DOJ files charges vs Strunk, Medel for Nida Blanca murder

Roger Lawrence "Rod" Strunk is still a suspect in the November 2001 murder of his wife, actress Nida Blanca.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday filed charges against Strunk and confessed hit man Pedro Philip Medel for Blanca’s murder.

Another person, Vicente Polinar, was also charged with murder in connection with the Blanca slay case before the Pasig Regional Trial Court. Polinar allegedly accompanied Medel in conducting surveillance of the Atlanta Centre in San Juan town where Blanca’s body was found.

In a 36-page resolution, government prosecutors said they found sufficient evidence to proceed with the case despite the "dramatic" recantation by Medel of his confession.

In his confession, Medel said he, Strunk and an unidentified woman assaulted Blanca, resulting in the victim’s death. Medel later recanted his statement during the televised preliminary investigation of the case on Nov. 23, 2001, claiming he had been tortured and made to confess under duress.

The DOJ also dismissed for lack of evidence the charges of obstruction of justice filed against the three security guards on duty at the Atlanta Centre at the time Blanca was murdered.

The charges were based on the complaint submitted by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG).

The prosecutors said the explanations made by security guards Ricky Alvarez, Roberto Canete and Diolito Molines were credible.

The three security guards, prosecutors said, even helped trace Blanca’s movements from the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) office within the building to her car, where she was attacked and killed.

The DOJ also said there were other witnesses to prove that Medel and Strunk know each other, despite Strunk’s repeated denials.

According to the DOJ, Strunk is still culpable for Blanca’s murder, having been implicated in Medel’s confession.

Prosecutors said the most telling testimonies on the case were those of slain former New People’s Army leader Romulo Kintanar, Leonilo Gonzaga and Pedro Pates. Kintanar, Gonzaga and Pates all said Medel communicated with Strunk before the incident and displayed disturbed behavior after the murder.

Gonzaga was Medel’s roommate at their apartment in Quezon City, while Pates is Gonzaga’s friend, whom Medel also met.

Kintanar facilitated Medel’s surrender through Immigration Commissioner Andrea Domingo. Kintanar was then a security consultant for the Bureau of Immigration. After Medel surrendered, Domingo referred the matter to the Philippine National Police (PNP).

The link between Medel and Strunk shows that the two could have connived to kill Blanca.

Strunk is now in the United States, though he maintains his innocence and said he loves his wife, adding that Medel’s confession was full of falsehoods meant to implicate him.

Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuño said they will proceed with the extradition process once an arrest warrant is issued against Strunk.

Other witnesses also alleged Strunk had an extravagant lifestyle despite his joblessness, was an alcoholic and used illegal drugs.

"We cannot accept Medel’s defense that the case against him was dismissed and the fact that he was tortured into giving a statement in his own hand writing," Zuño said.

The prosecutors also took note of Strunk’s inconsistency in giving statements and the testimony of Elena dela Paz, Blanca’s bookkeeper, that Strunk held a grudge against the actress for not including his name in the title of property bought by Blanca in the US.

The DOJ said Medel’s allegations that he made his confession under duress are untrue, since Medel admitted to the Blanca slay voluntarily and was ably assisted by a lawyer, who let him execute the statement in his own handwriting.

"The fact that he allegedly recanted his statement does not readily make it inadmissible. It has long been held that retractions are generally unreliable and are looked upon with considerable disfavor by the courts," the DOJ said. "In our level, we treat it more as a matter of defense, which may be ventilated in court."

The medical personnel who attended Medel also testified that the bruises on his wrists and ankles were caused by shackles placed on him during his arrest. They also said the internal pain Medel said he experienced then was caused by a urinary tract infection.

The DOJ prosecutors also said the media had free access to Medel and he gave spontaneous answers during the interviews conducted by the press.

"It may also be noteworthy to mention that the two witnesses, namely, Rosalinda Molina and Rodolfo de Joya Jr., positively identified Medel as among those milling around the crime scene immediately upon the discovery of the body of Ms. Blanca," the prosecutors said.

"Medel’s unexplainable presence in the scene shows that he was privy to Nida Blanca’s death, which was not yet known to the general public at that time, thereby bolstering (the) complainants’ theory of his participation in the matter," they added.

On Nov. 7, 2001, the multi-awarded actress, Dorothy Jones in real life, was found murdered at 7 a.m. inside her car in the Atlanta Centre’s 6th floor parking lot.

According to the autopsy report, Blanca died of massive loss of blood caused by several stab wounds in various parts of her body, some of which had severed major blood vessels. Blanca also suffered fractured ribs on both side of her body, as well as hematomas on her face and contusions on her body.

On Nov. 19, 2001, Medel executed a 10-page handwritten confession in which he admitted to killing Blanca and named Strunk and a certain Mike Martinez as the masterminds behind the crime.

Martinez was later picked up by armed men and is feared to have been killed.

Meanwhile, the NBI is waiting for a warrant of arrest against Strunk in preparation for the filing of a request for

Strunk’s extradition with the US government.

NBI National Capital Region chief Edmundo Arugay said the NBI is in constant coordination with the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in keeping an eye on Strunk, who is believed to be staying with relatives in California.

Strunk had left the country to be with his ailing mother in the US. His mother died, but Strunk did not return to the Philippines, saying he would not be given a fair trial here.

"We are monitoring his whereabouts," Arugay said. "And we are optimistic the arrest warrant would come out very soon."

NBI-NCR is the lead agency in probing the Blanca murder case in coordination with the CIDG. A joint NBI-PNP team filed murder charges against Strunk and Medel for the Blanca slay.

Strunk’s lawyer, Alma Malongga, said she was saddened by the DOJ decision to file charges against her client. "We could, perhaps, ask the DOJ to reconsider its decision because, indeed, there was no probable cause that would warrant the filing of cases."