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Chiong murder case

SOLVED1997Cebu City, Philippines3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026
Illustrative

On the night of July 16–17, 1997, sisters Marijoy and Jacqueline Chiong were allegedly kidnapped near a mall in Cebu City, Philippines. Prosecutors charged that Francisco Juan "Paco" Larrañaga and six co-defendants abducted, raped, and murdered the sisters, later disposing of a body in a ravine. That body was initially presented as Marijoy's, but this identification was later disputed and it was determined not to be her. Jacqueline's body was never found; the sisters remain missing.

The prosecution's case relied heavily on the testimony of co-defendant Davidson Valiente Rusia, who was granted blanket immunity in exchange for testifying against the others. Rusia's account placed Larrañaga in Cebu on the night of the crime. During a limited cross-examination, defense counsel established that Rusia had lied under oath about his criminal history, including prior convictions for burglary and forgery in the United States. Rusia did not come forward as a witness until roughly ten months after the alleged crime and was previously unknown to Larrañaga.

The defense presented forty-five witnesses, including instructors and classmates from the Center for Culinary Arts in Quezon City, along with a condominium security logbook and airline records, to argue that Larrañaga was in Quezon City—hundreds of kilometers from Cebu—at the time of the alleged crime. The trial court deemed this testimony irrelevant on the grounds that the witnesses were "friends of the accused" and did not admit it. Larrañaga and his six co-defendants were convicted of murder on May 5, 1999, and on February 3, 2004, the Supreme Court of the Philippines imposed the death penalty on the convicted defendants except James Anthony Uy, who had been a minor at the time of the offense. The Supreme Court affirmed the convictions in July 2005.

International legal organizations, including the Basque Bar Council and Fair Trials International, filed amicus briefs arguing Larrañaga—who held dual Filipino and Spanish citizenship—had not received a fair trial. Following the Philippines' abolition of capital punishment on June 24, 2006, Larrañaga's sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. Under a bilateral treaty on the transfer of sentenced persons, he was transferred to Spain's Madrid Central Penitentiary at Soto del Real on October 6, 2009, a decision the victims' parents, Thelma and Dionisio Chiong, publicly objected to.

In 2019, four convicted co-defendants—Josman Aznar, Ariel Balansag, Alberto Caño, and James Anthony Uy—were released from Philippine custody under a good conduct time allowance law, prompting public controversy. Bureau of Corrections Director Nicanor Faeldon confirmed the releases; President Rodrigo Duterte subsequently fired Faeldon over the decision. Following public pressure, including from the victims' parents, the released men surrendered back to authorities in September 2019.

Key facts

Victims
Marijoy Chiong, Jacqueline Chiong
Date
1997
Location
Cebu City, Philippines
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 1997-07-16

    Marijoy and Jacqueline Chiong allegedly kidnapped near a mall in Cebu City; prosecutors allege they were raped and murdered.

  2. 1999-05-05

    Larrañaga and six co-defendants convicted of kidnapping and serious illegal detention with homicide and rape.

  3. 2004-02-03

    Philippine Supreme Court imposes death penalty on convicted defendants, excluding James Anthony Uy, a minor at the time of the crime.

  4. 2005-07

    Supreme Court affirms the convictions.

  5. 2006-06-24

    Republic Act No. 9346 abolishes capital punishment in the Philippines; Larrañaga's sentence commuted to life imprisonment.

  6. 2007-12-03

    Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos states Spain would welcome Larrañaga serving his sentence there under a bilateral treaty.

  7. 2009-10-06

    Larrañaga transferred to Madrid Central Penitentiary at Soto del Real, Spain, to serve remainder of sentence.

  8. 2019-09-02

    Bureau of Corrections confirms release of convicts Aznar, Balansag, Caño, and Uy under good conduct time allowance law.

  9. 2019-09-04

    President Rodrigo Duterte fires Bureau of Corrections Director Nicanor Faeldon over the releases.

  10. 2019-09-06

    Balansag and Caño surrender to authorities.

  11. 2019-09-18

    Uy and Aznar surrender to authorities.

Best coverage

No approved coverage links are attached yet.

People

  • Marijoy Chiong

    VICTIM

    Allegedly kidnapped, raped, and murdered on July 16-17, 1997; a body initially identified as hers was later determined not to be Marijoy's.

  • James Anthony Uy

    CONVICTED

    Convicted co-defendant; was a minor at the time of the crime and thus excluded from the 2004 death sentence; released in 2019 under good conduct time allowance and later surrendered back to custody.

  • Josman Aznar

    CONVICTED

    Convicted co-defendant in the murder case; released in 2019 under good conduct time allowance and later surrendered back to custody.

  • Francisco Juan Larrañaga

    CONVICTED

    Convicted of murder and sentenced to death (later commuted to life imprisonment) for the kidnapping, rape, and murder of the Chiong sisters.

  • Jacqueline Chiong

    VICTIM

    Allegedly kidnapped, raped, and murdered on July 16-17, 1997; her body was never found.

  • Nicanor Faeldon

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    Bureau of Corrections Director General who confirmed and approved the 2019 release of four convicts; was later fired by President Duterte over the decision.

  • Ariel Balansag

    CONVICTED

    Convicted co-defendant in the murder case; released in 2019 under good conduct time allowance and later surrendered back to custody.

  • Alberto Caño

    CONVICTED

    Convicted co-defendant in the murder case; released in 2019 under good conduct time allowance and later surrendered back to custody.

Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.

Places

Cebu City, Philippines

10.3157, 123.8854

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
Sisters Marijoy and Jacqueline Chiong disappeared in Cebu City in July 1997 in what prosecutors alleged was a kidnapping, rape, and murder; seven men, including Francisco Juan "Paco" Larrañaga, were convicted, though the sisters' bodies were never conclusively identified or recovered.
Where did the murder happen?
Cebu City, Philippines.
Who was convicted?
James Anthony Uy (Convicted co-defendant; was a minor at the time of the crime and thus excluded from the 2004 death sentence; released in 2019 under good conduct time allowance and later surrendered back to custody.), Josman Aznar (Convicted co-defendant in the murder case; released in 2019 under good conduct time allowance and later surrendered back to custody.), Francisco Juan Larrañaga (Convicted of murder and sentenced to death (later commuted to life imprisonment) for the kidnapping, rape, and murder of the Chiong sisters.), Ariel Balansag (Convicted co-defendant in the murder case; released in 2019 under good conduct time allowance and later surrendered back to custody.), and Alberto Caño (Convicted co-defendant in the murder case; released in 2019 under good conduct time allowance and later surrendered back to custody.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved.
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Sources

  1. Chiong murder casewikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-10
  2. Contemporaneous coverage of the abolition of the death penalty and its effect on the Chiong murder casenews · sunstar.com.ph · 2026-07-10
  3. Faeldon confirms release of 3 convicts in Chiong sisters rape-slaynews · abs-cbn.com · 2026-07-10