A trial court convicted seven men of kidnapping for ransom in connection with the 2025 abduction of a 78-year-old Filipino-Chinese woman held for a P500- million demand, local authorities announced Thursday.

Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 225 sentenced each of the seven defendants to reclusion perpetua without eligibility for parole after finding them guilty as principals under Article 267 of the Revised Penal Code.

The court also ordered the group to pay civil indemnity, moral damages, and exemplary damages to the victim.

Court records show that 78-year-old Cecilia Ong Uyencio was abducted last 2 September 2025, near the intersection of Biak na Bato and N.S. Amoranto streets in Banawe, Quezon City.

Prosecutors proved the defendants conspired to detain Uyencio, moving her first to Bacoor City and later to Laurel, Batangas.

The abductors initially demanded P500 million from Uyencio’s family before lowering the sum to P8.1 million during negotiations.

Family members delivered the ransom on 7 September 2025, but the captors refused to release Uyencio. Officers with the Philippine National Police Anti-Kidnapping Group rescued her four days later during a targeted raid.

The court acquitted four co-defendants after ruling that prosecutors failed to prove their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The Department of Justice commended Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Charlie L. Guhit and Assistant State Prosecutors Eduardo M. Vinuya Jr. and Don Rick C. Ventura for securing the convictions, stating the ruling reinforces the agency’s commitment to upholding the rule of law.