Judgment day of 14-yr kidnap-slay case reset for 6th time
MANILA, Philippines—For the sixth time, a Manila court postponed the promulgation of judgment in the kidnapping and double homicide case against two men for the 2000 abduction and killing of 5-year-old Eunice Kaye Chuang and her nanny, this time because of a “conflict” in the judge’s schedule.
Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 21 Acting Presiding Judge Mona Lisa Tiongson-Tabora was supposed to hand down the verdict on the 14-year-old case Thursday morning. However, Manila RTC Branch 5 Judge Emily San Gaspar-Gito informed those in court that Tabora had duties to attend to in Makati, where she is also a judge, and that she requested that the promulgation be moved to Dec. 22.
Chuang’s mother Emily again expressed dismay. “I had to take time off from work today. Hopefully on Monday it will finally push through,” she said. Before Thursday’s resetting, the promulgation has been postponed five times: May 20, May 30 and June 27 this year, and in October 2012 and January 2013.
Calatina Canoza, mother of one of the suspects, Francis Canoza, also expressed frustration over the delay. “Not only is this a big inconvenience, it also adds to our family’s expenses since we will have to pay our lawyer—and we are not rich.”
Ka Kuen Chua, president of the Movement for the Restoration of Peace and Order (MRPO), an organization which helps families of kidnap victims, said Tabora’s latest reason for the postponement was “unacceptable.”
“[It’s] as if the 14 years and two months have not been long enough for the family’s suffering. Imagine, Eunice would have been 19 years old now had she lived,” said Chua, stressing that MRPO would continue to track the progress of the case until justice is served.
Francis Canoza and his cousin, Monico Santos, have been detained at Manila City Jail on charges that they kidnapped and killed Chuang and her nanny Jovita Montecino on Oct. 17, 2000.
Chuang and Montecino went missing after Santos, a taxi driver hired by Chuang’s grandmother to take her home, fetched the two from school in Binondo. Chuang’s grandmother said she saw another man board the taxi, who was later identified as Canoza.
When questioned by the police, Santos initially claimed that a man who flagged down his vehicle under Delpan Bridge was the one who kidnapped Chuang and Montecino.
But the investigation led to the discovery of Chuang and Montecino’s bodies in the ceiling of Santos’ home in Bulacan province.
Santos and Canoza were later arrested, with Santos admitting that he kidnapped the child and her nanny so he could demand a ransom of P300,000. He said he needed money for home repairs.
Canoza’s mother insisted that her son was wrongfully accused and was only assumed to have participated in the crime because of his affiliation with his cousin.
