Spain wants rapist to be spared

**badkuk** · April 8th, 2005 10:07 PM

The very thought sickens me, pero tingin ko makakalusot ung gago...

This story was taken from www.inq7.net
http://news.inq7.net/breaking/index....story_id=33040

Spanish lawmakers urge gov't to spare rapist on death row
Posted 07:37pm (Mla time) April 08, 2005
By
Agence France-Presse

A DELEGATION of legislators from Spain urged Philippines President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Friday to spare the life of Paco Larranaga, scion of a Spanish-Filipino clan sentenced to death for the rape and murder of two young women.

The eight parliamentarians from a cross-section of Spain's political parties said they met with Filipino Senate President Franklin Drilon to deliver their request on the sidelines of an international conference on parliamentarians, which ended here Friday.

The Supreme Court last year upheld the death sentence meted by a lower court on Larranaga and six other co-defendants for the kidnapping and murder of sisters Marijoy and Jacqueline Chiong on the central island of Cebu in 1997.

"We come from different political groups with different ideologies and we have disagreements on many things, but we are in complete agreement on this issue," Juan Moscoso del Prado Hernandez of Spain's ruling Socialist Party told a news conference. "We are sure that Paco is innocent."

The group said they submitted to Drilon and House Speaker Jose de Venecia documents provided by the Larranaga family that they insisted would prove the convict's innocence.

They said certain "factual and procedural elements" during the trial "may have undermined his (Larranaga's) legal guarantees and that casts doubts on the elements of his guilt," according to the legislators' letter to the two Filipino congressional leaders.

Arroyo, in Rome to attend the funeral of Pope John Paul II, has suspended judicial executions since coming to power in 2001 despite popular pressure for the reinstatement of capital punishment.

In January, lawyers' groups from Barcelona, Madrid, and Spain's Basque region asked the Filipino Supreme Court to allow them to intervene in the Larranaga case.

The three groups said they believed Larranaga was a "Spanish citizen with origins in the Basque country and therefore a member of the European Union," whose members have abolished capital punishment.

The Philippines is a former Spanish colony.

**falken** · April 8th, 2005 10:27 PM

Tell them to go to hell and mind their own f*cking business. And get on with the execution.

**Alpha_One** · April 8th, 2005 10:33 PM

What the hell do they care?

**ILuvDetailing** · April 8th, 2005 11:43 PM

the last thing we need, another rapist on the loose

**ts1n1ta** · April 8th, 2005 11:51 PM

that is full of sh*t. ---"We are sure that Paco is innocent."--- yeah right tell that to the two young women he raped...oh wait i forgot he killed em! tsk tsk. on with the execution!

**falken** · April 9th, 2005 12:02 AM

"The three groups said they believed Larranaga was a "Spanish citizen with origins in the Basque country and therefore a member of the European Union," whose members have abolished capital punishment."

His victim's surnames were Chong, whose surname is Chinese, and whose origins are from China where they still have the death penalty, on with the execution!

**empy** · April 9th, 2005 08:40 AM

i don't know the specifics of the case, but my general sentiment about rapist/murderers is to kill them, make it a public event, and give the ticket proceeds to the family of the victims.

also, i don't think the philippines should give in to foreign meddling....especially spain of all countries

however, if there is evidence that he's innocent, why don't they make it public?

**nugundam93** · April 9th, 2005 08:46 AM

"...for the rape and murder of two young women..."

WHAT THE HECK? they wanna spare someone who did THAT?!

dapat sila ang na-rape eh para malaman nila.

imagine the added anguish to the victims' family if they spare the rapist. gah.

**yebo** · April 9th, 2005 10:15 AM

well spain did raped and murder thousands of "indios" during spain's rule in the philippines. maybe they think we still are a colony? so what the heck, 2 more does not make any difference, no? we still are "indios", and what do they care about "indios" anyway? pillage, rape and murder. they're just being true to their old selves!