The Chiong 7 (and David Rusia) were MOST LIKELY Victims of a Conspiracy of Some Anonymous Druglord

A diagram found on Facebook, apparently owned by the late Miguel "Juan" Del Gallego y Ripoll

Back in 1997 to 1998, some people may remember what was called the "trial of the decade". It was because on June 16, 1997, two sisters, Jacqueline Jimenea Chiong (whose body was never found) and Marijoy Jimenea Chiong, went missing. They were last seen at Ayala Center Cebu. I watched both Case Unclosed and Give Up Tomorrow. I personally felt that Case Unclosed gave a better view in 30 minutes since it featured other people, like the Uy brothers' mother, Mrs. Marlyn Uy, and other insights from the Chiong mother, Mrs. Thelma Jimenea-Chiong.

Give Up Tomorrow showed the angle that the late Dionisio Chiong supposedly lost his job, and on the day he was supposed to testify against a certain drug lord (whose name was beeped out, hence he would be called Mr. Beep), the two daughters disappeared. Until now, I believe that the body in Carcar is Marijoy since nobody else, but the Chiongs, claimed the body. The 5'4 and 5'0 discrepancy may have been a matter of oversight or that the body was measured in a hurry. However, in Case Unclosed, Mrs. Chiong actually denied that the body was her daughter when the body was first discovered. She even said in Filipino to one of her siblings, "If you want to get the body, get it. That's not my daughter. My daughter didn't die that way." That was also revealed in Give Up Tomorrow, where it's revealed that the mother didn't formally identify the body when it was first discovered.

Now, how do I think the suspects were chosen? We need to look at the Vizconde Case massacre. Jessica Alfaro's story implicated wealthy people like Hubert Jeffry P. Webb and Michael Gatchalian, sons of prominent families who probably had a history of looking for trouble. I often heard tales in the 1990s that Hubert was most likely a troublemaker. However, if Hubert was ever loud and rude, that doesn't qualify him to do such a covert operation. Remember the Vizcondes died in 1991, and the suspects were only identified later. The more I read Jessica's testimony, the more I felt that the story only fed drama. Now, let's get down to the suspects.

Analyzing the first six suspects and how they were probably linked

Before everything, let me throw a disclaimer that I read the Supreme Court decision as well as the resolution, to get the alibis and the other details. So please, this is so you couldn't falsely accuse me of just relying on a "biased documentary" made by a "cousin" of Paco, and that "unlike you, you read the SC decision" on my face. In fact, Solita "Winnie" Collas-Monsod had a bad reaction when she examined the document. I don't like her because of her stubborn resistance to constitutional reform. However, I'll give anyone the benefit of the doubt.

Give Up Tomorrow featured a Dong Puno Live segment where Paco and Josman were interviewed with the Uy Brothers, James Anthony, and James Andrew Uy. They admitted that they were indeed the terrors of Cebu. The police chief Pabro Labra II, and others started rounding up suspects. In fact, it was recorded in Case Unclosed and Atty. Florencio Villarin (who's probably in his 90s now) didn't deny that Paco tried to kidnap a certain Rochelle Virtucio at one point. However, the more I think about it, Paco's repeat offense was based on recklessness, which makes him unlikely to be able to mastermind such a scheme that made the Chiong girls disappear just like that on July 16, 1997. At the same time, it was also documented that Josman's original offense was actually illegal possession of firearms and drug possession. Given that, I must ask whether Paco and Josman, who are known for reckless and loud crimes, were the ones who carried out the plan?

Is it me, or does drama value increase whenever a rich troublemaker is involved? I'm not going to deny that problematic children of rich people do exist. In fact, in 2006, before Paco's transfer, it was revealed that Mrs. Chiong actually revealed this particular detail about one of the suspects:

Chiong said she will soon file her comment and manifestation to the order of executive judge Simeon Dumdum Jr. wherein she will be furnishing the courts the records of James Anthony from the different police blotters.

Chiong said James Anthony has been causing trouble even when he was as young as 12, she said she will use these as grounds in opposing the granting of probation.

Definitely, this creates a powerful case. Paco and Josman were already known to be troublemakers. Apparently, Mrs. Chiong would've had an easier time believing that the Uy brothers were involved because they were troublesome children. However, it turned out that Paco and Josman never knew the Uy brothers until the arrest. It was revealed in Case Unclosed that Mrs. Uy revealed that her sons weren't friends with Paco. Paco and Josman had Chinoy friends, but the Uy brothers weren't among them. However, because of the "need" to punish someone and appease the public, making up a story was "deemed necessary," wasn't it? 

According to the chart that I presented earlier on the topmost part, you may notice that Rowen Adlawan had met the Uy brothers and Davidson V. Rusia. The Uy brothers never denied being friends with David, while Rowen admitted that David was tortured into telling a lie. It seemed that there was a tight knit between James Anthony, James Andrew, Rowen, and David at some point. It wasn't exactly explained how Paco and Josman met Rowen at some point. Was Rowen the person that Paco got into a scuffle at the parking lot? Maybe, maybe not, and honestly, I don't even have answers. All I'm doing right now is analyzing a case.

So how did the first six get targeted? It seemed that this Mr. Beep, the mysterious druglord, knew how to puppet the first six. The name was most likely censored out to avoid Mr. Beep's wrath. Basically, I can't even read through whose name it was. I'm going to avoid speculating since a false accusation has extremely heavy consequences. The first four had a bad reputation and were from business families. 

However, what about Rowen and David? Why were they tagged? It seemed that Rowen and David were ideal for these conditions:

1. David was a guy with suicidal tendencies, from what was said in Give Up Tomorrow. He was a convicted felon. A low-level crook could certainly be useful to create a fake witness, even if Paco and Josman never knew him before the arrest. However, only James Anthony, James Andrew, and Rowen knew him among the eight suspects. The guy could easily be manipulated through torture and threats to tell the lies that Mr. Beep may have wanted to be spoken in court. 
2. As for Rowen, he's rather mysterious. What was his alibi to prove he wasn't with them? Why was he tagged? It seemed that Rowen was among the people who caused trouble with the Uy brothers, and he was probably that close with them.

Putting well-known troublemakers, it creates "plenty of drama," doesn't it? In fact, it became more dramatic indeed that David's testimony even says that they went from Ayala to the Fuente Osmeña (probably for added drama) to Guadalupe, where the boarding house allegedly was linked to the Aznars, or as called by the decision, the Josman Aznar Group. Apparently, this David Gurkan was probably related to the Aznars by marriage, or his daughters (not shown) were students of Southwestern University.

The bigger mystery was the driver and conductor tandem getting involved

What becomes even more convoluted is the driver and conductor tandem. The duo was composed of Alberto Caño and Ariel Balansag. Why did they get arrested? The only clue presented and I could gather from the questionable decision. Now, it's time to put this into the case:

Clotilde Soterol testified for Alberto and Ariel. She narrated that on July 16, 1997, at around 7:00 o'clock in the evening, Alberto brought the white Toyota van with Plate No. GGC-491 to her shop to have its aircon repaired. Alberto was accompanied by his wife Gina Caño, co-appellant Ariel, and spouses Catalina and Simplicio Paghinayan, owners of the vehicle. Since her (Clotildes') husband was not yet around, Alberto just left the vehicle and promised to return the next morning. Her husband arrived at 8:30 in the evening and started to repair the aircon at 9:00 o'clock of the same evening. He finished the work at 10:00 o'clock the following morning. At 11:00 o'clock, Alberto and his wife Gina, Ariel and Catalina returned to the shop to retrieve the vehicle.[56] Alberto,[57] Gina[58] and Catalina[59] corroborated Clotilde's testimony.

Why were two hardworking gentlemen, perhaps the cleanest of the accused, this was later slapped against Clotilde, which made me think came out as a result of trial by publicity:

Appellants consider as violation of their right to due process Judge Ocampo's remarks labeling Rebecca Seno's and Catalina Paghinayan's testimony as "incredible"[97] Clotilde Soterol as a "totally confused person who appears to be mentally imbalanced;"[98] and Salvador Boton and Paulo Celso as "liars."[99]

Honestly, how could the Supreme Court even keep siding with the late judge, Martin Ocampo, without checking if the right person was arrested? What really happened to the right ot due process? So what makes me think that the driver and conductor became framed anyway, despite their being the cleanest and probably not even known for troublemaking? Both Catalina and Simplicio were probably employed at SWU at that time. It's highly possible that Clotilde and her husband (who was a repairman). Even a Google search hasn't revealed anything much about them, and I respect their privacy. 

Both Alberto and Ariel may have become critical witnesses to Mr. Beep's activities. They probably realized that during whatever services the driver and conductor team had, they probably started noticing some irregular activity. If true, that may explain why Alberto and Ariel were suddenly made suspects when the Chiong Sisters suddenly went missing. They may have noticed certain routes or fishy activities during duties and day-offs. The Paghinayans owned the car while Alberto and Ariel were the driver and conductor. They probably kept getting leads and may have signed affidavits that could cause serious trouble for Mr. Beep.  

I don't think it's just added drama. It becomes shocking when the driver and conductor also participate in such a heinous crime. It's possible that both Alberto and Ariel had to be linked to a crime where people would silence them via trial by publicity. Alberto and Ariel would look like monsters to the public eye before the trial concludes. What good would their testimony do? Their testimony becomes clouded by a false accusation that many had pre-judged to be true, even before the defense had its case presented in court. 

In fact, it might even feel that this prosecution witness at Carcar was either forced or was a co-conspirator in the framing:

There were other people who saw snippets of what Rusia had witnessed. Sheila Singson,[30] Analie Konahap[31] and Williard Redobles[32] testified that Marijoy and Jacqueline were talking to Larrañaga and Josman before they were abducted. Roland Dacillo[33] saw Jacqueline alighting and running away from a white car and that Josman went after her and grabbed her back to the car. Alfredo Duarte[34] testified that he was at the barbeque stand when Rowen bought barbeque; that Rowen asked where he could buy Tanduay; that he saw a white van and he heard therefrom voices of a male and female who seemed to be quarreling; that he also heard a cry of a woman which he could not understand because "it was as if the voice was being controlled;" and that after Rowen got his order, he boarded the white van which he recognized to be previously driven by Alberto Caño. Meanwhile, Mario Miñoza,[35] a tricycle driver plying the route of Carcar-Mantalongon, saw Jacqueline running towards Mantalongon. Her blouse was torn and her hair was disheveled. Trailing her was a white van where a very loud rock music could be heard. Manuel Camingao[36] recounted that on July 17, 1997, at about 5:00 o'clock in the morning, he saw a white van near a cliff at Tan-awan. Thinking that the passenger of the white van was throwing garbage at the cliff, he wrote its plate number (GGC-491) on the side of his tricycle.[37]

Whoever this Manuel is, in fact, the name Manuel Camigao's that common, that he was most likely made to lie about the vehicle being at Carcar. However, the defense said that the car was at this certain repair shop on July 16. How can the same car be found in that location or even have visibility at 5 AM? Apparently, the script was already so cooked that common sense was no longer being used. In fact, critical thinking was severely compromised by the sensationalist corroborated narrative.