Annabelle Huggins


Annabelle Huggins was a Filipino actress during the 1960s who starred with Jack Nicholson in Back Door to Hell, and later became famous when she was kidnapped by jeepney driver Ruben Ablaza.

Early life

Annabelle was born to American-Filipino father and Filipino mother. She was later raised by her aunt and uncle along with her siblings, wherein her aunt treated her as her own child. In 1958 she dropped out of high school to work in a billiard hall where she met Ruben Ablaza.

Career

She debut in the movie Adonis Abril with Nestor De Villa, Back Door to Hell with Jack Nicholson, and also Siyam na Buhay ni Martin Pusa with Joseph Estrada.

Kidnapping

On October 23, 1962, 19-year-old Huggins reported that she was taken against her will to Hagonoy, Bulacan and defiled of her honor by Ruben Ablaza, a portly taxi driver, who plotted the abduction with two others, Lauro Ocampo and Jose “Totoy Pulis” Leoncio. The incident was repeated on March 22, 1963, and this time, Huggins was reportedly kidnapped from Makati and taken first to Caloocan and then to Bulacan, a more serious offense.

Trial

When Ablaza was apprehended and tried in court, he contended that the two were in love, that she freely went with him and what he did “was the vogue of the time.” The most awaited part of the trial was when the principal witness, Huggins, testified before Fiscal Pascual Kliatchko and a curious courtroom crowd.
In 1969 Ablaza claimed that he and Annabelle were a couple. Ablaza and the two men were found guilty for kidnapping and rape.

Portrayals

Two movies twice portrayed her. In 1963 came Ang Mananaggol ni Ruben with Mario Montenegro as Abalaza and Lolita Rodriguez as Huggins. In 1995 Director Carlo J. Caparas made Annabelle Huggins Story - Ruben Ablaza Tragedy: Mea Culpa starting Cesar Montano as Ablaza and Dawn Zulueta as Huggins.