Memorial held for Campbell

WASHINGTON — Four days after her remains were cremated in Manila, a memorial service for US Peace Corps volunteer Julia Campbell was held at a Roman Catholic church in Fairfax, Virginia where she was extolled for making the world a better place to live in.

Her brother-in-law Ed Morris, speaking on behalf of the family, said her greatest contribution in her all too short life was her Peace Corps service in the Philippines, where "she learned the language and embraced the culture to ensure the Filipino people could have a better way of life."

"Julia, you were not one to attempt to influence world events, but today two nations on opposite sides of our world mourn your loss," he said in a eulogy on Saturday after parish priest Fr. John Kelly celebrated Mass and blessed the urn containing Campbell’s ashes.

Between 250 and 300 people, mostly friends and relatives and Peace Corps colleagues including Karl Beck, US Peace Corps Director to Manila, attended the memorial service held at the St. Leo the Great church in Fairfax where the Campbells reside. Fairfax in northern Virginia is a DC suburb about 15 miles from the Capitol.

Asked about her parents’ reaction to news that their daughter had been bludgeoned to death and did not die in a fall, Beck said the family wanted to focus on how Julia lived, not on how she died.

A woodcarver suspected of killing Campbell has surrendered and confessed to the crime.

Close family members wore leis around their necks to commemorate the time she spent in Hawaii where she attended middle school.

Conspicuous by their absence were members of the Filipino or Filipino-American community in the Washington DC area.

The only Filipinos seen at the memorial service were Enrico Fos, administrative officer at the Philippine embassy; Marites Cardenas Branigin, an official of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA), and Miriam Ladiao Katigbak, wife of the STAR Washington correspondent.

Seeking to explain the absence of embassy members Fos said Ambassador Willy Gaa and members of his staff had already conveyed their sympathies to the Campbells at their residence on Tuesday. The family requested that the visit be kept private and not be announced, he said.

Branigin said the family’s desire for a low-key memorial service and the lack of publicity were the reasons for the negligible Filipino presence.

"We are grateful to the thousands of Peace Corps volunteers who have served the Philippines since 1961. Due in large measure to her selfless dedication to help the Filipino people, Julia represents the best traditions of the Peace Corps," Branigin said in conveying NaFFAA’s sympathies to the Campbells.

In his eulogy Morris said when Julia Campbell told her family she was going to be a Peace Corps volunteer in the Philippines they did not know whether to "seek professional help for her or admire her for leaving it all behind to serve people half a world away in a developing country."

He said her mother and father visited her in the Philippines in August and the three planned to visit the Banaue Rice Terraces but were unable to because of rains.

So when the family received word of her disappearance in the Banaue area they were not surprised as she wanted to visit "the rice terraces, one of the most beautiful places in the Philippines also known as the stairway to heaven."

Morris said one of the most familiar phrases Filipinos say when asked how they are is: "Eto, buhay pa (Here, still alive)."

He said though Julia’s body was no longer "here" her spirit will continue to live forever. "Your family and friends will ensure that in their hearts you are always ‘buhay pa’," Morris said.

Travel advisory

Despite Campbell’s murder, the US Embassy has issued a new and improved travel advisory to Americans planning to visit the Philippines.

The previous one advised Americans to defer "all non-essential travel" to the Philippines. The new one advises Americans to consider the travel risks carefully but does not advise a deferment.

US Embassy spokesman Matthew Lussenhop said the downgraded warning had nothing to do with Campell’s murder.

Case readied vs suspect

Ifugao police are expected to file today a case of either murder or homicide against the self-confessed killer of US Peace Corps volunteer Julia Campbell.

A police officer who declined to be named said a criminal case will be filed against Juan Dontugan today, although police have yet to establish the appropriate charges.

It’s not clear if the police will be able to build a case soon enough to file it with the courts today.

Provincial police director Senior Superintendent Pedro Ganir was unavailable for comment yesterday.

The 25-year Dontugan, a woodcarver, gave himself up last Friday after days in hiding following the discovery of Campbell’s remains in a secluded mountain trail near the picturesque Banaue Rice Terraces. He is now detained in Lagawe, Ifugao.

Dontugan said he hit Campbell with a large stone in the head after he mistook her for a hostile neighbor. He stressed he did not rape or rob the Peace Corps volunteer.

Cordillera police director Chief Superintendent Raul Gonzales said that although Dontugan’s killing of Campbell did not appear premeditated, he could still be liable for murder because he attempted to conceal his crime by burying his victim.

Police held a re-enactment of Campbell’s murder at the crime scene last Saturday in the presence of the victim’s colleagues and friends. The re-enactment, police said, was preceded by an intense interrogation of Dontugan.

Campbell, a native of Fairfax, Virginia, arrived in Banaue on April 7 for a two-day sightseeing tour. She was last seen alive on April 8 and her disappearance came to light when she missed some appointments in Manila.

Local businessmen expressed concerns over the killing’s potential economic backlash and Ifugao Gov. Glenn Prudenciano expressed hope that local and foreign visitors would treat the incident as an isolated case. - with Charlie Lagasca