VZCZCXRO7093
OO RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHML #1565 1830928
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 010928Z JUL 08
FM AMEMBASSY MANILA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1149
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS IMMEDIATE
RHHMUNA/CDRUSPACOM HONOLULU HI IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS MANILA 001565 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MTS 
PASS TO PEACE CORPS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL CASC ASEC RP
SUBJECT: COURT CONVICTS MURDERER OF PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER 
 
REF: A. 07 MANILA 2076 (ARROYO CONFERS AWARDS ON PEACE 
        CORPS) 
     ¶B. 07 MANILA 1358 (MEDAL OF ACHIEVEMENT FOR PEACE 
        CORPS VOLUNTEER) 
     ¶C. 07 MANILA 1308 (FOREIGN SECRETARY'S REMARKS AT 
        PCV MEMORIAL) 
     ¶D. 07 MANILA 1281 (FILIPINOS MOURN LOSS OF PEACE 
        CORPS VOLUNTEER) 
     ¶E. 07 MANILA 1232 (PEACE CORPS DIRECTOR VISITS 
        PHILIPPINES) 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY: On June 30, a Banaue regional trial court 
convicted Juan Donald Duntugan for the April 2007 murder of 
Peace Corps volunteer Julia Campbell and sentenced Duntugan 
to "reclusion perpetua," or up to 40 years in prison -- 
essentially a life sentence.  The judge also ordered the 
defendant to pay 39.7 million pesos (USD 882,450) in civil 
liabilities and damages to the victim's family.  The judge 
decided that the condition of the slain Peace Corps 
volunteer's body warranted elevation of the conviction from 
manslaughter to murder.  This decision came just 15 months 
after Juan Donald Duntugan confessed to the killing.  Julia 
Campbell's murder sparked intense empathy from political 
figures and media alike, recollecting the invaluable role of 
the Peace Corps mission in the Philippines over the last 47 
years.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (U) Julia Campbell, a Peace Corps volunteer just two 
months short of finishing her two-year tour in the 
Philippines, disappeared on April 8, 2007, while hiking in 
the Banaue rice terraces in northern Luzon.  After an intense 
police and military search organized and led by RSO, her 
severely beaten body was recovered in the Banaue area.  On 
April 27, Juan Donald Duntugan surrendered to the police, 
claiming that in a fit of rage he mistook Campbell for 
someone else. 
 
¶3. (U) After the guilty verdict, Ambassador Kenney expressed 
the U.S. Government's satisfaction that the case had come to 
a close, noting that "the Peace Corps would continue the work 
that had been so meaningful to (Julia)."  Julia's sister 
attended the Banaue court's promulgation hearing on behalf of 
the Campbell family and said that Julia's family and friends 
were very pleased with the court's guilty decision. 
 
¶4. (SBU) COMMENT: The relative speed of the Campbell trial, 
completed after only 15 months, and the extraordinary 
cooperation between the Philippine government and the Peace 
Corps throughout the search, investigation, and prosecution 
demonstrates the value and importance of the Peace Corps 
mission to the Filipino people.  More than 8,000 Peace Corps 
volunteers have served in the Philippines since 1961, leaving 
lasting legacies in 38 provinces throughout the country. 
 
 
Visit Embassy Manila's Classified SIPRNET website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eap/manila/index. cfm 
 
You can also access this site through the State Department's 
Classified SIPRNET website. 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/ 
 
KENNEY