Benzon, Janiz Mikaela I.

BSN1-C
Research on the case about the Chiong Sisters Rape Slay Case and answer the following questions.
Be guided by the criteria given. 4 items, 60 points)
1. What was the case all about?
On July 16, 1997, two Chiong sisters went missing. Larranaga was one of them, along with six
other suspects, who were named by David Russia, the state witness. David Russia is a convicted felon
who was twice sentenced to jail for other offenses in the United States. He was with Larranaga in
Ayala Center, Cebu early in the evening of July 16, as Russia said, that evening Larranaga says he was
with his friends at R&R Restaurant in Quezon City; this fact was proved by photographs and his
friends' testimonies. At the Center for Culinary Arts (CCA) in Quezon City, the defense presented
thirty-five witnesses, including Larranaga's teachers and classmates, who all testified under oath that
Larranaga was in Quezon City when the crime was said to have taken place in Cebu. These testimony
were found insignificant by the trial court, ignored as coming from "friends of the accused," and
were not accepted. The trial court at that time was not competent enough to find the real culprit in
the scenario because of bribery, connections and the like.
During the Chiong murder case, this unexpected occurrence was shown in the film to be part
of the whole scheme of accusing Larranaga and concealing the facts about the murder and rape of
the Chiong sisters. Larranaga was sentenced to death, along with the other co-accused, and
appealed later, but they were all rejected. Considering Larranaga's Filipino-Spanish nationality, his
family asked the Spanish government for help. However, the mother of the Chiong Sisters’ appealed
that when someone who committed a crime in the
Philippines, must serve their crime in the Philippines and that is a reason why
Larranaga and the other convicts served their imprisonment in New Bilibid Prison. However, because
of the good behavior that Larranaga showed, he was then transferred to Madrid Penitentiary at Soto
del Real.
Therefore, Larranaga and the other convicts did not have the favourable judgement that
they deserve because of the different factors such as unjust system, lack of evidences and the like.
2. What are the medical reports being discussed in the case and howdid it affect the development
of the case?
According to my researches, there are no specific medical reports that were discussed.
However, they stated that the cause of the death of Marijoy Chiong and Jacqueline Chiong was due
to inflicted injuries and show some signs of raping in the scenario. However, they also stated that
they threw Marijoy Chiong in the ravine that caused also her death.
Firstly, the investigation that happened was insufficient enough to prove Larranaga and the
other victims guilty from the Chiong Sisters Rape Slay case because there are no definite findings on
the Chiong sisters’ real cause of death. There are no autopsy reports was shown that can be strong
evidence. With this, there are a lot of arguments that were stated during the trial because there
were no strong pieces of evidence that lead to innocent victims who suffer from the crime that they
did not commit.
The medical reports have nothing to do with Larranaga and the other convicts because they
have true witnesses that they were with them during the time of the crime. However, the court said
that it is insignificant because they were close to Larranaga. Also, there are no lab tests that linked to
Larranaga and with the other victims that can make them guilty at that time. In conclusion, the
shreds of evidence are void and null because of weak evidence and trace of events in the murder of
the Chiong sisters.
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 3. Discuss all the constitutional rights that were violated in the case.
Larranaga and the other convicts’ rights were violated in this case due to many gaps in the
case. Firstly, is the Article III, Section 4, and Section 14 that states “No person shall be held to answer
for a criminal offense without due process of law”, and in line with this, they were not heard in the
trial when the witnesses have strong evidence such as pictures and the like. Another one is that they
are no proper procedure on how they were judged in the court. These accused men were hopeless
at that time because the court was already siding with the victim. The court was incompetent and
biased at that time that led the accused not to be heard.
Other constitutional rights that were violated are the Article III, Section 2 that states, “The
right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable
searches and seizures of whatever nature and for any purpose shall be inviolable, and no search
warrant or warrant of arrest shall issue except upon probable cause to be determined personally by
the judge after examination under oath or affirmation of the complainant and the witnesses he may
produce, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be
seized.” The course of Larranaga’s arrest came quickly and abruptly, looking to him as an abduction.
Everyone who arrested him was in plain clothing, even though they looked like cops. When they
arrested Larranaga, they did not identify themselves, until Larranaga's sister asked them. In defense,
they wrongly arrested Larranaga because of the lack of an arrest warrant, saying that he had
committed a continuing offense.
Article III, Section 13 that states, “All persons, except those charged with offenses punishable
by reclusion Perpetua when evidence of guilt is strong, shall, before conviction, be bailable by
sufficient sureties, or be released on recognizance as may be provided by law. The right to bail shall
not be impaired even when the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus is suspended. Excessive bail
shall not be required.” This was also violated because there was no strong evidence that can be
linked to the accused especially Paco, he was not heard by the court, giving unexplainable judgment
to them and medical reports are not strong pieces of evidence because there is no definite findings
of the bodies of the Chiong sisters wherein Paco served Reclusion Perpetua and is still serving in the
prison up to this day that he did not deserve.
Lastly, Article III Section 1 was violated that states, “No person shall be deprived of life,
liberty, or property without due process of law, nor shall any person be denied the equal protection
of the laws.” This shows that the accused party were not protected by the law because Larranaga
was not given the right to a fair and speedy trial, first, the media had participated a lot in drawing
Larranaga's picture as the convict. The judge even displayed his impartiality, which was indeed
incomprehensible. The judge was found dead in a hotel after refusing to acknowledge the testimony
of Larranaga's witnesses, stopping him from taking the witness stand and making a double life
imprisonment verdict. With this, their natural rights did not acknowledge the fact that it was biased
and unjust and does not have enough investigation that led to the fall of the accused party in the
scenario.
4. As medical professionals, how would you conclude the case based from the medical findings
used as evidences?
As medical professionals, I would conclude the case based on the medical findings used as
evidence insignificant to the case because there is a lot of gaps in the medical reports. It does not
add up to Paco since there are limited findings only. There is no proper autopsy report that was
made at that time to clarify the different statements. Also, it is not proven that Paco was the one
who raped and murdered the Chiong Sisters. Therefore, the medical reports are not valid to make
the accused party and especially Paco eligible for the rape and murder case of the Chiong sisters due
to insufficient investigation and lack of depth of the pieces of evidence that were presented in the
court.

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 References:
https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/features/twenty-years-later-the-chiongsisters-murder-is-
still-shrouded-in-mystery-a1729-20180717-lfrm4
https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocs/1/46750
https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/constitutions/the-1987-constitution-of-therepublic-of-the-
philippines/the-1987-constitution-of-the-republic-of-thephilippines-article-iii/

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