bagontapay in the town of Mlang North Cotabato was considered a model family. Their children Crizzle Gwynn and Crizvlle are honor students.
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But the once happy house is now empty after their working student, Kristine and another minor brutally killed their children.-Editha Z. Caduaya
