Ellah Joy Pique kidnap-slay: Prosecutor OKs filing of charges

CEBU, Philippines - Acting Provincial Prosecutor England Joseph Berciles approved the filing of charges against Bella Ruby Santos and her boyfriend, British National Ian Charles Griffiths, as recommended by the three-man panel looking into the case.

The panel composed of Prosecutors Jose Edwin Renegado, Anabelle Robles and Maria Luisa Ong found probable cause to indict Santos and Griffiths for the crime of kidnapping with homicide in relation to the death of six-year-old Ellah Joy Pique last February.

The panel said that based on the evidence, there was conspiracy between Santos and Griffiths to allegedly kidnap and kill Pique.

“There is a positive identification by the complainant’s witnesses that cannot be doubted, nor was it irregular since the witness es, who positively identified respondents were shown with not only one photograph, but several photographs of adult males and females,” the panel said.

The panel added that while none of the witnesses presented saw the actual killing of Pique but, it cannot be denied that Santos and Griffiths were the last persons to be seen with the victim before she died.

The panel also stressed the immediate flight of respondents to a foreign country on February 9, 2011, a day after the discovery of the body of Pique, which was dumped in Barili town.

“The certification from Silk Air clearly stated that they purchased a last-minute one-way ticket to Singapore only on February 9, 2011 after they said they missed their flights on February 7, 2011.”

“If they were really intent on leaving Cebu after failing to take the February 7 flight, the normal reaction would be to secure another booking for Singapore the very next day,” the panel said.

The panel also said that the couple did not mentioned in the counter-affidavit their whereabouts on February 8 in the afternoon to the early morning of February 9 that may further establish their contention of physical impossibility of committing the offense.

“Her whereabouts on the latter day could not be accounted for with certainty after Santos crumbled on its own when she contradicted her own witnesses and the documentary evidence,” the panel’s report stated.

However, the panel said the error regarding the plate number of the vehicle used by respondents is not fatal to the cause of the complainants.

The panel added that in fact all witnesses regardless of the error allegedly said respondents were in a dark-colored Sports Utility Vehicle, which is the same as the vehicle of Santos. The panel said the issue of credibility raised by Santos against the prosecution’s witnesses is best left to the court.

And the issue of the forensic examination raised by Santos is better left for the court to appreciate in a full blown trial on the merits.

On the other hand, the panel dismissed the perjury case filed by Santos against the Criminal Investigation and Detective Group (CIDG) and two witnesses for lack of probable cause.

The respondents of the case are CIDG’s Willard Selibio, Angelito Yaun and two witnesses Ligaya Escultos and Ian Bruce Bansuan.

The panel said Santos failed to present evidence showing there was a false statement under oath made by the witnesses.

Ellah Joy was kidnapped on February 8 while she on her way home from the Calajoan Elementary School in the town of Minglanilla. Witnesses said that a dark-colored SUV stopped and the girl got into it. Defense counsel Rameses Villagonzalo said they will file a motion for reconsideration over the findings of the prosecutors.

NOT IN HIDING

In an interview over GMA-7 Cebu’s Balitang Bisdak yesterday, Santos said that she was not in hiding.

“Dili ko mutago kay unsa may kapuslanan? Mutago tuod ko pero limitado ra pud ang akong mga lihok, ako nang i-welcome kung gani malutsan man ko ug warrant,” Santos said

She, however, reiterated her innocence on the crime.

The police are now keeping an eye on Santos, said Sr. Supt. Patrocinio Comendador, director of the Cebu Provincial Police Office and head of Task Force Ellah Joy. — with Ria Mae Booc/NLQ (FREEMAN)