DOJ dismisses criminal complaint vs British School Manila officials

Jee Y. Geronimo

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DOJ dismisses criminal complaint vs British School Manila officials
(UPDATED) The justice department says 'the absence of probable cause' against the school officials for obstruction of justice 'is evident from the records'

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – The Department of Justice (DOJ) has dismissed the criminal complaint filed against officials of the British School Manila (BSM) over the death of one of its students in February 2015.

In a June 16 resolution signed by Prosecution Attorney Ma. Caren Gail De Alban-Avila and approved by Prosecutor General Claro Arellano, the justice department said that while its prosecutors empathize with Trixie Madamba – mother of fallen BSM student Liam Madamba – they are bound to objectively examine and review cases filed before them.

“It is settled that a public prosecutor, by nature of his office, is under no compulsion to file a criminal information where no clear legal justification has been shown, and no sufficient evidence or guilt nor prima facie case has been presented,” the resolution read.

“In this case, the absence of probable cause against all the respondents for the crime as charged is evident from the records.”

The resolution recommended the dismissal of the complaint against the following for obstruction of justice under Presidential Decree 1829:

  • Simon Mann
  • Trevor Lewis
  • Brendan Egan
  • Martyn Turner
  • Bill Twedell
  • Simon Bewley
  • Stein Melsbo
  • Bart Edes
  • Paul Ingram
  • Alison Doig Henderson
  • Andrew Logan
  • Alan Hearn
  • Anne Haslam
  • David Gold
  • Angel Guerrero
  • Catherine Tantoco-Daniels

In May, the DOJ issued a lookout bulletin order against the 16 officials since they were subject of DOJ’s ongoing investigation. Trixie filed the complaint before the DOJ in October 2015.

Liam, a scholar at BSM, jumped from the 6th floor of the Dela Rosa carpark building in Legazpi Village in Makati City on February 6, 2015.

A day before, he and another student met one of their teachers, Natalie Mann, who asked the students to write a letter of reflection for supposedly plagiarizing a paragraph in a first-draft essay.

According to a report from an Independent Review Panel, the students saw the reflection process as a punishment, while a separate report from the Senate committee on education, arts, and culture said the teacher “caused Liam mental anguish or emotional suffering.”

During the Senate hearings on the issue, the school at least admitted it saw a “connection” between how Liam was dealt with at school, and his untimely death.

The Senate report found it “alarming how BSM handled the aftermath of Liam’s death”, and recommended for DOJ to investigate the issue. (READ: Plagiarism on BSM students’ draft essays unlikely – educators)

Trixie also filed a P100-million civil case before the Taguig City Regional Trial Court in December 2015, and a separate administrative complaint before the Department of Education in October 2015.

Motion for reconsideration

Lawyer Joseph Noel Estrada said in a statement that the Madamba family already filed a motion for reconsideration on July 18.

In his statement, Estrada questioned the prosecutor’s “repeated contention” that respondents to the complaint could not have committed obstruction of justice since the teacher, Natalie Mann, is not facing a criminal complaint or investigation.

“Had there been a criminal case filed or pending against the allegedly abusive teacher, there would have been no obstruction of justice complaint to speak of in the first place,” Estrada noted.

Estrada said he also found the dismissal of the complaint “surprising” since Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II was not given a chance to look into the matter.

“Also notable is that the Resolution was not signed by the former DOJ Secretary Emmanuel Caparas who was, at the start, so engrossed in the case, as it is just one of the few cases that the DOJ allowed to be filed directly to its office as an original action.”

He added: “Justice ought to be a blind lady justice – there should be the cold neutrality in its dispensation. It is the hope of Trixie Madamba that under the new administration, Filipinos would find the justice they deserve and not the justice dictated by power, personal relation, money, or influence.” Rappler.com

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Jee Y. Geronimo

Jee is part of Rappler's Central Desk, handling most of the world, science, and environment stories on the site. She enjoys listening to podcasts and K-pop, watching Asian dramas, and running long distances. She hopes to visit Israel someday to retrace the steps of her Savior.