OFW – Overseas Filipino News

SUSUPE, Saipan – The last of three defendants who bludgeoned to death a Filipino security guard in Saipan nearly three years ago was sentenced to 22 years in prison.

Likewise, the two other defendants were earlier sentenced to 22 and 26 years in prison.

The defendants were students of Marianas High School, where Efren Ballesteros, of Isabela province, was stationed as a security guard.

He was attacked with pieces of wood and pipe last November 2008. The three defendants — Randy Igisomar, who was recently convicted, Eric Rabauliman, and Edward Blas — were intoxicated at the time of the commission of the crime.

At the time of the murder, the defendants were 16 to 18 years old. They all pleaded guilty to first-degree murder as part of the plea deal.

The Filipino community in Saipan — capital of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) — believed it is high time that justice be served to the family of Ballesteros.

“Here [in] Saipan, there’s no death penalty. While some people think that it should be at least life sentence, I think 22 to 26 years is enough for those young people who committed the crime,” said United Workers Movement-CNMI vice president Jun Concilliado.

CNMI Superior Court presiding judge Robert Naraja reminded Igisomar “not to forget the victim’s children. Help them [when you're out], because you did promise to take care of them.”

Ballesteros is survived by his wife and two children. — JE, GMA News

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