MANILA: The Philippines has rejected an appeal to pardon a Spanish-Filipino serving life in jail for murdering two women despite an award-winning documentary showing his innocence, the film-maker said yesterday.
Francisco “Paco” Larranaga filed an appeal to President Benigno Aquino after the 2011 release of Give Up Tomorrow highlighted flaws in the case and won awards, including one from the Philippine government.
But the Department of Justice rejected the appeal, said producer Marty Syjuco, who is related by marriage to Larranaga.
Larranaga, then 19, and six other young men were arrested in 1997 for the rape and murder of two sisters in their early 20s in the central city of Cebu. He has been in jail ever since. AFP
