A Business Graduate's Reviewing History Blog

Cebu Daily News Updated: July 17, 2023 The rainy nights can get scary. I was reminded of a case that happened in 1997 (now it's 2022 going to 2023) on July 16 of that day. Back then, it was the low-tech 1990s era when people used easily fragile diskettes, typewriters were still used, and the Internet was still dial-up and compromised with the landline, you can name it. Anybody who was born in the 1980s or the 1990s can testify to that. This is the Chiong Sisters Case. Two sisters namely Jacqueline Jimenea Chiong and Marijoy Jimenea Chiong disappeared. That happened while waiting for their father, the late Dionisio Chiong (who died during the pandemic), in Ayala Center-Cebu. It was a rainy evening when the two disappeared. Back then, there was a very limited spread of knowledge since the Internet was just a luxury.  A diagram found on Facebook, apparently owned by the late Miguel "Juan" Del Gallego y Ripoll The arrest of the suspects on September 15, 1997 Back then, there ...

Give Up Tomorrow has been an interesting documentary. Why I was fascinated by it because of how it shook my mind. It turned out that it was a trial by publicity . It was also at that time when The Calvento Files aired a dramatization of Davidson Rusia's testimony. As Cebu City Vice Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia said, it was a very unpopular move. People already thought Juan Francisco G. Larrañaga aka Paco (and the seven others) were guilty. People thought Davidson's story was worth believing. Some deleted scenes never made it into the final cut  This deleted scene talks about the owner of the place where the crime allegedly happened. David Gurkan now recalls his experience. According to Davidson, this was the story as recorded by the Supreme Court of the Philippines:  From the evidence of the prosecution, there is no doubt that all the appellants conspired in the commission of the crimes charged. Their concerted actions point to their joint purpose and community of intent. Well s...

I guess the fascination with the broken justice system can never end, right? After watching Give Up Tomorrow , my entire world was shattered. I never realized that, all along, the act done by the 35 (or more) witnesses for Juan Francisco G. Larrañaga aka Paco. Paco was in Quezon City in Manila during the night of the crime. Manila was 300 kilometers away from Cebu City, where the crime happened. One of my memories in high school was that a film based on the Chiong Sisters was being produced. The film was originally named Butakal meaning "male pig". Later, the film was renamed  Animal in 2004--the same year Paco was wrongfully on death row. There was a sense of urgency in making the film. Fortunately, Paco and his co-accused were spared. The film presented the case of how eight people were wrongfully tagged. Yes, I believe that Davidson V. Rusia was innocent regarding the crime. The documentary did show that Davidson was tortured repeatedly.  What we saw was only what was incl...

As Christmas approaches, another case worth revisiting for history vs. gossip is the Vizconde Massacre. I watched Crime Investigation Asia uploaded on YouTube. I wrote about the documentary Give Up Tomorrow -- a documentary that explores the irregularities while pursuing justice for the late Chiong sisters, Jacqueline Jimenea Chiong and Marijoy Jimenea Chiong. I feel compelled to write about the Vizconde Massacre. For more than 10 years, I used to believe that Hubert Jeffry Pagaspas Webb, son of Freddie Webb, was guilty. It turns out that according to Crime Investigation Asia --it was really a trial by gossip . In my case, I want to call it a trial of Trust Me Bro.  I still read comments about how footage of Hubert in the States could've been "easily tampered". Yet, those who comment haven't presented the evidence. I guess if I asked for their evidence, they'll just say, "Trust me bro!" Granted, photo editing was still in its infancy back then so how cou...