Atty. Ruphil Bañoc
The need of gathering additional evidences in bringing to justice the culprits in the barbaric murder of Christine Lee Silawan in lapu-lapu City should wake the NBI and PNP up to help each other to ensure that justice will be served. Both agencies’ investigators should compare notes and complement each other on their expertise in collecting the pieces of evidences.
They should be reminded of the burden in establishing a case. It needs a lot of efforts. It is like building a beautiful, presentable, concrete house where one needs a lot of people with different expertise.
One has to hire a good architect, experienced civil engineer, expert electrical engineer, veteran foreman, skillful laborers, professional painters, etcetera to erect such a house. They need the necessary equipment in building a house such as Tape measure, Bubble levels, Plumb bob, Handsaws, Hammer, Digging bar, Cement mixers etcetera.
On the contrary, to destroy such house, one does not need to hire people of different expertise. He just hires bystanders and provides them with hammers.
In short, to build a house is difficult than to demolish such house. In the same manner to build a criminal case with the quantum of evidence, which is beyond reasonable doubt, is not easy. To counter it is very simple. One will just create a doubt or even fabricate a story enough to introduce doubts to the case.
With this analogy, the two Law enforcement agencies have to help each other to lighten the burdensome obligation in gathering evidences enough to the required evidence. In fact, there were cases dismissed not because the accused is not guilty of the crime charge, but because the strength of prosecution’s evidence is not enough.
In the Silawan case, the NBI admitted that their evidences so far are circumstantial. Although there are cases also when the Supreme Court convicted the accused based on circumstantial evidences, but they must be airtight.
So the need to gather additional evidences especially scientific evidences that could strengthen the case against the former boyfriend of the victim who is also a minor, remains a challenge to both NBI and PNP. They need to consolidate their evidences.
They have a lot of works to do in running after the additional suspects. They have to be very careful to avoid experiencing again the technicalities in the procedure of arrest.
Meanwhile, President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the Lapu-lapu City Prosecutors Office for the re-arrest of the 17 year old suspect. He was released on March 23, the same day when Christine Silawan was laid to rest.
To date, the suspect is now returned to the youth care facility run by Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Lapu-lapu City. This is good to both sides.
On the part of the suspect, it is for his own protection. On the part of the victim’s camp, they have the assurance that the boy has not escaped from the law.