Philippines' Most Shocking Stories | EP 8: The Mayor Did It: The Eileen Sarmenta-Allan Gomez Murders

The video opens by describing the horrific torture, rape, and killing of university students Eileen Sarmenta and Allan Gomez in Calauan, Laguna, more than three decades ago. The perpetrator's actions were described by a judge as 'a plot seemingly hatched in hell'. Eileen was found lifeless, bloodied, shot, and unclothed, while Allan was found dead in a garbage pile. The incident is recounted as one of the most shocking crimes in the country, detailing the abduction and murder of 21-year-old Eileen Sarmenta and 19-year-old Allan Gomez after attending their classes on June 28, 1993.

On the night of June 28, 1993, Eileen Sarmenta and Allan Gomez were abducted at gunpoint from a restaurant parking lot and taken to Erais Farm, owned by Calauan Mayor Antonio Sanchez. The abductors, who had been planning to abduct Eileen since morning due to the mayor's infatuation with her, presented Eileen to Mayor Sanchez as a 'gift'. Allan was severely beaten while Eileen was taken to the mayor's room. After the mayor was 'done' with Eileen, he reportedly told his men she was theirs to do 'whatever they want' and ordered Allan to be killed so he wouldn’t be a witness. Allan was shot and dumped in a garbage pile.

Following Allan's murder, Eileen was brought to a sugarcane field where she was gang-raped by the mayor's men. After the brutal assault, Eileen begged for her life but was shot in the face with an Armalite rifle. Her body was left inside the abandoned van in the cane field. The men involved in the crime, all employees or associates of Mayor Sanchez, included George Medialdea (Calauan Deputy Police Chief), Vicencio Malabanan, Zoilo Ama, brothers Luis and Rogelio “Boy” Corcolon (security aides), Baldwin Brion (mayor’s nephew), Pepito Kawit (houseboy/gardener), and Aurelio Centeno (ambulance driver).

The day after the crime, Medialdea attempted to cover up the murders by staging a fake police operation to 'discover' Allan's body. The bodies of Eileen and Allan were eventually brought to the Calauan Municipal Hall, where the van used in the crime was cleaned. Initial investigations were misled by Mayor Sanchez and his men, who tried to pin the crime on a general's child. However, inconsistencies, material evidence like bullet shells matching Luis Corcolon’s M16 rifle, and Eileen’s white shorts found at the mayor’s resthouse, eventually turned the attention to Mayor Sanchez and his group.

Mayor Sanchez was arrested on August 13, 1993, after state witnesses, including ambulance driver Centeno and security detail Malabanan, implicated him as the mastermind. Sanchez denied involvement, providing an alibi with his mistress. The trial, presided over by Judge Harriet Demetriou, lasted 16 months and concluded on September 29, 1993, with a verdict of guilty beyond reasonable doubt for 7 counts of rape with homicide each, resulting in seven life imprisonments for Sanchez and his men. Later, Senate investigations in February 2020 revealed that Sanchez enjoyed luxuries like an air-conditioned room and flat-screen TV in prison, along with allegations of drug involvement.

News broke in August 2019 that Mayor Sanchez was eligible for release due to the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) law, sparking national outrage given his lack of remorse and privileged prison conditions. Trending hashtags like #NoToSanchezRelease and #JusticeForEileenAndAllan protested his potential release. Facing intense backlash and without proper notice to the victims' families, the Department of Justice prevented his release, stating he was not qualified for GCTA. Sanchez remained in prison until his death on March 27, 2021, at the New Bilibid Prison, found unconscious and declared dead on arrival. He never admitted guilt for the crimes.