It made it to the headline for about a day and then no more. We were busy with Malu Fernandez and Willie Revillame. Geraldine Palma just turned seven when she was kidnapped on August 11, 2007.
Geraldine was a student of St. Paul College in Pasig City and was last seen leaving the Riverside Village, also in Pasig, on that day at around 1:30 p.m. with her nanny, Marites Ontog, a native of Masbate. The next day, Geraldine’s father received a call asking for a ransom of P10 million for her release. After a series of negotiations, the family’s counteroffer of P245,000 was accepted. The father waited until 3 a.m. for the exchange but the kidnappers did not come to collect or to release the child. Silence followed. The first question—did the family trust the law enforcers enough to report the incident and hopefully entrap and secure the victim?
Four days later, on August 16, a female cadaver placed in a traveling bag was found at the breakwater in Manila Bay. The body was positively identified as Geraldine’s by her father on August 21. Geraldine was gang-raped and strangulated. Remember, she was only seven years old. Can you imagine the anguish of the family, especially the dad, who had to ID her? Hollywood violence can only approximate the real-life terror. The second question is what kind of human being—if the term applies—would snatch a charming, friendly and sweet little girl on her way to school, use her life as a tool to extort money and sexually abuse her repeatedly until her cries are muted and finally sentence her to death by cutting off her air supply? To top off the ignominy, to stuff her in a suitcase and dump in the sewers like garbage?
Kidnappers are a calculating lot. They measure risks and consequences, too. It turns out that the criminal syndicate transferred the custody of Geraldine to another group at a safe house. The second group happens to be a bunch of drug addicts. The rest of the story you can surmise. Geraldine was already dead; hence, the transaction could not and did not happen. If the kidnappers went through to attempt a double cross, maybe the ransom money was too small to be spread out among them and thus not worth the effort.
The final question is what ever happened to the nanny fondly going by her nickname, “Mayeth,” 37 years old? She disappeared together with her care and has not been heard from since. Strangely, two days into the kidnapping, Mayeth was still texting with some friends. Either she escaped or she did not. Her relatives have reported her disappearance to the National Bureau of Investigation. Truth is a hundred times stranger than fiction.
Two suspects have been arrested but the case remains largely unsolved. Geraldine’s father is seeking the public’s help to provide any information or leads. Her father rationalizes, “Maybe because her life on this earth would be cut short, she acted almost like a ‘perfect’ child.” The anticrime group Movement for Restoration of Peace and Order is at the forefront to help bring the bad guys to justice. It is an uphill climb that requires a collective push. Many times we stop, affected by such a tragic story. We move on because it is just another statistic in this place called the Philippines. We avert our gaze until it happens to one of our very own. By that time, it will be too little and too late to take action.
Together with Kaisa Para sa Kaunlaran, Inc., as partner and main supporter, a major activity is planned on September 14 and 15 to raise funds for the crime-fighting advocacies, publication and developmental work. It is a play entitled “Kaisa Ka!” a story of the Tsinoy in the modern world faced with uncertainties and fraught with danger and yet imbued with a sense of hope and driven by optimism. We need to rebuild trust in ourselves, in our families, and in our communities even as the people on whom we repose it sometimes fail our trust.
3 responses so far ↓
1 Roy // Sep 7, 2007 at 12:54 pm
Crimes like that are just terrible, much worse since the victim is an innocent child with her whole life ahead of her; snuffed out by people who do not deserve to live. In anger, we wish the world was rid of these people, but sometimes we also stop to think about their rights.
I live in Cebu City where in recent years, there have been unsolved assassinations and executions of both suspects and convicted felons of various crimes. No arrests have been made… and there was a time the authorities put the blame on vigilantes. Who knows.. we can only speculate.
There was one such incident recently, you can check it out here http://www.roysencio.com/welcome-to-the-kill-zone/
2 Rica Cortes Rentzing // Sep 9, 2007 at 9:59 am
I am in Germany now, where everything appears to be safe. But not quite. Another young girl, fourteen years old, has been found dead. No, this was not a kidnapping case. I can’t say if it is another child rape. I am too upset to look at the newspapers.
During the long flight from Manila, I struck up a conversation with the gentleman seated beside me. He is a former military man who now does security work in Kuwait. I noticed that he watched the movie but otherwise did not read or sleep. He was making notes, doing a critique on the security of our business class section. He has good reason, having been one of the first air marshalls shortly after 9-11 happened, and also because his Italian wife works as a stewardess with Kuwait Air Lines. He was, like my youngest son, also a single parent. I told him that we make family jokes about my son’s siege mentality, insisting that I take one of the girls along when I go to any of the Manila malls with our little Luisillo. I bought my first backpack during our last trip to Germany, because I needed to keep both hands free. And I also had a latch-on belt, to make sure he could not wander away during airport stops.
This security person told me he has arguments with his wife, because she sometimes thinks he is too strict with his children. He had his horror stories just as as we have ours. I was told about a young Chinese-Filipino boy who was kidnapped. Later it turned out he was raped, sold for sex, and eventually found begging on the street of Hong Kong after the syndicates sold him. They had cut off a leg to make his begging more effective. Can these stories be true? You bet your life.
What’s the message?: Never leave your child alone.
3 glsy // Sep 20, 2007 at 9:33 am
Amen to that rica. Stay safe friends.
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