A Coed’s Cruel Death Almost Covered Up by an Influential Politician
An ex-mayor and a police deputy chief thought they could get away with the rape and murder of two young college students
“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” wrote the historian, politician, and writer, Baron John Dalberg-Acton.
He made the observation that those in power have a propensity for evil. “Great men are almost always bad men,” he stated in a letter to an Anglican bishop.
We are not generalizing that people who hold power are necessarily evil. However, there is no question that those in positions of influence are the ones who are more capable of pursuing their nefarious intentions, often with the aid of those who work for them.
Our story is about how a powerful man can wield such influence that he believes he is immune from answering to heinous crimes.
It began in the early evening of June 28, 1993. Two students sat inside a Toyota van-for-hire, waiting for more passengers so they can head their way home. Mary Eileen Sarmenta was a 21-year old scholar at the University of the Philippines — Los Baños. She was traveling with her friend Allan Gomez, a fellow agricultural studies student.
