The Trial of the Decade in Cebu City Revisited

 

May 5, 1999, was when Cebu City's trial of the decade supposedly ended. There was massive panic that when two days after the Chiong sisters, Jacqueline and Marijoy went missing, was that a body was found in the ravine of Carcar. Some doubt that the body was really the late Marijoy Jimenea Chiong. In my opinion, the body was hers since nobody has claimed the body. I would like to blog on what I'd call the mistrial of the decade in Cebu City. Although the late Judge Martin Ocampo may be gone, what he did was definitely highlighted in the documentary Give Up Tomorrow. After writing a review of Give Up Tomorrow--I feel the story is far from over as the seven wrongfully tagged suspects continue to remain in the guilty status.

It's hard to believe that Francisco Juan Gonzalez Larrañaga aka Paco was innocent. I could remember dropping my jaw, doing some Internet research, and finding the documentary Give Up Tomorrow. The judge himself was described by Mrs. Mimi Larrañaga-Syjuco as a very strange judge. The judge would fall asleep, and make long monologues rather than let both sides speak, and it was really a long nightmare. It was also mentioned by Paco himself that he was refused the right to testify that he was innocent. It was already bad enough that Paco was falsely accused based on allegations (such as his alleged kidnapping attempt), he was also said to have courted Marijoy. 

The identity of the body was now irrelevant?

One of the biggest stupid events was declaring the body irrelevant. I remembered one clip shown in Give Up Tomorrow in which Ocampo talked about the body found in Carcar. Miguel Syjuco did have experts who wanted to prove that the body wasn't Marijoy. I think there's a lapse here in Miguel's mind as they probably wanted to make sure the body wasn't Marijoy. The counsel of Paco was soon told, "The body was irrelevant." I really get mad every time that part is played. 

Any good judge would make sure that testing was done. Personally, I still believe the body did belong to Marijoy. It's based on the fact that nobody came forward to claim the body. The Evidence Locker gave this interesting point:

During the trial, Inspector Edgardo Lenizo, a fingerprint expert, testified that fingerprints from the body found in the ravine matched those of Marijoy. He also reminded the court that the victim was wearing the same clothes Marijoy’s family saw her wearing on the day she disappeared. The Chiong family identified the body and confirmed that it was Marijoy.

To get fingerprints off a decomposing body is problematic because the bulb portion of a finger shrinks. Forensic examiners cut off the top section of each finger and placed it in a Sodium Hydroxide Solution for a couple of hours until it was closer in shape to what it would have been before death. Then they inked the fingers to obtain prints. These prints were found to match Marijoy’s voter ID card. Also, no one else came forward to claim the body, so who else could it have been? 

How can a judge who's said to be incorruptible and honest want to ignore the evidence? It reminds me of the time when Hubert Jeffry Pagasoas Webb was denied his request for a DNA test. Hubert wanted the semen found in the late Carmela Vizconde's body tested. That alone could've acquitted him. I guess Judge Amelita Ocampo wanted to look good. How could the judge deny the request that could've proven the guilt or innocence of Hubert? I think the same thing happened. Ocampo probably wanted to make sure that Paco got the guilty verdict. It was most likely because people already believed Paco was guilty. People all tuned in to what Davidson Valiente Rusia had to say.

The judge shrugged off more evidence

This video features the witnesses, some prominent and others not, who were willing to testify for Paco. Cebu City Vice Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia himself was a valuable witness. I could remember the time when the trial was going on. I thought Garcia was trying to lie in court when he presented the negatives. However, after watching Give Up Tomorrow, it turns out that the judge himself was dismissing other pieces of evidence without examining them. Garcia himself took the photos on that night of July 16, 1997, the very night when the Chiong sisters suddenly went missing. 

There were photos, flight records, etc. were more than enough. There was a record to prove that Paco was indeed in school when the crime happened. Back then, most photographs were still developed via negative. The judge could've had them examined to see if they were tampered with. Instead, the judge simply assumed that they were tampered with. How can the judge be sure that they were tampered with if he didn't examine the evidence?

I can't be sure which came first before him saying that the body's identity was irrelevant (and for all we know, someone out there was missing a daughter and not just the Chiongs) or him dismissing the photographs and flight records. The judge demanded evidence. However, when it was given, the judge just simply dismissed any evidence without even examining them. 

This is a total blow to the scientific method. The scientific method demands testing before a conclusion. There are forensic experts. There are people who can look at the authenticity of the photos. Executive Judge Teresita Gallanida was the one who pointed out the black chairs. There were more photos that showed Paco was indeed in Manila. The judge could've examined the records and the photos. Instead, the judge probably just wanted to look good. How could a judge not have the evidence examined before assuming that they were tampered with? 

It should be noted that promotions were promised. Mrs. Thelma Jimenea-Chiong's younger sister was the personal secretary of Joseph Marcelo Ejercito aka Joseph Estrada. At that time, Estrada was the president of the Philippines. Cheryl Salvaleon Jimenea was close to Estrada. The Chiong 7 were arrested during the presidency of the late Fidel Valdez Ramos. It was only 10 months later after the initial arrest on September 15, 1997. It was in July of 1997 when Davidson was arrested. At that time, Estrada was already in the reigns of power. The whole case had the backing of Estrada himself. I believe that's what led to the public pressure. Later, the documentary revealed a lot of people promoted were mostly a joke. 

Worse, common sense was ignored during the trial

Mrs. Solita Collas-Monsod did give a very colorful description. I may not like her due to her anti-reform stance. However, as a journalist, Mrs. Monsod did give a very useful insight into how stupid the judge can be. Based on a report from the Supreme Court E-Library, I really find a lot of irregularities in the verdict against Chiong 7. Sure, it does take only one hour to go from Manila to Cebu. However, everything just becomes a judge who probably can't tell the difference between fiction and reality. 

The star witness was unreliable

The judge chose to stick to what Davidson had to say. Jourdan Sebastian posted this on his Facebook:

Now let’s go to the star witness’ testimony... which as Ms. Lagcao stated, perfectly fitted the evidence provided by the police and prosecution. Here are the facts: 

1. If my memory serves me right... the star witness had a criminal record and was actually in prison for a different offense when he suddenly became a state witness. 

2. He was held by the same authorities who had access to the evidence that was going to be used in court.

3. He perfectly corroborated all the evidences.

4. He was powerfully detailed even if the incidents he was narrating happened more than a year after.

5. He had perfect recollection of what happened even if drugs and alcohol were being used heavily at the time of the crime.

Yet there was a perfect testimony by an imperfect witness... who was granted freedom soon after. 

The testimony of this man was allowed... but 40 people who were all upstanding citizens with zero criminal records, armed with pictures and official documents.... were not allowed to testify? 

The documentary showed that Davidson wasn't even allowed to turn into a state witness. I believe that it was an act of desperation. It would be very important to use common sense. How can Davidson, who alleged that drugs and alcohol were used, have a perfect memory of what happened? I remembered getting drunk once at a friend's house. I drank the beer too fast and bumped into their clear glass door. I couldn't remember everything I said while I was drunk. Right now, I can't even remember the date of when it happened. 

The judge really dismissed common sense when he chose to stick to what Davidson had to say. Not to mention, why weren't the other witnesses cross-examined? By refusing to cross-examine Davidson for longer than half an hour, the judge may have suspicious reasons for doing so.

Could Paco even do the dastardly deed all on that same night and fly back as if nothing had happened?

Common sense is further ignored by how fantastic the story can be. As Mrs. Monsod said, the judge seemed to think that Paco could hire an airplane, fly to Cebu City, do the dastardly deed, fly back to Manila, and take his exam as if nothing happened. It's just laughable to think about that for so many reasons. I would like to give a sequence of events that would prove it's just impossible to do so:

1. Even if Paco did hire a private jet, can the private jet land, let's say in the sight of the crime or somewhere convenient before the dastardly deed will be done?
   
2. If Paco participated in a rape party after kidnapping the girls at 10 PM, can he have all that energy to do so if he was up all night? Given the "details" by Davidson, one must think about stopping by somewhere in Guadalupe, Cebu, to do the rape party, and then go to Carcar at the late hours. Don't tell me that Paco wouldn't get messy if he did what Davidson had told the courts?
   
3. If Paco were to fly back to Manila as if nothing had happened, would he have all the time to tidy himself up so the people at the airport would not be suspicious of his actions? What tie would Paco have the time to ride back and attend school the next day?

Just using common sense will tell us it's too fantastic. I can't even imagine, for a second, that Paco would be able to do what he did and go back to Manila as if nothing happened. If Paco did, there would be plenty of blood and other bodily fluids that would be impossible for one shower to easily hide.

In short, even if Paco did court Marijoy, it would never change the facts that (1) he was in Manila, and (2) it's impossible for Paco to just fly back and forth as if nothing happened. The judge's lack of common sense made it really indeed, a trial of the decade. A trial that should serve as a reminder that the Philippine justice system really stinks!