A 10-year wait for justice

Everybody is waiting for the promulgation of the celebrated kidnapping case of a Filipina-Chinese. The victim, Jacky Rowena Tiu, has been waiting for almost 10 years for justice to be served. She was kidnapped several meters away from her residence in San Fernando, La Union in September 2001. Our good friend, former Philippine National Police chief Art Lomibao who at the time was Region 1 police commander, told us about his “kidnapped for love” story that started when Jacky, then 29, was brought from La Union to safe houses in Tarlac and Cavite. At one point, her abductors almost had one of her fingers cut off to send to her father as a warning that the kidnappers were dead serious in their demand. She was held for eight days and finally released after her father paid a P10-million ransom.

Unknown to the kidnappers – who turned out to be mainland Chinese operating in the Philippines – the Tiu family had been cooperating with the police and within a few hours, the seven suspects were apprehended with the ransom money recovered intact. Unlike many other kidnap victims who have chosen to quietly fade away and even leave the country because of the trauma they went through, Jacky chose to fight back, refusing to be overcome by fear - something which did not really come as a surprise to many who knew her as a feisty, articulate young woman.

What should have been a cut-and-dried case, so to speak (with Jacky positively identifying her abductors from a police line-up and the fact that the suspects were caught dividing the ransom money hours after the victim was released at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport) has turned out to be a continuing ordeal of disappointment and frustration. One of the suspects had his charges downgraded to that of a mere accessory and was allowed to post a measly bail of P100,000 – for a crime that is supposed to be heinous and therefore non-bailable. This same suspect literally got away in cahoots with some corrupt Immigration and DOJ officials who allegedly issued fake documents to have Zhang Du aka Wilson Zhang deported, with one so-called “confidential agent” accompanying the suspect to the airport in the wee hours of the morning. As far as we know, no big fish has been made accountable for this gross injustice.

There have been some joyful episodes to this saga though, like the marriage of Jacky and Art (a widower) a couple of years ago in what has been described as a classic tale of damsel in distress marrying her knight in shining armor. But the story of Jacky is far from having a happy ending yet because until now, the fight for justice is still ongoing, and one can understand the emotional and psychological strain that she and her family had been going through no matter how much they all try to return to their “normal” lives.

Over the years, the case has been transferred like a volleyball from one judge to another, with some inhibiting at first, then unexplainably doing a turnaround and deciding to continue the hearings, while others opted to retire halfway through the trial. Some sources have told us about the practice among some judges to go on “optional retirement” once they are “compromised” in a particular case – meaning they or their families must have been threatened by an accused or perhaps even “persuaded” by other, more lucrative reasons. This is an unfortunate reality that many people hoping for justice just have to come to terms with.

In any event, the case of Jacky Tiu is now in the sala of Judge Antonio Rosales of the Manila RTC Branch 52 awaiting promulgation which could happen anytime now. A lot of people are obviously watching how this celebrated case of kidnapping - even described as “ideal” by former president Gloria Arroyo in her 2002 SONA because it was solved early, the ransom money recovered with nobody getting killed - will finally be resolved. It is also not farfetched to say that this case will test once again the justice system in this country, and determine whether people can still put their trust and confidence in our courts, with judges deciding on the clear merits of a case and doing what is right and just.

It has been said that justice delayed is justice denied - but no one will argue that even if justice has been delayed too long, as in the case of Jacky - it will still be forthcoming in one way or another. After all, there is such a thing as karma - and the fight that Jacky has started, not only for herself but for all other kidnap victims whose lives have been turned topsy-turvy if not snuffed out by these vicious criminals, will not be in vain.

Spy tidbits

— Word is out that former Inquirer and now Manila Standard Today business columnist Vic Agustin is moving to television with a new talk show program being developed by TV 5. This probably explains Cocktales’ month-long leave from his current paper. People are now waiting to see whether Agustin is better read than seen or heard.

 — After a busy year of mergers and acquisitions, an exhausted Manny Pangilinan recently left for the United States for a complete medical check-up. MVP, who turns 65 this year, is checking in at the Stanford University Medical Center and should be back in Manila after two weeks. MVP’s legendary work ethics has made the Metro/First Pacific Group one of the most profitable companies in Asia. His busy schedule has not even given him a chance to try out PLDT’s brand new $13.5 million Augusta 139 helicopter.

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