Magdalena "Maggie" de la Riva (born September 3, 1942), is a Filipina actress who was abducted in front of her home in New Manila, Quezon City on June 26, 1967, by four men, all of whom were sons of influential families, and taken to a motor hotel where she was abused and raped.
[1] The four perpetrators, all of whom were from wealthy and influential families, consisted of the following: On the night of June 26, 1967, Rogelio Cañal and Edgardo Aquino visited Jaime José's residence to borrow his red Pontiac convertible.
The trio then headed to a well-known nightclub where they had drinks and it is here that they met Basílio Pineda, Jr., who confessed his love for Maggie de la Riva.
With her assistant Helen Calderón in the passenger seat, de la Riva drove to their home in New Manila, with the four men following them.
As they arrived, the four men blasted the Pontiac horn, causing de la Riva to accelerate to avoid a collision.
De la Riva's car hit a post near her residence, so she rolled down her window and shouted at Pineda, who flashed blinding headlights on her.
One of the occupants of José’s car dismounted, grabbed de la Riva’s left arm, and forcefully dragging her towards the red Pontiac.
During the ordeal, de la Riva pleaded for her life and safety, telling the men that her family depended on her since her father died.
Following the rape, the four redressed her and headed to an alleyway near the former Philippines Free Press Building in Quiapo, where they warned de la Riva to keep quiet.
José was the first apprehended near his home, as he was walking along Buendia Avenue and the arresting officers working undercover as ice cream vendors.
After learning of his arrest, Pineda, Cañal, and Aquino fled to Batangas where they dined at a restaurant and stayed at a resthouse using false names.
On October 2, 1967, the Court found the accused guilty of committing forcible abduction with rape under Article 335 of the Revised Penal Code, and sentenced them to death by electric chair, along with a ₱10,000 penalty each to indemnify de la Riva.
Determined to save their souls, she returned the day before their scheduled execution: Aquino quickly recited John 14:6 while José was faint with grief and fear.
As a consequence thereof, each of them is hereby sentenced to four (4) death penalties; all of them shall, jointly and severally, indemnify the complainant of the sum of ₱10,000 in each of the four crimes, or a total of ₱40,000; and each shall pay one-fourth (1/4) of the costs.
"The remaining three rapists were executed by electric chair on May 17, 1972, by direct order of President Ferdinand Marcos, with the proceedings broadcast on national radio.
He spent his last moments weeping as his face was covered with a leather mask, his bare feet resting on a wet block of quarrystone.
His mother, Dolores, was at Malacañang Palace for a private audience with the President to beg for a last-minute pardon, which Marcos declined because of widespread public anger over the incident.
The criminal proceedings and executions of each condemned man were broadcast on public radio station DZRH, causing sensationalism and mass hysteria.
[5][6] On March 6, 2017, de la Riva maintained on national television that the death penalty should still be a part of judicial convictions for rape and assault cases.
[7] The death penalty had been first abolished by Corazon Aquino in 1986, only to be restored later by Fidel Ramos, with the main method changed to lethal injection.