Summary
Highlights
On April 25, 1990, Cochise and Beebom, both UP students, were abducted by armed men, later identified as police officers, outside Dayrit's burger joint in Quezon City. Despite Cochise's stature, they were quickly apprehended. The lack of CCTV cameras at the time made tracing their whereabouts extremely difficult. Two months later, their decomposing bodies were found in separate locations in Pampanga.
Ernesto Bernabe II (Cochise), 26, was a UP Law graduate preparing for the bar exams. From a well-off family, he was a student leader and intellectually gifted, with aspirations of becoming Philippine President. Ana Lourdes Castaños (Beebom) was a graduating Mass Communication student, smart and dedicated. Both were disciplined and respected their parents, making their disappearance that night immediately alarming to their families.
At 7:00 p.m., Cochise and Beebom left the Castaños residence in a green Lancer, heading to Dayrit's. Upon their arrival, a black vehicle without a license plate blocked them. Two armed men, identified as Patrolman Enrico Dizon and police trainee Robin Manga, introduced themselves as police officers. Cochise was immediately handcuffed, and both he and Beebom were forced into their own Lancer. Roberto Lising and Enrico Dizon drove the Lancer away, with Robin Manga following in the black car. This abduction was witnessed by a security guard.
The couple was never seen alive again. Their families and friends launched an extensive search, publishing their faces in newspapers and offering rewards. A security guard at Dayrit's provided a lead about an arrest witnessed on the night of the disappearance, but the unidentifiable black car left investigators with no trace. After two months, a breakthrough occurred on June 21, 1990, when two security guards informed Cochise’s mother that a witness, Raul Morales, knew details about the killing of Cochise and Beebom in a Pampanga warehouse.
Authorities followed the lead to a warehouse in San Fernando, Pampanga. On June 25, 1990, Cochise’s decomposing body was exhumed from a vacant lot near the warehouse. The next day, Beebom’s body was found meters away. Autopsies revealed Cochise was stabbed seven times and had his throat slit; his hands and feet were bound with wire, and his face wrapped in cloth. Beebom died from severe hemorrhage due to two stab wounds to the chest. The communities were devastated and cried out for justice.
Raul Morales, a helper at the warehouse owned by businessman Robert Lising, provided crucial testimony. He recounted that on April 26, 1990, around 2:00 a.m., he opened the gate for a black car and the green Lancer. Robert Lising and Felimon Garcia exited. Cochise and Beebom were separated; Cochise was taken by Lising and Dizon, while Beebom was with Manga. Morales witnessed Lising using wire from a clothesline to bind Cochise. He also saw another man, Rodolfo Manalili, enter and heard Beebom plead with him, calling him 'uncle'. Cochise was then brutally stabbed and his throat slit by Lising and Dizon. His body was buried in a shallow grave behind the warehouse. Beebom was driven two kilometers away by Lising and Garcia, stabbed multiple times, and buried.
The 'uncle' Beebom appealed to was Rodolfo Manalili, a wealthy businessman. His brother, Delfin Manalili, was the estranged husband of Joy Castaños-Manalili, Beebom’s aunt. Delfin had been shot and killed at a birthday party, reportedly witnessed by Beebom. Rodolfo sought revenge, believing Robert Herrera, Joy's partner, was responsible. He hired Felimon Garcia, who then enlisted police officers Roberto Lising, Enrico Dizon, and Robin Manga to apprehend Herrera. They were offered ₱50,000 for surveillance. On April 25, 1990, they followed Cochise and Beebom from the Castaños residence, mistaking them for their targets, leading to the abduction.
Morales' testimony led to the arrests. Patrolman Roberto Lising was arrested on June 30, 1990, and named Felimon Garcia and Rodolfo Manalili. Garcia surrendered on January 4, 1991, implicating Patrolman Enrico Dizon. Dizon was turned over to the NBI on January 16, 1991, and pointed to police trainee Robin Manga as the owner of the black vehicle. Rodolfo Manalili was tracked down to Australia and brought back by former NBI Director Alfredo Lim. The full sequence of events confirmed Manalili as the mastermind.
Rodolfo Manalili denied his role, claiming he hired Garcia to abduct Herrera, the person he believed killed his brother. He stated that Cochise and Beebom were abducted by mistake and he had instructed their release at the hotel, even promising payment. However, Manalili's story directly contradicted Raul Morales' testimony, who saw Manalili at the warehouse where Cochise and Beebom were killed and heard Beebom call him 'uncle'. Morales also testified Manalili was present during Cochise's murder.
On July 1, 1992, the Quezon City Regional Trial Court found Rodolfo Manalili, Roberto Lising, Felimon Garcia, Robin Manga, and Enrico Dizon guilty of double murder, sentencing them to double reclusion perpetua and ordering substantial damages to the victims' families. Lising, Dizon, and Manga were also found guilty of illegal detention, upgraded to kidnapping by the Supreme Court in 1998, increasing their sentences to reclusion perpetua. Controversially, on March 26, 2009, Rodolfo Manalili was granted executive clemency by former President Gloria Arroyo, shocking and dismaying the victims' families. Manalili maintained his innocence post-release.
The case leaves lingering questions: if Manalili's claim of mistaken identity was true, why were Cochise and Beebom still killed? Was it to silence witnesses, or were they the true targets all along? An NBI angle had suggested Cochise might have been the target, as he was reportedly the only one carrying a gun at the party where Manalili's brother was shot. The true motives and full story may only be known by those involved in the crime, leaving the public to ponder the justice of the clemency granted.