Francisco Juan Larrañaga (Paco) - The Philippines

February 05

Francisco Juan Larrañaga (Paco) was sentenced to 2 consecutive life sentences at the age of 19 and is prison in The Philippines. He had been on death row, but this was commuted to life imprisonment in May 2006 following a general amnesty.

He was convicted in May 1999 of the kidnap, false imprisonment, rape and murder of two sisters. In February 2004 the Supreme Court ordered that he be sentenced to death. It was alleged that Paco and 7 other men kidnapped the two sisters, raped them and then threw one of the bodies into a ravine.

Only one body was ever found. When the girls’ brother went to identify her, he did not think it was his sister; her hair had been shorter and there was a noticeable difference in height. However, no formal identification was ever made, nor any DNA tests conducted. Instead, the Judge threw Paco’s lawyer in jail for contempt of court and assigned a new lawyer.

The only evidence against Paco is the statement of one his co-defendants, who gave evidence for the prosecution in exchange for total immunity. He fainted during cross-examination but the Judge proceeded to respond to questions on his behalf.

The defence sought to present evidence from 35 witnesses who could give evidence that on the evening of the murder, Paco was at a party with friends until the early hours of the morning. The log book at the condominium where he was staying shows that he returned at 2:45am. In addition, one of Paco’s teachers gave evidence that she had seen him at 6.30pm at school on the day of the murder. The following day Paco sat midterm exams; there are records to prove this. That evening, he caught a flight to the Philippine island on which the murder took place.

The Judge disregarded all witness statements and documentary evidence supporting Paco's case.

FTA believes that this is an unsafe conviction and we are appealing for a re-trial or dismissal. An amicus curiae brief has been submitted in support of this. We have also called upon the Spanish government, president of the European Commission and the President of the European Parliament, who have all raised their concerns about this case. All protestations have been ignored by the Supreme Court and the Philippine Ministry of Justice.

Fair Trial Issues

1. Paco Larrañaga was not allowed to give evidence at his trial.
2. Several defence witnesses were prevented from giving evidence.
3. Defence counsel's right to examine the chief prosecution witnesses was restricted.
4. Paco was denied adequate counsel, violating his right to a fair trial. The lawyer appointed to him after his original one was dismissed, had less than one day to prepare the case.
5. Prosecution evidence centred on the statement of one of the accused.
6. Paco’s right to be tried by an independent and impartial tribunal was violated. Pressure was exerted on the case by powerful groups and he was the subject of an unprecedented number of media reports that condemned him before his trial started. There was also a 100,000 Peso reward for prosecution information and testimony.