Your last issue invited my attention to the killing of SLU student Jude Wal II. Before this, I said a short prayer for the repose of his soul.

“Some things don’t look all right,” read Strike Home last week. Your columnist did his assignment. Joseph Tongtongdan, the bishop to whom the self-confessed killers allegedly surrendered, is an impostor. He is facing all kinds of criminal charges, one of which is a case for estafa filed by a BIR official. Therefore, not only was media taken for a ride. All of us were.

What else is wrong aside from the fact that, after the surrender to a fake bishop and counseled confession, the duo outrightly waived their right to preliminary investigation which would logically mean that they will also plead guilty to murder?

Well, the killers will never plead guilty. I bet my life. The reason is they must have been duped into believing that they will not be prosecuted at all because they can be state witnesses. They are in for a big surprise. And why would the bishop resort to manipulation? For simple love of the P100,000 reward money which the victim’s father had pre-announced. The bishop must have cast his moist eyes on the money as he is in the bad habit of doing. So he pronounced fake killers to get the money. His background will bear us out on this.

My simple mind tells me that the duo will not qualify as state witnesses; hence, they will be prosecuted and eventually flushed out of their safehouse to join the inmates at the city jail. If they signed a confession with the assistance of a lawyer (and from the looks of it, their lawyer must have even personally prepared their confession on her computer) then murder can be proven with that confession. Who needs a state witness now? Aren’t state witnesses needed only when the crime cannot be proven one way or the other? What else is wrong? The self-confessed killers do not know this. But one day they will find out and they will surely want to commit the murder they did not commit, i.e., kill the bishop. If this scheming bishop and the lawyer advised the killers not to undergo preliminary investigation then they must have been apprehensive the duo would be enlightened on the consequences of their counseled confession.

What else is wrong? The lawyer who assisted the confession is presumed to be the lawyer of the duo. Surprisingly, she wants the case filed in court without delay. She should be delaying the filing because that is what real lawyers do — unless she also believes that both her clients can be state witnesses. Worse, unless she is actually lawyering for the Wal family! The problem is she did not only make them confess murder. She also made them confess conspiracy, with Arch. Joseph Marrero as the mastermind. Again, my simple mind tells me that the effect of conspiracy is that the fault of the most guilty is the fault of the least guilty. So how can either qualify as a state witness when neither can now enjoy the status of the least guilty?

In my opinion, everything about the complaint and supporting confession is wrong. It is up to the lawyer of Arch. Marrero to look for the rest. This is one case where a counter-affidavit should be filed and all available defenses raised therein. And with all due respect, this is also one case where the prosecutor should avoid observing the traditional manner of resolving high profile cases, namely, “these are defenses that would be better ventilated during trial.”

More curiously, some of the actuations of the victim’s father appear to be wrong. After learning that Genetiano (an Ilocano) and Tomon (a Muslim) were the ones who brutally murdered his son, Jude Wal did not show any violent reaction towards them. Instead, like their godfather, he immediately asked that they be protected as state witnesses. Why protect your son’s killers and even pay them friendly visits where they are being kept now? He also bowed his head when he saw Arch. Marrero at the Justice Hall at the last hearing of their civil case. Human nature is human nature. I close with this challenge: Jude Wal ken Joseph Marrero, agawid kayo man ijay Tadian ta agsapata kayo kadagijay lalakay ta makita!