Sarah and Daddy Delfin (inset)

Paulino Mercado, the alleged attacker of the father of singer-actress Sarah Geronimo, Delfin Geronimo, will be charged with attempted kidnapping with serious illegal detention, according to a report broadcast on DZMM on Monday, August 9.

Mercado, who posed as a fan of Sarah, is currently imprisoned at the Station 10 of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) after he attacked Geronimo with a stun gun at the Basement 1 Parking Are inside ABS-CBN’s ELJ Tower in the afternoon of August 8.

According to Geronimo, an ABS-CBN security guard contacted him, saying the suspect had a gift for Sarah for him to claim. The gift was purportedly from one of Sarah’s sponsors. Upon arriving at the basement, Mercado told Geronimo that in order to collect the gift, he had to sign papers inside a van that was parked in a dimly lit area of the basement.

Once near the open van, Geronimo said Mercado forcibly pushed him inside and poked a stun gun at his back. Geronimo fought off Mercado and screamed for help, to which an ABS-CBN security group promptly responded.  Geronimo and Mercado were brought to Station 10 QCPD for investigations.

In the same report on DZMM’s “Radyo Patrol Balita Alas Dose,” Geronimo is said to be convinced that the 43-year old suspect’s true motive is to kidnap him because he has a reported debt amounting to around P600,000.

Mercado refuted the kidnapping allegation, saying he only wanted rob Geronimo.  He also admitted in a “TV Patrol” interview on August 8 that he did “accidentally hit” Geronimo with the stun gun.

The DZMM report added that the security guards Jessie Fortuna, Celso Basco as well as event marshal Randy Oliva, already gave their respective statements at the Kamuning Police Station a few hours ago. According to the guards, Mercado entered the basement around 9 a.m. and was even spotted in the Food Court area. At around 10 a.m., he is said to have returned to the parking area.

Geronimo had also filed his affidavit.

DZMM reported that the items recovered from the suspect included gifts for other celebrities such as Regine Velasquez, Ogie Alcasid, Pauleen Luna, Miriam Quiambao, Aljur Abrenica, Jaya and JC de Vera—which were said to be empty boxes or paper bags. There were also nylon cables, scotch tape and a curtain. ABS-CBNnews.com, meanwhile, identified the vehicle used for the alleged crime — a Hyundai van that had two plate numbers: later revealed by “TV Patrol” to be WTA 741 and the original WPC 437.

The stun gun, however, accidentally got lost. The security team of ABS-CBN is said to have searched the basement thoroughly, but failed to find the weapon.

It also remains unclear whether the culprit had plans of kidnapping the said celebrities for whom he prepared “gifts.”

Bong Osorio, head of the Corporate Communications arm of ABS-CBN, said in a statement aired on “TV Patrol” on Sunday that the network leaves it to the authorities to investigate on the incident. The network is set to release another statement upon completion of the investigation of the Philippine National Police.