Today in History: Revisiting the Late Martin Ocampo's Demise

An injustice for one is an injustice for the whole community. What people never thought that in their demand for blood--the wrong people were caught! It turns out that Francisco Juan "Paco" G. Larrañaga was in Quezon City when the Chiong sisters went missing (read here). On October 7, 1999, the trial judge who had doubts about the body found in the ravine was found dead in Waterfront, Lapu-Lapu. The incident happened while I was still in my second year of high school. There was not much access to the Internet back then nor was it viewed as a necessity, unlike today!

Back then, I felt Ocampo was murdered. There was allegedly some hair sample that was his--probably his mistress. However, forensics expert Dr. Raquel Fortun has concluded it was suicide. Dr. Fortun also showed up in the documentary Give Up Tomorrow which highlights two things--a crime that remains unsolved and how Paco was wrongfully arrested. Paco admitted on Dong Puno Live that he and Josman Aznar have a bad reputation. However, Paco was in Manila on July 16, 1997--that night when the Chiong Sisters went missing!

After an exhaustive and comprehensive re-autopsy on the body of Ocampo, Dr. Raquel del Rosario-Fortun said in her report that Ocampo took his own life inside Room 502 of the Waterfront Hotel in Mactan last Oct. 7.
"Based on available information regarding the circumstances surrounding (Ocampo's) death obtained from the investigation and the autopsy procedures, the injuries sustained are deemed to be self-inflicted and intentional, therefore the manner of death is classified as suicide," Fortun said in the report announced Friday by the Senate committee on justice and human rights.
Sen. Renato Cayetano, who chairs the committee, consequently ordered the Senate inquiry into Ocampo's death closed and terminated.
The Senate panel embarked on the re-autopsy to erase doubts that there was foul play in the death of Ocampo, who hogged the headlines last year for his verdict on the Chiong sisters' rape-slay case.
Cayetano, however, said the inquiry may be reopened if some physical evidence which would tend to disprove the findings of suicide is uncovered later.

The way Dr. Fortun said it in Give Up Tomorrow was this. Was Ocampo coerced to write the note? That's a good question to ask. Another thing Dr. Fortun mentioned was how Ocampo may have slashed himself at those parts, hoping he'd die and he tried something else. It seems Ocampo's guilty conscience had hit him hard. If Ocampo was indeed trying to end his life because of a guilty conscience--chances are he kept missing the vital parts. Eventually, when all else failed, a gun sufficed. So far, it seems nobody was in the room where Ocampo was later found dead.

Ocampo's conscience may have bothered him over these issues brought up in Give Up Tomorrow:

Why did Ocampo choose to deem the identity of the body found in Tan-awan, Carcar, as irrelevant? The body's identity could've provided closure because if it was really one of the Chiong Sisters--it should at least provide closure for the victims' family.
Why did Ocampo not allow the Chiong 7 to testify? Why was he glued to Davidson Rusia, who by the way, was also not allowed to testify? Not to mention, Davidson had so many inconsistencies in his stories. Was it to get it over and done with.
Why didn't Ocampo hear more of the defense before dismissing it? This includes dismissing pieces of evidence provided by Paco's friends that the lead suspect was indeed in Manila when the crime happened. Why did he just deem the photos manipulated without examining them?
Ocampo was also caught sleeping during hearings. One must wonder did he really listen to all the details?
After the end of the trial, Ocampo later admitted that the body was doubtful. He also admitted that it wasn't "certain" that there was rape or murder, but he was "certain" that there was kidnapping and illegal detention.
Did Ocampo attempt to play Pontius Pilate with the crowd? The crowd was already convinced that Paco and his co-accused were the ones who did it. However, it seems that he knew deep within, there was something wrong. Did that nag on his conscience for months to come before he ended his life?

Everything that led to the trial was indeed a circus. As I watched Give Up Tomorrow--there were many missing angles. It's easy to dismiss it because the maker of the documentary was related to Paco by marriage. I read both the Supreme Court decision and the movie (read here). People came up with their conclusions. What might be ignored is that Thelma Jimenea-Chiong was a relative-by-marriage to then chief justice, Atty. Hilario G. Davide Jr. Davide's wife's is Virginia Jimenea Perez! Paco isn't legally related to producer Marty Syjuco. For clarification, Marty is the brother of Mimi Larrañaga-Syjuco's husband Miguel. Marty only met Paco during the wedding and didn't know Paco much either!

Revisiting the incident, I wonder how would the brain-numbing movie Jacqueline Comes Home (read review here) handle this scene? The movie didn't mention that the judge committed suicide. As I watched the movie--why wasn't Ocampo's suicide even included at all? The movie could've at least brought it up. The scene where students are debating whether or not the right people are caught (and Paco is simply called Sonny outright in the film) has two sides. Unfortunately, you've got law practitioners who may be oh too beholden to the Supreme Court of the Philippines and say, "The justice system should be trusted. It will never condemn an innocent person." Did they ever read the case of George Stinney--an African American teenager who was wrongfully executed? There are many around the world on death row who have done nothing to deserve the death penalty!

Ocampo may be dead but there are still many truths needed. Who was the late Dionisio Chiong supposed to testify against before his daughters went missing? Why didn't the police look at the angle that Mr. Chiong's daughters went missing after he was called to testify? Why didn't the judge even bother the validity of the arrests or even the witness? The judge's motives would be hard to look into, especially since he's been too dead to do anything. However, this judge should be a lesson that something's wrong with the Philippine justice system!

What's the Use of Complaining About Celebrities and Political Dynasties Running for Politics While DEFENDING Presidential and Rejecting Parliamentary?

2025 is just around the corner for the midterm elections . People keep emphasizing the need to "defend the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines" for any amendments whatsoever. If that were true then we really need to remove Article XVII entirely if the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines was meant to be set in stone (read here ). Several camps whether it's PDP-Laban supporters, Liberal Party of the Philippines supporters, Uniteam supporters, etc.--I can expect social media mudslinging at its finest . I keep talking about the need to amend or even replace the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines. However, they keep acting like it's the best constitution in the world, they cite Atty. Hilario G. Davide Jr. (and others like the Monsods) to idolatrous levels , and when I talk about the parliamentary system--I can expect the whole, "Boohoo! It will never work because we already tried it under Marcos! The proof was Cesar Virata!" However, I wrote a refute on that

Today in History: Remembering the Earthquake That Hit Bohol (and Affected Cebu)

It's been more than 10 years (and I forgot it was the 10th anniversary of this incident in 2023) since the 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit Bohol. Certain centuries-old historical spots were damaged. All that was during the reign of the late former president Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III. The Philippines is under President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. I forgot about the earthquake then I checked my Facebook feeds today. The photos above are taken from the Facebook page Pmi Confession . I went to Bohol in 2008 for a family reunion. Who'd have thought it was the last time I might see those historical landmarks. I can't exactly remember the places. It's disheartening to watch as these places were all destroyed, after centuries of preservation. It was like the Notre Dame De Paris cathedral fire. Junior Rangers Cebu Brigade It also affected my hometown of Cebu City. What a day to start the morning huh? The famous Sto. Niño Church was already centuries old--hence explaining the dama

Today in History: Hanoi's Liberation Day

Vietnam Times October 10 is mostly associated with Double 10 in Taiwan. However, Communism has its celebration with Hanoi Liberation Day . I got this information from the Vietnam Times on what the day is all about: Along with the victory of Dien Bien Phu campaign, the Geneva Agreements on armistice in Indochina was signed. After many days of struggling in the Geneva Conference, agreements on transfering Hanoi to the Vietnamese people were finally signed on September 30th and October 2nd 1954 in the United Armistice Center Committee. Following the Resolution on September 17th 1954 of the Government Council, the City Troops Committee of Hanoi was established with General Vuong Thua Vu, the commander of the Pioneer Division, as the Chairman and doctor Tran Duy Hung as the Vice Chairman. The City Troops Committee of Hanoi had the task of taking over and managing the city. The Military Commanders ordered the Vietnamese soldier units to take over the city of Hanoi and abide by the policies

Lee Kuan Yew and Mahathir Mohamad: Just a Matter of Strong Leadership Without a Good System?

Jakarta Globe It's very easy to talk about how we need character change only, not a charter change. I say that having a charter change (better termed constitutional reform ) will lead to character change. The old saying of some boomers goes, "It's common sense that nothing is wrong with the system, just the people running the system." However, when I ask something like, "If that's so then why do other nations have better leaders? What about Mahathir Mohamad and Lee Kuan Yew?" Their answer is, "Well, that's proof that the system isn't defective, it's just the leader." This can also come from people who believe what Atty. Hilario G. Davide Jr. said that there's nothing wrong with the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines, that it's the "best in the world". The arguments are clearly illogical at best . Some say that the parliamentary system worked in Malaysia and Singapore because those heading it aren't corrupt. T

I'm Trying to Understand How the Modern Table of Elements Came to Be

GeeksforGeeks I remember the dread of having to study the periodic table. Then again, wasn't school really a dread because of one thing--the fact that the system cares more about grading for the sake of grading instead of grading based on learning . Chemistry is one subject I had some disgust during the second grading (since I personally dislike doing stoichiometry problems). Sure, I can overcome my fear of stoichiometry by watching videos on how it's used but I still feel doing those problems can be a chore. I would like to revisit another wonderful tool in science--the periodic table. Sure, I hated memorizing it back when I was a child. I had to memorize it at 10 years old. We had to restudy it at 3rd year of high school under the K+10 system. Doing the history of science makes science a lot less tedious. I remember my hilariously stupid line of asking, "Who invented math?" back in 4th year of high school. It's part of growing up or not? I looked at the inventio

Most Anti-Constitutional Reform Advocates I Run Into are Stubborn Boomers

As an advocate for constitutional reform, I've been looking at the campaign for more than just voting wisely . Sadly, the Vote Wisely campaign hardly works since the presidential system focuses on popularity. Some people think that a trolling campaign is going to help. I try to explain why the parliamentary system will be better. However, they will continue to throw in the same old narrative where it says, "But we were a parliamentary system under Marcos!" The idea itself has been long refuted . The late Benigno Simeon "Ninoy" A. Aquino Jr. even mentioned the absurdity of it . The way he mentioned, "We had a parliamentary without a parliament ." (read here ) showed how the 1973 Constitution of the Philippines wasn't a real parliamentary government. Even the words of the late Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. showed that his government wasn't parliamentary (read here ). More importantly, I noticed that many of those I run into on Facebook are actually stu

Today in History: Why Revisiting Paco Larrañaga's UNJUST Arrest is Still a Must Until Today

A diagram found on Facebook, apparently owned by the late Miguel "Juan" Del Gallego y Ripoll I have updated my review of the documentary Give Up Tomorrow more than once. The late Charles Edward P. Celdran even called it a trial by publicity. I could remember the shocked face I made when was told that Francisco Juan G. Larrañaga was innocent . What amazed me is that my friend (I will not mention his name) was also with Paco on that night . Cebu City Vice Mayor Raymond Alvin N. Garcia was among the many witnesses who testified that Paco was in school. There's no denying that Paco himself had previous cases. But the basis of making Paco a suspect can be very loose. There was his alleged kidnapping of a certain Rochelle Virtucio. It's possible that Rochelle never saw the faces of the real perpetrators of the kidnapping attempt. How in the world was Paco suddenly identified as the suspect? It's probably because Paco had a bad reputation it was easy to pin the crime do

Case Unclosed on the Chiong Sisters

Apology: I'm sorry that the video above is in Tagalog, so sorry in advance to non-Filipino readers. As long as an injustice happens, nobody should shut up about a case unclosed . Like the Vizconde Massacre case, nobody really knows who did the crime. With Davidson Rusia's story put into question, one must wonder what really happened in detail. I still believe that the body found in Carcar is really Marijoy Jimenea Chiong . However, the claim that the sperm of the main suspect, Francisco Juan "Paco" G. Larrañaga, and the rest weren't found, makes you wonder who did the autopsy. In my case, the body found in Carcar wasn't formally identified until fingerprints were taken by the police. Nobody claimed the body of the woman found in Carcar. It's easy to say that Give Up Tomorrow is biased because the maker of the video, is a "relative" of Paco (read here ). However, Marty Syjuco is the brother of the brother-in-law of Paco. The brother of one's

REAL TALK: The Liberal Party of the Philippines Can ONLY Become The Genuine Opposition Under A Genuine Parliamentary Constitution

PhilStar It's difficult to talk with people who are still comfortable with what they already know, right? However, the term Dilawan need not be drowned in negativity, but it can be drowned in negativity if the brand gets marred in a popularity-based political system. The Philippines currently uses the presidential system. If we were in a parliamentary system right now--chances are Ferdinand "Bongbong" R. Marcos Jr. wouldn't be prime minister due to the difficulty involved as explained in " How to Become Singapore's Prime Minister, Explained in 7 Steps ". That means all candidates would need to do the following: Study and specialize Wait for the call Tea sessions and panels Take a test Perform well as an MP Win the trust of your peers Prepare for office The Dilawans can call themselves the genuine opposition, march in their proud yellow t-shirts, and more. However, under a presidential system, there's no real opposition, and the platform of any party

The Chiong Sisters Case Muddled by the Philippines' RAMBUNCTIOUS PRESS?

Here's a clip of the late Carlos P. Celdran and Teddy Boy Locsin Jr. from Michael Collins' YouTube channel. Until now, I still wonder if the director of that awful film Animal (2004) namely Federico "Toto" Natividad Jr. was also there during the Cinemalaya premiere. The film Animal (2004) was once entitled Butakal: Sugapa sa Laman in 1999, meaning Male Pig: Drunkard in Body . This clip talks about just how the whole media frenzy caused a double miscarriage of justice. Celdran, a known reformist and vocal anti-Duterte critic, voiced out the unethical making of a Maalaala Mo Kaya episode. Did I miss something back in the 1990s? All I remember was broadcasting an episode in The Calvento Files. Until now, the ABS-CBN YouTube channel hasn't uploaded it. How both Marty Syjuco and Collins got some clips of the film isn't specifically said. I believe Marty and Michael went to the late Tony Calvento, asked for his permission, and were given permission. I believe tha

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