Pique laid to rest Quest for justice goes on

CEBU, Philippines -The six-year-old girl, who was allegedly abducted and killed by a Norwegian national and his Cebuana fiancee, was laid to rest at 2:30 p.m. yesterday at Pardo Public Cemetery with over 6,000 people in attendance.

Amid the hot weather, the people, aside from the family and relatives of Ellah Joy Pique, joined the funeral march. Among the people who came were Pique’s classmates, friends, police officers from Minglanilla and Cebu Provincial Police Office, members of the Philippine Street Watch Incorporation of Minglanilla, Boy Scouts of the Philippines Cebu Council and New Guardians for Freedom and Democracy.

Banners and posters emblazoned with words calling for justice to the child were placed on the hearse. One of the posters read, “Jail the killer; protection of school children.”

Father Eliseo Gaballo who officiated the funeral mass at the Pardo Parish Church emphasized in his homily not to put revenge in the heart and justice in the hands because only God has the right to punish the perpetrators.

Gaballo prays that the soul of Pique will touch the assailants’ heart and admit to the crime.

“Dili unta ta manimawos kay ang Diyos mismo ang muhatag og hustisya,” Gaballo said.

Pique was last seen around 4 p.m. of February 8 waving goodbye to two of her friends and classmates at the Calajo-an Elementary School in Minglanilla, as she boarded a black sports utility vehicle, joining a Caucasian man who drove it and a Filipino woman on the passenger seat.

Two days after, on February 10 at 7:55 a.m., her naked body was found at the foot of a cliff along the national road in Barangay Guibuwangan, Barili, more than 40 kilometers away from home.

Her body was tightly wrapped, along with three rocks, in a blanket. The discovery ended a frantic search by her family especially her father Renante, 40, who began looking for her at 5 p.m. of February 8 when she failed to come home from school.

The police have filed criminal complaints against Norwegian national Sven Erik Berger and his Cebuana fiancée Karen Esdrelon.

The two, however, denied being responsible in the abduction and murder of the girl. But while they claimed to have been wrongfully accused, Berger and Esdrelon said they do not intend to file a complaint against the police.

The National Bureau of Investigation released their own investigation last Friday which confirms the suspects’ claim on their whereabouts at the time Pique was abducted.

Despite the NBI report, some of Pique’s neighbors still believe that Berger and Esdrelon are the real culprits. Pique’s family was also disappointed by the latest developments in the investigation. —(FREEMAN)