Quezon city: The Court of Appeals (CA) has dismissed a petition seeking to overturn the acquittal of three individuals charged with grave coercion related to a corporate dispute scuffle at Stradcom Corporation.
According to Philippines News Agency, the appellate court's 14th Division, in a decision dated July 31 and recently published online, upheld the decision of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 92. This decision acquitted three individuals accused of the forcible takeover of Stradcom's compound at the Land Transportation Office Main Compound in East Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City, in December 2010.
At the time, Stradcom was the government's private information technology service provider, responsible for operating and maintaining the LTO's computerized systems. A conflict between two rival groups within the company led to a struggle for control over Stradcom's premises, personnel, assets, and operations, culminating in a confrontation between two security agencies. Butler Security and Investigation Inc. was hired by Stradcom under the then-incumbent management led by Cezar Quiambao, while Unilateral Security Agency Inc. acted under the orders of a group led by Bonifacio Sumbilla, who claimed to be a duly elected officer.
In 2017, the Metropolitan Trial Court initially found Sumbilla and two others, Aderito Yujuico and Rodolfo A. Millare, guilty of grave threats. However, upon appeal, the RTC reversed the ruling and acquitted them, citing insufficient evidence that they directly induced the violence.
The CA affirmed the acquittal, stating that the prosecution failed to prove that the respondents specifically ordered the unlawful acts. The court noted that mere presence at a crime scene or hiring security does not establish criminal liability for the guards' subsequent misconduct.
The CA further explained, "The contract for security services between Stradcom, through Sumbilla, and Unilateral proves, at most, that Sumbilla engaged the agency to provide security services for the corporation. It may explain why Unilateral personnel were deployed to the Stradcom premises, but it does not establish that Sumbilla instructed them to overpower, strike, disarm, or forcibly eject the Butler guards, or to prevent the latter from performing their assigned duties through violence, threats, or intimidation. Nothing in the contract, as presented in the record, directed or contemplated the commission of any unlawful act."
