The Hypocrisy of the #JusticeForFlor Movement

 

It may already be past the late Flor Contemplacion's death anniversary. However, I felt like writing this piece because of two severely miscarried cases. The first case was the Vizconde Massacre (read here). The second case is that of the Chiong Sisters (read here). The cry has stayed the same since 1995 up to 2024. It's still #JusticeForFlor and it'll be 40 years by 2025. As far as concerned, a movie was made about the Vizconde Massacre while the trial was going on. A film about Flor's life was made in the same year she was executed. A movie about the Chiong Sisters Case was only made in 2018.

Some people insist that Flor was innocent. However, we need to compare the justice system of the two countries. I used to believe that Hubert Jeffry P. Webb and Francisco Juan "Paco" G. Larrañaga were guilty. I was shocked to find out that a friend of mine was with Paco in Quezon City, on that same night of the crime. There were several witnesses. Why didn't the Supreme Court of the Philippines bother to examine it? What happened to the presumption of innocence before being declared guilty? The Chiong 7 weren't even allowed to defend themselves. The judge did a shoddy job. Some interviews I never saw back then involved Dong Puno Live. Dong Puno interviewed Paco, Josman Azmar, and the two Uy brothers, James Anthony and James Andrew. They were all victims of frame-up. Later, I realized that Hubert was also framed alongside other people while he was in America. 

Some people continue to say that Flor was the victim of a frame-up. The same crowd may contain the people who still believe that Hubert and Paco were guilty. The evidence that Hubert was in America and Paco was in Manila was overwhelming. Flight records were there. However, the judges involved namely the late Judge Martin Ocampo and retired judge Atty. Amelita G. Tolentino had dismissed the pieces of evidence. Tolentino said it's not the amount of evidence but the quality of it. However, she shot herself at the foot by refusing to have the evidence of Hubert's innocence examimed. Imagine that Hubert wasted 15 years of his life for a crime he couldn't have committed. I think Hubert also had some bad records like Paco did. However, that doesn't change the fact they didn't commit the crimes. Also, for the alleged kidnapping attempt back in 1995, Paco would be at least only 17 years old. If Paco really did attempt it, it doesn't change the fact he was in Manila when the Chiong Sisters suddenly went missing that rainy night. It was so dark that I believe it's difficult to identify anybody.

Back to Flor, she was arrested and tried, and evidence was examined. Singapore had already gone from third world to first world at that point. Although the late Fidel V. Ramos originally wanted to cut ties with Singapore, something else happened. This detail from the National Library Board of Singapore shows a two-sides of the story examination of Flor's execution:

Contemplacion’s execution sparked intense public outrage in the Philippines against the Singapore government. Demonstrations were staged outside the Singapore embassy and Singapore flags were burned.29 The embassy reported receiving threats against Singaporeans and Singapore properties in the country30 and there were calls to boycott Singapore products there.31 The Philippine public, who considered Contemplacion a heroine, also directed their anger against their own government, which was criticised for not doing enough to protect the country’s millions of overseas contract workers.32 Fearing for their safety, several Singaporeans working in the Philippines left the country and many who were there on holiday or business cut short their visit.33

All this occurred in the run-up to the Philippine national elections on 8 May 1995, putting severe pressure on the Ramos administration and leading the Philippine government to certain actions that in turn soured diplomatic relations with Singapore.34 A few days after the execution, the Philippines recalled its Singapore ambassador and downgraded its diplomatic representation here to charge d’affaires.35 Singapore responded by recalling its Philippine ambassador as well.36 The April visit of then prime minister Goh Chok Tong to Manila, and joint naval exercises planned for July were also postponed.37

Ramos even threatened to sever diplomatic ties with Singapore if the special commission he had created on 20 March 1995 found Contemplacion to be a victim of injustice.38 The commission’s report, submitted on 6 April, added fuel to the fire with its conclusion that Contemplacion might have been innocent and that the case should be re-opened.39 The Singapore government rejected the findings but agreed to re-examine Maga’s remains.40

Two autopsies later, a joint one in April by experts from both sides and a second one in July by an independent panel,41 the Philippine government finally accepted the original findings of Singapore’s pathologists, and thus began the process of reconciliation between the two countries.42

Ramos (and also former president, Atty. Rodrigo R. Duterte) both made several blunders. Duterte led a protest at that time. Eventually, the two autopsies proved that Flor was indeed guilty. It was a good thing for the Singaporean government to agree to re-examine Delia's remains. Even the family members of Delia believe that Flor was indeed the murderer. Ramos began the process of reconciliation and it's a good thing. However, groups like Migrante still insisted that Flor was a victim of injustice, a martyr, a heroine, etc. That's why there's a probability that The Flor Contemplacion Story was uploaded on YouTube because of the ongoing People's Initiative for Charter Change. 

Meanwhile, what about the trials of Hubert and Paco, who some people believe, are still guilty? 

A Supreme Court decision can be severely flawed. People would say that why should they believe a documentary made by a "relative" (and a foolish girl I ran into called Marty Syjuco, Paco's "cousin") who by the way, hardly knew Paco, except when meeting him on his brother Miguel Syjuco's wedding. Miguel is married to Paco's sister Mimi Larrañaga. Miguel hardly knew Paco and by law, Paco is only a brother of his sister-in-law. In short, there's no legal relation. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court's chief justice at that time was Hilario G. Davide Jr. who was married to Virginia Jimenea Perez, a relative of the mother of the victims, Thelma Jimenea-Chiong. No further testing was done on the body which some doubt may not be the late Marijoy Jimenea Chiong. Do I need to mention that Cheryl Jimenea was a maternal aunt of the victims too? They wanted justice but ended up clouding the whole judicial process. 

While watching Give Up Tomorrow, a lot of glaring flaws were highlighted. These are some that could be highlighted in the trial of the century:

1. People were demanding action because, for so many months, it caused panic. 
   
2. Pablo Labra II's premature arrest of people based on past actions rather than evidence. Even worse, the accused weren't allowed to defend themselves. The basis of the guilt was inability to defend oneself.
3. The judge demanded evidence, but when given evidence, would do things like not giving an examination before dismissal. At one point, the judge even declared the identity of the body in Carcar, irrelevant. Later, the judge even doubted the body in Carcar was really Marijoy. 
4. The judge refused to listen to the testimony of the accused's friends because they were friends. Never mind that the whole process involved connections, namely, Thelma's sister Cheryl was close to former president Joseph Estrada.
5. Estrada played a role in the whole case. Did the Supreme Court actually dismiss the motion of reconsideration because of him? If so, it's already failed to be independent as it should be. 

In Hubert's case, the suspect himself requested to have his DNA tested against the sperm cell found in the late Carmela Vizconde's body. Even worse, the judge herself was very biased. Why was the video dismissed that "it could've been tampered with" before it was examined? Why was the American embassy not even honored? The judge herself was said to be eyeing for a promotion. If so, the whole process was botched. Where was the DNA testing done on the blood stains too? Hubert could've been wrongfully executed in that case. 

So what's the basis for Flor's innocence then? An autopsy was done on Delia's body. However, where was the autopsy done on the alleged remains of Marijoy, which I believe are hers? Why wasn't further examination done at the claim that Paco's sperm was found in the dead woman's body? Why weren't the sperm of the others found there? A DNA test could've proven something. Even if the body was indeed Marijoy's, further testing would still exonerate the guilty of what happened. The same thing could've been done for the Vizcondes. Why are people questioning the forensic results that proved Flor guilty while defending the shoddy trials of two crimes that are still cases unclosed? That's a very huge double standard there!

A simple lesson is (and you don't need a criminology degree here) that just because a crime happened, doesn't mean the suspects are already guilty. Until now, both the Chiong case and the Vizconde case are still case unclosed. Who really did those crimes? Singapore had already solved the Flor case. However, the Philippines still must shamefully bear the fact that the justice system failed to find the real perpetrators of the Chiong Sisters Case and the Vizconde Case. No justice is ever served by punishing the wrong people and trying to whitewash the guilty.