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Friday, September 23, 2005
Tough choice in Ecleo case
Forcing the 12-year-old son of former mayor Ruben Ecleo Jr. to submit DNA samples to the court could cause “degenerated personal growth and mental development” of the child, said the social worker tasked to interview him.
But the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the University of the Philippines-Natural Sciences Research Institute (UP-NSRI) insist that the child be compelled to give DNA samples.
This, they said, will confirm whether the woman found in Dalaguete, Cebu was Alona Bacolod-Ecleo, Ruben’s wife.
The court has to choose whether to uphold the welfare of the child or to give in to the prosecution, who wants to give justice to Alona, the child’s mother.
In yesterday’s hearing, NBI’s Idabel Pagulayan testified that they cannot verify the identity of the corpse if they do not have DNA samples of the child.
Siblings’ DNA not enough
The agency does not have the software to conduct a “siblingship test,” which no longer needs the DNA samples of the child.
Both the UP-NSRI and the NBI have gathered DNA samples from the corpse, Alona’s four siblings and Ruben.
The prosecution, however, had asked for DNA samples of the child, for the UP and NBI to give a conclusive identification of the body that is believed to be that of Alona.
The court’s tough choice comes more than three years since Alona’s death and the beginning of her husband’s parricide trial.
The child had earlier told the court that he does not want to give DNA samples because he does want to get involved in the case. He said he had been subjected to bad publicity in school when his parents got into this controversy.
Social worker Romeo B. Capangpangan, in his three-page report, said compelling the child to undergo the DNA examination would cause further trauma.
“Once (Ecleo’s son) will experience something not of his own free will, the same experience will affect his personal, psychological and emotional aspects. The best interest of the minor shall be the paramount consideration in all actions,” Capangpangan said in his report.
Capangpangan added that the child showed timidity when he first talked to him.
As their conversation progressed, the boy reportedly turned pale and began to stammer.
“When the topic shifted to DNA tests and any testing for that matter, the child started trembling. He does not want to be involved. He does not want to experience being ridiculed by his classmates,” the report read.
Prosecution lawyers, who come from the local Integrated Bar of the Philippines chapter, said they will still need to study Capangpangan’s report. (GN)
(September 23, 2005 issue)
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