Prosecutors, Bella’s lawyers ordered to keep mum on case

Both the prosecution and defense  lawyers for homicide suspect Bella Ruby Santos were told by the court yesterday not to discuss the Ellah Joy murder case with the news  media.

Lawyer Noemi Truya-Abarientos of the Cildren’s Legal Bureau (CLB) said the order from the judge  was meant to protect  two minor-age  girls testifying in the case.

“This is done for the best interest of the child witnesses,” she said.

Truya said the order issued by Regional Trial Court (RTC) Judge Ester Veloso of Branch 6 applies until  the court finishes  hearing the testimonies of the two children.

Santos’ lawyer Julius Caesar Entice yesterday cross-examined a  12-year-old girl who earlier pointed to Santos as the one who invited  her 6-year-old friend Ellah Joy Pique to board  a vehicle  along a road in Minglanilla town last Feb. 8.

Ellah Joy’s remains were later found below a  ravine in Barili town, Cebu, the following day.

Truya said cross-examination of the witness will continue on Dec. 12 so the girl “won’t be strained.”

When sought for comment after the hearing, Entice smiled and told reporters, “The picture on our faces says a lot.”

Lawyer Rameses Villgonzalo, lead counsel of the defense, declined to comment  on the two-hour hearing inside the chambers of Judge Veloso, who has to decide on a a  motion for bail filed by Santos.

Santos and her British partner Ian Charles Griffiths insist they are innocent of the charge of kidnapping with homicide, a capital offense.

Santos  was arrested last Oct. 7 in Metro Manila. Griffiths, a 51-year-old accountant, is believed to be in the United Kingdom and is on the “red alert list” of the Interpol as a fugitive wanted for prosecution in the Philippines.

Though Santos is charged with a heinous crime, evidence of guilt must be strong in order for the court to deny her Constitutional right to  bail.

Santos declined to be interviewed yesterday.

The hearing last Nov. 15 was held behind closed doors in the judge’s chambers.

Prosecutors and lawyers confirmed that a child witness pointed  to Santos during the hearing but did not give many details.

Ellah Joy’s father Renante Pique, who was present in the room,  later said the 12-year-old girl pointed twice to Santos and was a “companion” of Ellah Joy with other children walking outside the school after classes were dismissed in the afternoon of Feb. 8. Reporter Ador Vincent Mayol