I Guess I Am Not The Only One Leaning In That Direction

[Mr Lee]

While I would love to see justice done and them proved innocent or guilty, her not facing the music seems to point to guilty. After all, the Philippines is her country, so she must live by its rules and laws. I am pretty sure that she will now be facing additional charges for failing to turn herself in.Santos guilty for not facing case CIDGSHE has yet to be tried in court but already, kidnap-homicide suspect Bella Santos condemned herself guilty before the public, a task force assigned in the Ellah Joy Pique case said yesterday.

[Old55]

"They" have decided she and her BF will be the ones that murdered that poor little girl they have no fact no case nothing. She is screwed one way or the other.

Edited July 30, 2011 by Old55

[Candyman]

"They" have decided she and her BF will be the ones that murdered that poor little girl they have no fact no case nothing. She is screwed one way or the other.

I agree entirely with you on this one ! She has been tried, and found guilty, not only by the media, but by everyone else involved in this fiasco ! I think I would hide too, in a case like this ! Meanwhile, the real killers is just laying low, and the cops, take the easy way out once again ! Any real evidence that points to the real killers, has long since gone, and Santos and Griffiths are going to be the scapegoats one way or another !

[Mr Lee]

The system is broken in the Philippines, there seems to be no question about it, but what is to happen next if she does not turn herself in, will she continue to run like a fugitive hoping the right party is caught (assuming she is innocent) or will she stand trial since her attorney said they have a strong case for her defense. If she is never found to be innocent, those that are responsible for the poor unfortunate girls death will never be caught, because authorities have given up looking since they have who they think did it. She is Filipino and therefore has no choice but to be tried by the country she is a citizen of. We will never see the supposed strong defense her attorneys says they have for her, and she may be gunned down if she is found and resists arrest, so which will be the lessor of the two evils, since she is now presumed to be guilty because she has refused to turn herself in. It is a no win situation, and if she is found instead of turning herself in, then I suspect it may not end well for her, and then possibly even worse for her boyfriend because he will probably be labeled as a sex offender and murderer, even if he is innocent.

[brock]

The trouble is you can be in prison for years before you even go to trial in the Philippines, I would think twice before turning myself in.

[Mr Lee]

The trouble is you can be in prison for years before you even go to trial in the Philippines, I would think twice before turning myself in.

The same might be true in any country if a person is poor and unable to afford the best defense, but from all I have read and been told, richer people usually live a good life in jail or even on a form or house arrest, but those items may no longer be available to her since she did not turn herself in. So while I totally agree with the many reasons a person would not wish to turn themselves in, how else is the justice system to work, if a person never goes to trial until they are eventually caught? People need money to live, and money always leaves a trail, so unless she took a suitcase of cash with her, they will eventually find her by following the money trail. Beyond that, if she did take a suitcase full of cash, she will be a target for those who know she has all that money. On top of that, if she is guilty, then anyone else who may have been involved with her may want her dead so she does not spill the beans and make a deal, so running may not be the answer, and may end up getting her killed by the police or even by someone close to her who wants her money. There is no easy answer and the system in any country may not always be fair, but the system is the system and the only system available to clear oneself, IF not guilty.

[Mr Lee]

And here is an interesting editorial I foundBark is worse than her bite With her partner Ian Charles Griffiths free, Bella Ruby Santos has one less thing to worry about, which is her own safety. Despite the arrest warrants issued against her and Griffiths, she has merrily avoided arrest, staying two steps ahead of the police. The Cebu police admitted as much, saying that Bella has done her own monitoring of law enforcers and managed to avoid arrest to the bewilderment of the public, which expects our region's finest to bring her in, cuffs and all, back to Cebu considering the resources and personnel at their disposal. There were suggestions that Bella was somewhere in Central Visayas, sunning in a beach spot or taking a breather in Mindanao. Or, in a worse-case scenario, she may have slipped out of the country, through the famous Southern backdoor, despite the issuance of a hold-departure order against her. Just because she's hiding, however, doesn't mean she can’t fight back. Just for kicks, her lawyer threatened to file a multimillion-peso damage suit against the police and witnesses that they tapped in their case against her and Griffiths. The move may have been copied from another Cebuana, Karen Esdrelon and her Norwegian partner Sven-Erik Berger, who filed a damage suit against former Cebu provincial police chief Erson Digal and others for implicating them in the Ellah Joy kidnap-murder case. But while Esdrelon and Burger enjoy the privilege of being cleared of criminal culpability, Santos and Griffiths have yet to prove their innocence. What are they trying to pull here? The multimillion-peso damage suit is akin to shooting blanks in the false hope that the police would be scared enough to back down. Far from calling their bluff, the Cebu police welcomed the move, saying it would give them a chance to serve the arrest warrants on the couple. Speculations abound. What if this expensive damage suit was cooked up to as a smokescreen for Bella to quietly leave the country? This possibility cannot be discounted especially since Bella’s lawyer has failed to prove their contention that Santos is ready to show up to face her accusers in court. More importantly, why can't the Cebu police find Bella, whose tall, flamboyant profile has been widely publicized. She isn’t exactly a wallflower. It's up to Santos and Griffiths if they want to become fugitives. But it’s the job of the police not to let a woman single-handedly confound their best surveillance. For all their threats to file a multimillion-peso damage suit, Bella's bark is worse than her bite.

[Call me bubba]

i have read an article the man in this case, was arrested in the UK, was held for a period of time.Then released by the UK system/officials as the RP DOJ or "court system" failed to File the paper work, yes they had issued a WARRANT for arrest but did not have the papers to "FOLLOW UP" in order to extradite. ,has any one else seen this info?

[Markham]

i have read an article the man in this case, was arrested in the UK, was held for a period of time.Then released by the UK system/officials as the RP DOJ or "court system" failed to File the paper work, yes they had issued a WARRANT for arrest but did not have the papers to "FOLLOW UP" in order to extradite. ,has any one else seen this info?

Ian Griffiths was arrested in London by the Metropolitan Police acting on an Arrest Warrant issued via Interpol by the Cebu force. He was held in Police custody for 36 hours - the maximum provided under the Law - and was bailed on his own recognizance, his Passport was surrendered and bail conditions were set. Those included reporting to a named Police Station once a week and not permitted to contact anyone regarding the case, apart from his British and Philippine lawyers. Under the Bail Act, Bail can be extended to allow the Police to complete their enquiries. In Griffiths' case, this would have been requests to the PNP to forward full details, statements, evidence etc., that they had and which applied to Griffiths alone. Bail was extended at two-week intervals for a further two weeks but the Act requires that progress in the investigation be tangible and once it becomes clear that there is no case to answer, that person should be released from bail. In the event, the Metropolitan Police kept Griffiths on bail for twelve weeks (the maximum under the guidelines) at the end of which they concluded he had no case to answer. The case was closed and Griffiths was released from bail - thus removing all restrictions and his Passport was returned. Under English Law, the Police may not re-arrest him for the same offence unless they intend to immediately (within 24-36 hours) charge him with that offence. Whilst he was on bail, the Metropolitan Police did not receive any information or evidence to back-up the Arrest Warrant. What they did receive were two requests for Griffiths to be escorted back to Cebu and handed-over to the PNP there. Both requests were rightfully denied. Lee, as is his wont, makes several rather contentious statements. He says that Griffiths will be branded a "sex offender and murderer". Not sure where you get the "sex offender" bit Lee but he has been branded a "child-abductor" and "child murderer" by the PNP, the Cebu Prosecutor and the press in the Philippines and UK. It is for that reason that one of his Cebu lawyers has announced that Griffiths will be serving writs on four Cebu Police Officers and several witnesses. That case will very likely be heard in the High Court in London and, if Griffiths is successful, the High Court will award him damages. The portion awarded in respect of the Police Officers will, I'm told, have to be paid by the Philippine Government through its Embassy in London. Maybe, Lee, your "sex-offender" label arises out of the empty CD case which allegedly had pornographic images. Only Santos has been charged with that offence, not Griffiths, And as Dave has already pointed-out, there's no truth in advertising here, that disc could well have contained something entirely different to what has been claimed. Lee wonders why Bella Santos hasn't given herself up. Would you, Lee, under similar circumstances? And for what - to spend months, possibly years, awaiting the outcome of the Philippine Government request for Griffiths to be sent to Cebu? It's uncertain whether the prosecution could - or would want to - proceed without him being present. Such a request (which has not yet been made) would likely fail. The offence for which he was arrested - Section 9 of the Offences Against the Person Act, 1861 - is the most serious of the two for which he has been charged in Cebu. Unfortunately for the Cebu Prosecutor, suspects charged under that Section are tried in a British Court because it specifically provides for crimes alleged to have been committed abroad. The Cebu Prosecutor could ask for his return to stand trial for the offence of child-abduction and this would be considered by the Home Secretary following a judicial review. The problem for the Cebu Prosecutor would be that he could not add the charge of murder once Griffiths had been returned and the Philippine Department of Justice would have to give binding assurances that this would not happen. But it is too late for that now, since Griffiths has been charged with the greater offence. The very last thing the Cebu Prosecutor wants is, I suggest, a trial in London - or, indeed, for the case to be considered by the Crown Prosecution Service and then rejected on the grounds of "no case to answer". Whilst not binding on the Cebu Judiciary, such a decision would make any trial of Santos on those charges that much more difficult to sustain. Let's go into the realms of fantasy for a moment. Suppose, by shere quirk of fate, Griffiths is charged and tried in London but is acquitted by the jury. And let's suppose the Cebu Prosecutor gets the Judge's agreement to try Santos alone. Could the Cebu Judge convict her knowing that her alleged partner-in-crime had been acquitted? Bella Santos may stand trial - once she is found and arrested. But only for the charge of possession of an empty CD cover. The abduction and murder of an innocent school girl will be consigned to yet another reason ordinary Filipinos have no faith in their Policing and Criminal Justice System. Mark

[FlyAway]

Hmmm, guilty by not allowing herself to be arrested? How about this Senator Lacson? He was on the run for a long time.