No information on Paco Larrañaga’s clemency plea, Palace says

MANILA, Philippines — Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. said the Office of the President has not yet received any information on the clemency appeal of the camp of convicted Spanish-Filipino Paco Larrañaga.

“No informaton to confirm nor deny but the power to grant clemency is an executive power,” Roque said when asked to comment on Larrañaga’s case in a press briefing on Monday.

“But that will have to go through the board of the pardon and parole within the DOJ (Department of Justice),” he added.

Roque made the statement after the lawyer of Larrañaga, Sandy Coronel, expressed intent to file a formal appeal for clemency to President Rodrigo Duterte.

Coronel said the Larrañaga camp would try to file a petition before the DOJ so that the president could grant her client Larrañaga pardon.

“The legal remedy is a pardon from the president,” Coronel said in a live video on the Facebook page Give Up Tomorrow.

“If the president extends pardon, that undoes everything,” she added.

Larrañaga was one of the seven men dubbed as the “Chiong Seven” who were imprisoned for the alleged kidnapping and rape of the Chiong Sisters, Marijoy and Jacqueline in Cebu City in 1997. Marijoy was allegedly murdered.

The six other accused are Jozman Aznar, Rowen Wesley Adlawan, Alberto Allan "Pahak" Cano, Ariel Balansag, James Andrew "MM" Uy and James Anthony Uy.

The Chiong Seven’s case resurfaced after Viva Films released a film titled “Jacqueline Comes Home” which is based on the true-to-life tragic story of the Chiong sisters.

This social media buzz prompted calls to boycott the film as a documentary released in 2011 titled “Give Up Tomorrow” previously aired the side of Larrañaga where his witnesses said he was not in Cebu City during the time of the supposed kidnapping.

The support for the documentary also paved way for an online petition urging Duterte and the Supreme Court to review the case of the Chiong Seven who remained in prison.

READ: Online petition urges Duterte, SC to reopen ‘Chiong sisters’ case

Coronel said the real legal recourse for Larrañaga is with the Office of the President because a retrial would take a longer time.

Larrañaga’s legal counsel is also urging the public to keep supporting the online petition launched for her client citing that their camp is hopeful it would help the case.

“We will include the public in the parole,” Coronel said.

“The public is initiating this call for the extension of this clemency,” she added.

Larrañaga is currently jailed in Spain. He was relocated in 2015 and was reported to have been allowed to work as a part-time chef in Spain, although he would return to his Spanish jail cell by night.

He claimed his co-accused are innocent too.

RELATED: Paco Larrañaga thankful for public support, says co-accused are innocent too