MANILA - The Office of the Ombudsman has recovered 19 ill-gotten properties of convicted rapist and murderer ex-Calauan Mayor Antonio Sanchez and his wife Editha Vito-Sanchez.

In a statement, the Ombudsman said the Transfer of Certificates of Title of 19 properties of the couple were forwarded to the Bureau of the Treasury and registered under the state's name.

Ombudsman says it has recovered 19 ill-gotten properties of ex-Calauan mayor Antonio Sanchez who was sentenced to life imprisonment for the 1993 rape and murder of UPLB students Eileen Sarmenta and Allan Gomez. pic.twitter.com/kRRE5Qe0mD

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“The 19 properties all located in Calauan, Laguna formed part of the illegal wealth of the former mayor,” the Ombudsman said in a statement.

Sanchez gained notoriety for the 1993 rape and murder of University of the Philippines Los Baños students Eileen Sarmenta and Allan Gomez.

Sanchez was convicted on March 11, 1995 by Judge Harriet Demetriou, who said that the rape and murder of Sarmenta and Gomez were “a plot seemingly hatched in hell.”

The Ombudsman noted that the Sandiganbayan ordered on July 18, 2016 the forfeiture of the couple's real properties including a residential building, two 1987 Mercedes Benz cars, a 1991 Dodge Caravan van, shares in a lending business including accrued dividends, and P246,120 in cash and bank accounts.

The decision came after it was found that as mayor from 1980 to 1981, Sanchez was entitled to a maximum salary of P17,724 a month, from 1981 to 1986, P26,388 a month, and from 1988, only P10,443 as Calauan was downgraded to a 5th class municipality, and yet his income was “grossly disproportionate” to his lifestyle.

Sanchez was able to send their three children to Hurtwood House, an exclusive school in London costing P1,000,000 per child; travel expenses for frequent trips to the United States, Italy, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and Hong Kong; a lavish birthday party at the Manila Hotel; 19 real properties with improvements; three luxury vehicles; a house and lot; business interests in ERAIS Lending; and bank accounts.

The Ombudsman also noted that in explaining the delay in resolving the case, the Sandiganbayan said it was due to the attempts of the Sanchez couple to reach an amicable settlement, which later on proved to be insincere. This is apart from the “extraordinary number of postponements” they filed.