Last week Ian Griffiths asked his Defence Team to issue a Press Release following the news that his partner and co-accused, Bella Santos, had been released from jail on bail. Here is the full wording of that release: That message fell on largely deaf ears although Channel 5 in Cebu did cover it in a news bulletin. It was also picked-up - or rather just the final paragraph was - by a sexagenarian attorney, Pachico Searles, who is a regular columnist for the Cebu edition of "SunStar" who wrote the following piece published last Saturday: Although an accused's right to the presumption of innocence is enshrined in the Philippine Constitution, it is seldom adhered to, almost certainly not in the case of foreigners and Seares' overall tone mirrors that of the authorities. However, by conveniently ignoring a number of important facts - all of which have been printed in his paper at some time or other - he seeks to deceive a gullible public and thereby prove his hostile credentials. For example: Seares claims Griffiths fled the country before a warrant could be served. In point of fact, Griffiths and Santos took a flight to Hong Kong together on February 9, 2011 having missed their flight a day earlier. They later flew to Singapore where Griffiths held a directorship of an IT company. When they learned that they had been named as suspects of the abduction and killing of Ellah Joy and that their home in Naga was to be searched, Santos immediately flew back to Cebu. Is it usual for a murderer to voluntarily return to the (alleged) scene of the crime knowing the Police are awaiting them? Scotland Yard did receive a request to assist the PNP Task Force at the end of March 2011 and officers arrested Griffiths, searched his home and removed all his computers and other electronics for forensic investigation. He spent two nights in a Police cell before being released on Police Bail whilst officers made further enquiries. From local reports we understand that just two letters were sent to Scotland Yard by the PNP to back-up their request for Griffiths to be handed-over to them: one was from the Task Force Commander and the other penned by the complainant, Renante Pique. Under the law, Police Bail is reviewable at least monthly and can not be extended indefinitely. At the end of 12 weeks, British detectives concluded that there was no case for Griffiths to answer, released him from his bail commitment and returned all his property in perfect working order. The senior detective assigned to the case wrote to the Task Force Commander notifying him of their action. That letter, a force-to-force communication should have been treated confidentially and no doubt its author would not have been too impressed when he learned that its content had been published by the press in Cebu. Seares wrongly states that there is no means to bring Griffiths back to Cebu to stand trial here. Although in the dying days of the Gordon Brown government, an Extradition Treaty was agreed and signed by both the UK and the Philippines, it has never been ratified by either government and is not in force. It does, however, provide a framework by which either government could make ad-hoc requests of the other and although a senior Fiscal has twice claimed that Griffiths' extradition is being sought, neither the Department of Justice nor the Department of Foreign Affairs has made any such request of the British government. The legal means exists, it is the will to persue those means that's lacking. It is, of course, much easier to blindly toe the party line and ignore anything and everything that points in the other direction. Probably provides better job security too.
Looks like this one, unlike the norvegian guy that was framed first, has a few bob in the kitty, and they won't let go until some of it finds its way in someone else's kitty...
For sure there's an element of that, Dom, as all foreigners are perceived to be rich even when they're potless. One of the private prosecutors has pointed to the size of the Defence Team as being an indicator of wealth. In isolation, quite plausible, but although the Defence Team does regularly field 3 lawyers in Court, they're always outnumbered by the Prosecution which has had no fewer than 8 Fiscals and lawyers appear on its behalf in this case. Criminal cases here have an added element that we don't find in the west: civil liability and costs. The claimant - in this case Renante Pique, the dead girl's father - can submit a claim for damages, loss of income and legal costs against the accused. The legal costs' element of Pique's claim amounts to about Php1M and he's represented by three lawyers acting as private prosecutors, two of whom are employed by a charity (the Childrens' Legal Bureau) and are acting pro-bono -- you do the math! But I can tell you this, the Defence legal costs are but a fraction of that being claimed by Pique. And before you ask: no, the defendants can not counter-claim for malicious and wrongful prosecution as part of these proceedings.
And they call that justice...??? I did consider retiring in Pinas at one time, but over the last couple of years, I had to come to the conclusion that Italy ticks all the boxes for me, and it ain't the fact that I am Italian that make me state this but several other factors which can all be found under the heading "Civilization"...
From the Philippine point of view, yes it is. Remember that here "saving face" is a major issue and a part of life that Filipinos have turned into an art form. And there can be severe penalties to pay if you cause a Filipino to lose face in a major way: he can have you charged with crimes under the Estafa laws which carry lengthy prison terms and hefty fines/compensation. If you bear in mind that all the laws of this country are written so as not to disadvantage - and where possible, benefit - the rich ruling class, you won't go far wrong. The somewhat simplified pecking order is: The 50 or so very rich and powerful ruling families The political class The emerging and increasing middle-class who have salaried jobs, own homes and cars The remaining 95% of the population Foreigners
That reinforces my, already, strong belief that the place ain't for me. Maybe taking a holiday or three, but as far as a retirement destination, even if I were to come up on the lottery, it is a no-no.
I have a feeling that there may be a political element to this prosecution. The mid term elections are drawing near, and the Governorship of Cebu is going to be fought over bitterly. It suited the present Governor to get involved in the case at an early stage - she will have "supporters" writing in the newspapers who will want to see a conviction so that the Governor does not lose face.
Well, yes and no. Governor Gwen Garcia was suspended from office shortly before Christmas on the orders of the President as she was found to have committed financial malfeasance. The Vice-Governor, Agnes Magpale, duly took over but did not gain access to the Governor's office until Sinulog in January - Garcia effectively locked herself in! That suspension lasts until the mid-terms at which Gwen Garcia is seeking a Congressional seat. Her brother will contest the Liberals for the Governorship whilst Magpale (Liberal) is seeking re-election as Vice-Governor. It could be a clean sweep for Aquino's Liberals as Congressman Tomy Osmena - the previous Cebu City Mayor - is challenging Mike Rama for that office. Garcia did involve herself to a far greater extent than some might consider wise or healthy. Both sets of accused were paraded before her at press photo-ops and she did give presents to the three child witnesses for the Berger/Esdrelon case. Her credibility took a severe knock when that case failed and she sacked the Director of the Cebu Provincial Police Office (the highest ranking PNP officer on the island). His replacement, Commendador, was tasked with bringing about a speedy resolution to the case, indeed his promotion likely depended on that; he was the head of the task force formed at that time by the Governor. As any failure of the present case will reflect badly on the task force and its commander, there could be pressure from that quarter. When the Berger case was collapsing, SunStar published a piece likening Cebu's PNP to the Keystone Cops which would not have gone down terribly well in the corridors of power and some knuckles may have been rapped. It's possible the press is afraid not to toe the party line for fear of incurring wrath.
The second and third "offences" are almost certainly why she and Griffiths were charged. I believe it is safe to say that Commendador ordered PNP foot-soldiers to scour the area south of Cebu City and look for a 4x4 that vaguely resembled that originally described and owned by a foreigner-Filipino couple. Within a few days they located a vehicle that loosely matched the description and was owned by a "qualified" couple. It was then a simple matter of manufacturing a case against the pair. Finding "witnesses" would not have been too difficult a task given that there was over Php1 million in the reward kitty at the time. BUT not one witness was interviewed and made a statement to Police BEFORE Santos and Griffiths were named as suspects and their pictures shown on TV and published in the newspapers. But suppose both Griffiths and Santos had been in Singapore at the time Ellah Joy was supposedly kidnapped and murdered? The justice system doesn't actually require you to be physically anywhere near the scene of a crime at the time a crime was committed for you to be charged, tried and convicted of that crime. Don't believe me? It's perfectly true, I assure you. See the case of "Paco" Larranaga who is currently serving a 42 year "life" sentence for a crime he could not possibly have committed. His case probably did have political overtones as, through his mother, Larranaga is a member of the Osmena clan.
I am not implying that the following is pertinent to anyone on this forum but I wonder how many people have postponed their plans to live in the Philippines whilst the £/peso rate continues to fall. If it was 100+ I think more Brits would be tempted. I wouldn't be tempted but others very well could be.
My wife reliably informed me, that Paco was somehow related to the Aznars too, and was a regular visitor at the main house.
Well it was exactly that - £1 = Php100 - when I first revisited Cebu in late 2006. In those days one could feast on the Marco Polo Plaza's dinner buffet - then the very best available outside Manila - for just 750 Pesos per head. It now costs 950 and considering it's a five star hotel, is still reasonably good value for money. Over the last week or so, the Pound has risen slightly against the Peso - nothing to do with the British economy - and is around the 63 mark, depending on where and how you exchange your currency.
I have no doubt it would make things more tempting but nonetheless still just one of many considerations.
An award-winning documentary film entitled "Give Up Tomorrow" was made about this case and shown on PBS Television; DVDs are available from Amazon. I have found this rather clearer summary on PBS' web site:
