Crime and punishment
Published Oct 27, 2022 12:02 am
MEDIUM RARE
Jullie Y. Daza
After declaring the Percy Lapid murder a “closed case” out of the blue, investigators have now counted 160 persons of interest to engage Roy Mabasa’s attention, forcing him, as he puts it, to swim against the tide and schools of fish in the ocean.
The 160 POI are interesting to investigators because, based on information collected from tapes of Percy’s broadcast commentaries over the last year, he might have stepped on some or any or many or all 1,600 toes of them. Surviving waves and keeping his head above water, a distraught Roy, younger brother of Percy, also has to contend with “offers” of information hitting him like a tsunami on the identity of the mastermind. For a price, of course, ranging from ₱120,000 to ₱1 million, from inside and outside Bilibid.
The one bright spot for Roy was securing the services of Dr. Racquel Fortun, forensic pathologist, to do a second autopsy on the body of the middleman who “died in his sleep” after he was named by the confessed killer. Dr. Fortun, according to MB columnist Dr. Raymund W. Lo, is only one of two specialists in that field in the Philippines. Special, indeed.
As the voice and face of forensic medicine hereabouts, particularly when a crime captures the imagination of the public, Dr. Fortun confessed in a TV interview that she is exhausted and looking forward to her retirement five years from now. Busy and in demand as she is, her budget does not allow her to hire a secretary to lighten some of the load. One can only assume that dealing with the living can be as demanding as studying dead bodies for evidence that will stand up in court.
Five years from now, with only one expert left, who will help police, lawyers, and survivor-relatives of victims of foul play seek the justice that will moderate their thirst for vengeance? An eye for an eye... Our justice and penal system needed a new generation of forensic doctors like 10 years ago.
Criminals always leave traces of themselves on their victims, at the crime scene, during their getaway. How fairly, effectively, and convincingly the guilty parties are judged depends on the stage of civilization that produced them.
Jullie Y. Daza
After declaring the Percy Lapid murder a “closed case” out of the blue, investigators have now counted 160 persons of interest to engage Roy Mabasa’s attention, forcing him, as he puts it, to swim against the tide and schools of fish in the ocean.
The 160 POI are interesting to investigators because, based on information collected from tapes of Percy’s broadcast commentaries over the last year, he might have stepped on some or any or many or all 1,600 toes of them. Surviving waves and keeping his head above water, a distraught Roy, younger brother of Percy, also has to contend with “offers” of information hitting him like a tsunami on the identity of the mastermind. For a price, of course, ranging from ₱120,000 to ₱1 million, from inside and outside Bilibid.
The one bright spot for Roy was securing the services of Dr. Racquel Fortun, forensic pathologist, to do a second autopsy on the body of the middleman who “died in his sleep” after he was named by the confessed killer. Dr. Fortun, according to MB columnist Dr. Raymund W. Lo, is only one of two specialists in that field in the Philippines. Special, indeed.
As the voice and face of forensic medicine hereabouts, particularly when a crime captures the imagination of the public, Dr. Fortun confessed in a TV interview that she is exhausted and looking forward to her retirement five years from now. Busy and in demand as she is, her budget does not allow her to hire a secretary to lighten some of the load. One can only assume that dealing with the living can be as demanding as studying dead bodies for evidence that will stand up in court.
Five years from now, with only one expert left, who will help police, lawyers, and survivor-relatives of victims of foul play seek the justice that will moderate their thirst for vengeance? An eye for an eye... Our justice and penal system needed a new generation of forensic doctors like 10 years ago.
Criminals always leave traces of themselves on their victims, at the crime scene, during their getaway. How fairly, effectively, and convincingly the guilty parties are judged depends on the stage of civilization that produced them.