1977), a man of dual Filipino and Spanish citizenship was, along with six others, convicted of murder, and sentenced to death by lethal injection on February 3, 2004.

Larrañaga was later commuted to life imprisonment, following the abolition of capital punishment in the Philippines in June 2006, and was transferred to Spain to serve out his sentence in October 2009.

[5] According to the prosecutors, at 10:00 p.m. on July 16, 1997, Larrañaga and six other defendants kidnapped the Chiong sisters near a mall in Cebu, raped them, and then threw Marijoy's body into a ravine.

Despite the fact that Rusia's direct testimony lasted days, the trial court only allowed Larrañaga's counsel to cross-examine him for half an hour.

[8] The three organizations expressed their interests in the case of Larrañaga since he was a "Spanish citizen with origins in the Basque Country, and therefore a member of the European Union."

Fair Trials International (FTI), an NGO working on behalf of those who face a miscarriage of justice in a country other than their own, entered an amicus brief which was submitted to the Supreme Court of the Philippines by the European Commission's Manila delegate.

Philippine Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago said that, "Larrañaga's case could be covered by the treaty only if the Supreme Court issued a final ruling on his conviction, which remained on appeal before the high tribunal".

Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Raúl González himself expressed concern that the Philippines might be branded a rogue state if it did not comply with the provisions of the treaty.

[3][20] His good behavior at the New Bilibid Prison was taken into consideration, and he will serve the rest of his sentence at the Madrid Central Penitentiary at Soto del Real.

[15] Less than a week after Larrañaga's transfer, two Filipinos incarcerated in the Philippines stated their wish to also serve the rest of their sentences in Spain under the provisions of the treaty.

[23] Subsequently, Bureau of Corrections director Nicanor Faeldon confirmed the release of Josman Aznar, Ariel Balansag, Alberto Caño and James Anthony Uy, the four persons who were convicted for the murder.

[27] On September 6, Ariel Balansag and Alberto Caño, the two of the three convicts in the case who were released by virtue of the controversial Good Conduct Time Allowance Law, surrendered to the authorities.