Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes with deep concern that the police have not filed criminal charges against two men who allegedly raped and killed a girl three months ago. A former member of the legislative council, the prime suspect, was neither arrested nor investigated. His accomplice and a witness identified him as the mastermind.
CASE DETAILS: (Based on Moro Women and Gabriela Women’s Group)
At 4pm on June 12, 2014, 14-year-old Darlene Jane Las Pinas, a student of Malandag National High School, was asked by her parents, Darwin and Lorgina Las Pinas, to buy noodles from a nearby store for their dinner. Darlene Jane failed to return home. Her parents decided to go looking for her. They started by asking their neighbors if they had seen their daughter, but they could not locate her.
Photo by Moro Women
At 7:30pm the next day, June 13, 2014, the Municipal Police in Malungon, province of Sarangani were informed that Darlene Jane, of Purok 8, Sitio Lamcanal, had gone missing. The police initiated an investigation.
They searched for her for days without a trace. On June 15, 2014, Darwin was informed by one of his neighbors, Nono Martinez, about a rotting smell from a vacant lot. Nono, who was carrying his pet dog who first was aware of the smell, went with Darwin to check where the rotting smell was coming from and what was causing it. Inside a hole they found Darlene Jane’s decaying body.
Darlene Jane was last seen alive by a witness (name withheld) with two men. She later identified them as Boyax Narciso, a former Barangay Kagawad (village council member) of Lamcanal, Malandag in Malungon; and Ronnie Sirrano. She testified that on the evening of June 12, she saw a girl, whose description later fit Darlene Jane, by the roadside being forcibly taken by two men.
The witness said the girl was between the two men, trying to escape and struggling to break free. One of them was holding and dragging her by the neck. The other was holding a sack. She saw them up close but did not intervene thinking they were either her parent or a relative.
Three days later, on June 15, 2014, she heard from neighbors about the decayed body of a girl found in a hole. She went to the crime scene. Here, she saw Ronnie Sirrano, one of the two men who fit the description of one of the men she had seen on June 12. She promptly approached the police investigators and told them she wanted to testify about what she had seen on June 12. She alerted them to the fact that one of the suspects was at the crime scene.
At the crime scene, the other suspect, Boyax Narciso, who owned the local funeral home, was contracted by the police to collect the dead body. Narciso suggested to the investigating forensic investigators to pour gasoline on the victim’s rotting body to alleviate the stench—an obvious attempt to destroy forensic evidence. The forensic investigators ignored his suggestion.
The police briefly took Ronnie Sirrano into custody, and invited the witness to file an affidavit so they could lodge a complaint against him. He was later freed without any criminal charges laid against him. The alleged mastermind, Boyax Narciso, was neither arrested nor charged despite compelling evidence against him.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Kindly send to the authorities listed below, a request to immediately intervene in ensuring that criminal charges against the perpetrators are filed, and the policemen who did not take action on this case are held accountable.
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SAMPLE LETTER
Dear ……………….,
PHILIPPINES: Three months ago, a 14 year-old girl was allegedly raped and murdered by two suspects who were not charged
Name of the victim: Darlene Las Pinas, (14) of Purok 8, Sitio Lamcanal, Malungon, province of Sarangani
Alleged perpetrators:
1. Boyax Narciso, a former Barangay Kagawad (village council member) of Lamcanal, Malandag in Malungon;
2. Ronnie Sirrano
Date of incident: June 12, 2014 at 4pm
Place of incident: Sitio Lamcanal, Malungon, province of Sarangani
I am writing to express my deep concern and shock with the deliberate actions of the police, not to file rape and murder charges against two suspects who allegedly raped and murdered Darlene Las Pinas on June 12, 2014.
On June 12, Darlene Jane (14), a student of Malandag National High School, was asked by her parents, Darwin and Lorgina Las Pinas, to buy noodles from a nearby store for their dinner. Darlene Jane failed to return home. They decided to go out and look her, and started by asking their neighbors if they had seen their daughter. She could not be located.
The next day, June 13, 2014 at 7:30pm, the Municipal Police in Malungon, province of Sarangani were informed that Darlene Jane, of Purok 8, Sitio Lamcanal, had gone missing. The police initiated an investigation.
After looking for her for days without a trace, on June 15, 2014, Darwin was told by one of his neighbors, Nono Martinez, about a rotting smell coming from a vacant lot. Nono, who was carrying his pet dog who first was aware of the smell, went with Darwin to check out the offensive smell. They found Darlene Jane’s rotting body inside a hole.
Darlene Jane was last seen alive by a witness (name withheld) with two men, whom she later identified as Boyax Narciso, a former Barangay Kagawad (village council member) of Lamcanal, Malandag in Malungon; and Ronnie Sirrano. She testified that in the evening of June 12, she saw a girl, whose description later fit Darlene Jane, by the roadside being forcibly taken away by two men.
The witness said the girl was between the two men, trying to escape and struggling to break free. One of them was holding and dragging her by the neck and the other was holding a sack with sharp objects inside. She saw them close up but did not intervene thinking they were her parent or a relative.
Three days later, on June 15, 2014, she heard from some neighbors about the decayed body of a girl found in a hole. She went to the crime scene. She saw Ronnie Sirrano, one of the two men who fit the description of one of the men she had seen on June 12. She promptly approached the police investigators and told them she wanted to testify about what she had seen on June 12. The witness then alerted the police to the fact that the suspects were at the crime scene.
At the crime scene, the other suspect, Boyax Narciso, who owned the local funeral home, was contracted by the police to collect the dead body. Narciso suggested to the investigating forensic investigators to pour gasoline on the victim’s rotting body so the stench could be alleviated—an obvious attempt to destroy forensic evidence. The forensic investigators ignored his suggestion.
The police briefly took Ronnie Sirrano into custody, and invited the witness to file an affidavit so they could lodge a complaint against him. The suspect was later freed without any criminal charges being laid against him. Boyax Narciso, the alleged mastermind, was neither arrested nor charged despite compelling evidence against him.
I urge you to immediately intervene in this case, to ensure that criminal charges against the perpetrators are filed. It is shocking, that despite compelling testimony and material evidence against the perpetrators, they were not detained, arrested or prosecuted for their crimes of allegedly raping and murdering a 14 year-old girl.
Furthermore, I urge you to begin an investigation of the local police who were investigating this case. It is not acceptable that, despite being informed by witnesses and provided with adequate information required for filing charges against the perpetrators, nothing was done for three months.
I trust that you will take immediate action in this matter.
Yours sincerely,
……………….
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Mr. Benigno Simeon Aquino III
President
Republic of the Philippines
Malacanang Palace
JP Laurel Street, San Miguel
Manila 1005
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 736 1010
Tel: +63 2 735 6201 / 564 1451 to 80
Email: corres@op.gov.ph /opnet@ops.gov.ph
2. Ms. Loretta Ann Rosales
Commission on Human Rights
SAAC Bldg., Commonwealth Avenue
U.P. Complex, Diliman
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 929 0102
Tel: +63 2 928 5655 / 926 6188
E-mail: chair.rosales.chr@gmail.com
3. Police Director Alan LM Purisima
Chief, Philippine National Police
Camp General Rafael Crame
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +632 7248763
Email: feedback@pnp.gov.ph
4. Ms. Leila de Lima
Secretary
Department of Justice (DOJ)
DOJ Bldg., Padre Faura
1004 Manila
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 521 1614
E-mail: soj@doj.gov.ph
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)
