The family of slain 6-year-old kidnap victim Ellah Joy Pique was given reason to hope for resolution yesterday.
This after Deputy Provincial Prosecutor England Joseph Berciles said the prosecutors panel found probable cause to indict Bella Ruby Santos and her British partner Ian Charles Griffiths with charges of kidnapping with homicide in relation to Ellah Joy’s death.
Berciles disclosed the findings to reporters yesterday.
He said he will either approve or reverse the recommendation made by the panel sometime this week.
Still, the lawyers of Santos and Griffiths vowed to contest the ruling of the three-member panel of prosecutors.
“We respect the ruling of the panel although to our mind they erred (in deciding on the complaint),” said the respondent’s lawyer Rameses Villagonzalo.
Villagonzalo and Makati City-based lawyer Ana Luz Cristal are contemplating whether to seek reconsideration from the Cebu Provincial Prosecutors’ Office or file a petition for review before the Department of Justice.
An arrest will be issued against Santos and Griffiths once the case is elevated to court. The case is nonbailable.
No surprise
Santos said she doesn’t know what to do yet after learning about the recommendation of the panel of prosecutors.
“Wa pa ko kahibaw oi. Lisud kaayo na atubangon (I don’t know what to do. It’s tough to face charges in court),” Santos said in a text message she sent to Cebu Daily News.
CDN tried to contact Santos but she decline to answer the calls.
She said she went to Moalboal town yesterday and was expected to return home in barangay Inayagan, Naga City, today.
The victim’s father Renante cried with joy on hearing the outcome of the preliminary investigation conducted by the Cebu Provincial Prosecutors’ Office.
Renante’s family is assisted by the Children Legal’s Bureau (CLB).
During the trial in court, CLB will act as the lead counsel for the private complainants and they will be assisted by lawyers of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Central Visayas (CIDG-7).
In a phone interview, CLB lawyer Joan Saniel said the bureau may file additional charges of pornography and human trafficking against Santos and Griffiths.
Icing on the case
CIDG-7 lawyer Inocencio dela Cerna welcomed the recommendation of the prosecutors panel for the Task Force Ellah Joy and the girl’s family, saying it didn’t surprise them.
“The finding of probable cause is like icing on the case. If that (complaint against the respondents) is for filing, we are 100 percent successful,” he said.
But Dela Cerna admitted that the actual battle has yet to start. “This is just the beginning,” he said.
Since Griffiths is in Great Britain and there is no extradition treaty with the Philippines, Dela Cerna said a “government-to-government request” to bring him to the country should be made upon the Philippine National Police’s recommendation to the British government.
Last April, Griffiths was arrested in his home by London police in connection with the kidnapping and death of Ellah Joy.
Griffiths was allowed to post bail and is under police custody after spending two nights in jail.
He is being monitored by authorities and was prohibited from talking to other persons other than his lawyers.
Fabricated
Villagonzalo said he and Cristal expected a dismissal of the charges against their clients.
“It’s obvious that the evidence presented (against the respondents) are fabricated. There would be three victims here: the girl (Ellah Joy) and my two clients (Santos and Griffiths),” he said.
Cristal said there is no basis to elevate the charges against Santos and Griffiths before the court.
“It all started with the Pajero. Santos’ Pajero was already disposed. I would really go to the DOJ to contest the ruling,” she said.
The victim’s father Renante said he is prepared to battle it out with Santos and Griffiths in court.
He said Ellah Joy would have been enrolled as a grade 2 pupil this school year were it not for her murder.
Ellah Joy is the youngest of four children of Renante and his wife Ligaya.
“I couldn’t withdraw the charges. It’s difficult to lose someone in a crime,” he said
Wrong vehicle
Charges of kidnapping with homicide were filed by Task Force Ellah Joy against 35-year-old Santos and Griffiths before the Cebu Provincial Prosecutors’ Office.
Santos, a native of barangay Inayagan, Naga City, and Griffiths were held responsible for the kidnap-murder of Ellah Joy last Feb. 8.
Santos’ Pajero was pointed to by witnesses as the vehicle used in kidnapping and disposing of Ellah Joy’s remains off a cliff in Barili town.
The vehicle was seized by the CIDG-7 at Santos home but Regional Trial Court Judge Meinardo Paredes ordered its return to Santos, saying the authorities “seized the wrong vehicle.”
The evidentiary proceedings before Judge Paredes has yet to be terminated.
With the resolution of the prosecutors’ office of the case, another judge handling the main case in court has jurisdiction over evidentiary hearings.
At least six persons positively identified Santos as the woman who kidnapped Ellah Joy near the elementary school of barangay Calajo-an in Minglanilla, Cebu.
Insufficient evidence
Griffiths, on the other hand, was implicated by five persons.
The witnesses pointed at photographs of Santos and Griffiths in a gallery of pictures shown by the police.
In their complaint, the Task Force Ellah Joy attached several affidavits, which include testimonies of at least 12 witnesses.
Two of the witnesses, a 9-year-old girl and her 12-year-old sibling, positively identified Santos as the woman who fetched Ellah Joy last Feb. 8 afternoon.
The task force suspects that Santos and Griffiths kidnapped Ellah Joy for their child pornography racket, an allegation vehemently denied by Santos.
Police earlier filed the same charges against Norwegian Sven-Erik Berger and Karen Esdrelon who were pointed to by a separate set of witnesses as the suspects in the girl’s death.
The case against Berger and Esdrelon were eventually dismissed by the prosecutors’ office for “insufficient evidence” after the couple managed to prove their alibis.