Tuesday, April 01, 2008 Malilong: Swift justice for Ruby Jade By Frank Malilong The Other Side
I TOLD you so.
Three weeks ago, I said here that I would not be surprised if the two gang members who confessed to the killing of Ruby Jade Ruba recant their admission. They did just that less than a month after admitting not only in a sworn statement but also on television that they robbed and killed the graduating nursing student because they took a fancy on her (na-trippingan lang).
Of course, as the victim’s father has correctly observed, retraction is a prerogative of the suspects. Let them deal with their conscience (I’d like to believe that they still have one). As for the claim that they were tortured by the police into admitting the crime, that is better left to the wisdom of the court.
I just hope that the process of determining guilt or innocence will be quicker than usual so that the parties can move on with their lives. In the case of the accused, an expeditious trial could mean early release from incarceration in the event of an acquittal. On the part of Ruby Jade’s grieving family, while their loss is irreplaceable, an early resolution would at least make it easier for them to put this sad chapter in their lives behind them.
It was heart surgeon Peter Mancao who told me of the nursing diploma that Ruby Jade’s school conferred on her posthumously. Peter said that when the victim’s name was called after all the names of the graduates had been read, the crowd rose spontaneously to give an ovation. I can imagine how many parents were teary-eyed when her father received her diploma.
Many of these parents must have been left wondering what it would have been if it wasn’t Ruby Jade but their own son or daughter who was murdered a few weeks before graduation. They must have shuddered at the thought.
Indeed, many more parents must have been having sleepless nights after her murder. The threat of harm from criminals is always there regardless of who and where you are but it becomes more apparent, if not more felt, when it strikes closer to home. Vicente Ruba himself confirmed this, saying that his sons are now afraid to go back to school because of what happened to their sister.
Nothing short of liquidating all criminal suspects (which is impossible) can overcome this unease and uncertainty. But if justice is served Ruby Jade swiftly and without doubt as to its intent to exact retribution, it would at least assure us that while we remain vulnerable to crime, the system will, as sure as the sun rises in the east, make the criminal pay. Small comfort, but comfort, nevertheless.
