Commit a crime, fly to Spain!

Another high-profile crime is brought to the limelight because of its convicted rapist being given a reprieve of sorts by the Arroyo administration. Surprise, surprise.

Francisco Juan "Paco" Larrañaga, a scion of Cebu’s Osmeña clan and convicted rapist in the Chiong sisters abduction, rape and homicide case of 1997 has been granted by the DOJ to serve the rest of his life sentence in sunny Spain, of which he is apparently a citizen of.

Unknown to many I’m sure, we apparently have an agreement with Spain regarding the transfer of prisoners. If you’re a Spanish citizen who commits a crime here, and you satisfy all the conditions stipulated in the agreement, you can request to be transferred to a prison in Spain. How nice.

A prison is still a prison. But I’m sure being incarcerated in a Spanish prison will trump being in a Philippine one any day and twice on Sundays. There is no other reason to request for a transfer to Spain if it is worse than being incarcerated here.

Relatives of the victims have expressed rage over the decision, citing that the rapist would be treated well and probably even freed sooner than what the sentence requires, knowing just how wealthy and powerful the Osmeña clan is, even in Spain.

How nice it must be to be a convicted criminal of a heinous crime during the Arroyo administration.

Let’s just forget the details of the crime that the Chiong sisters horribly went through. Let’s forget what Maureen Hultman suffered for months after being shot for no reason at all. Let’s forget what the minor had to go through under the weight of a "loved" congressman. Let’s forget what Cochise Bernabe and Beebom Castaños, victims of mistaken identity, went through at the hands of a relative!

It seems that the rights of criminals, who have not finished their sentences, are given more weight than the feelings of the victim’s relatives left behind. There is something fundamentally wrong with that! And to think most of these crimes are against women!

Justice must be equal, if not true. A life taken must be repaid by a life taken away. A review of this obviously flawed procedure of clemency and commutation in a system where the death penalty has been abolished must be done.

The gravity of the crimes must be taken into consideration. Otherwise, why even call a crime a heinous one?

No amount of time served, even with "good behavior" should be enough to repay for a crime where a life has been snuffed out. And to serve it in a country where billionaires buy islands to spend vacations in. Unacceptable.