2007.04.27: April 27, 2007: Headlines: COS - Philippines: Safety: Crime: Murder: Journalism: San Diego Union Tribune: Suspect in Murder of Julia Campbell says he erupted in rage when she bumped into him as he was fuming over a feud with a neighbor
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2007.04.14: April 14, 2007: Headlines: COS - Philippines: Safety: Chicago Tribune: Peace Corps Volunteer Julia Campbell Missing in Philippines :
2007.04.27: April 27, 2007: Headlines: COS - Philippines: Safety: Crime: Murder: Journalism: Newsday: Suspect in the killing of a Peace Corps Volunteer Julia Campbell surrenders to Philippine authorities and confesses on television :
2007.04.27: April 27, 2007: Headlines: COS - Philippines: Safety: Crime: Murder: Journalism: San Diego Union Tribune: Suspect in Murder of Julia Campbell says he erupted in rage when she bumped into him as he was fuming over a feud with a neighbor
Suspect in Murder of Julia Campbell says he erupted in rage when she bumped into him as he was fuming over a feud with a neighbor
“I did not plan to kill Ms. Campbell, harm her,” Duntugan said, appearing remorseful and shaking his head. He claimed he dropped a bundle of clothes when Campbell, embarking on a hike by herself April 8 to see Ifugao province's famed mountainside rice terraces, bumped him from behind. “My mind went blank,” Duntugan said. “I did not know who she was or what she was. I got a rock and I hit her on the head. If I can change my body for hers, I will do it. But that's not possible. Whatever punishment you will impose on me, I will accept it.”
Suspect in Murder of Julia Campbell says he erupted in rage when she bumped into him as he was fuming over a feud with a neighbor
Suspect confesses in death of U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in Philippines
By Oliver Teves
ASSOCIATED PRESS
10:43 a.m. April 27, 2007
MANILA, Philippine – A woodcarver suspected of beating to death a Peace Corps volunteer gave himself up Friday and confessed on television, saying he erupted in rage when she bumped into him as he was fuming over a feud with a neighbor.
“I admit it, yes. I killed her, but I did not do whatever other people are thinking I did,” Juan Duntugan told ABS-CBN television. He was apparently referring to speculation that Julia Campbell may have been killed during an attempted rape or robbery.
“I did not plan to kill Ms. Campbell, harm her,” Duntugan said, appearing remorseful and shaking his head.
He claimed he dropped a bundle of clothes when Campbell, embarking on a hike by herself April 8 to see Ifugao province's famed mountainside rice terraces, bumped him from behind.
“My mind went blank,” Duntugan said. “I did not know who she was or what she was. I got a rock and I hit her on the head. If I can change my body for hers, I will do it. But that's not possible. Whatever punishment you will impose on me, I will accept it.”
National police chief Oscar Calderón said police were “documenting his statement in the presence of a lawyer.”
Senior Superintendent Pedro Ganir, police chief of northern Ifugao province, where Campbell's body was found April 18 in a shallow grave, told The Associated Press that Duntugan's mother persuaded him to turn himself in.
“We provided him security so that he will not be harmed,” Ganir said. Local officials have worried that Campbell's slaying may harm tourism.
Duntungan's wife had sold Campbell a soft drink before her hike, and a boy has told police that he saw him near the grave that day. Duntugan, a woodcarver who lives in the area, went into hiding the next day.
A police autopsy showed that Campbell was killed by multiple blows to the head, and that her arms were injured, indicating she tried to defend herself.
Police earlier suspected Campbell was bludgeoned with an object used to pound rice that was recovered near Duntugan's house, but forensic tests showed a stain on it was not blood.
“We are pleased with any progress in the case,” said U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Stacy MacTaggert.
Campbell, 40, of Fairfax, Va., had worked as a freelance journalist for The New York Times and other media organizations
Friends and sympathizers plan a big memorial service next Thursday in Bicol, where she last worked as an English teacher.
The Bicol region, southeast of Manila, includes Donsol township, which is famous for whale sharks and is where Campbell helped launch an ecology awareness campaign.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's spokesman, Ignacio Bunye, said Thursday that Campbell “has become a beloved personality here in the Philippines because of the work that she has done.”
Jose de Venecia, speaker of the House of Representatives, said Campbell will be awarded the Philippine Congressional Medal of Achievement, the highest decoration by the legislature, describing her as a “martyred volunteer.”
He said the award will be presented in June to a representative of Campbell's family and the U.S. Peace Corps through its director, Ronald Tschetter, in Washington.
Campbell, who had said in her Internet blog that she joined the Peace Corps to get away from New York City's “rat race,” had been a couple of weeks from finishing her two-year commitment in the Philippines. She helped out when a supertyphoon hit the area where she was teaching in December.
She “touched thousands of Filipino lives during her posting in Luzon as a high-school teacher of English and Western literature,” de Venecia said.
The citation honors Campbell for bringing “light and joy into the lives” of many Filipinos. “She epitomized the ideals of the Peace Corps and of the American people,” the citation says.
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Headlines: April, 2007; Peace Corps Philippines; Directory of Philippines RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Philippines RPCVs; Safety and Security of Volunteers; Crime; Murder; Journalism
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| Chris Dodd's Vision for the Peace Corps Senator Chris Dodd (RPCV Dominican Republic) spoke at the ceremony for this year's Shriver Award and elaborated on issues he raised at Ron Tschetter's hearings. Dodd plans to introduce legislation that may include: setting aside a portion of Peace Corps' budget as seed money for demonstration projects and third goal activities (after adjusting the annual budget upward to accommodate the added expense), more volunteer input into Peace Corps operations, removing medical, healthcare and tax impediments that discourage older volunteers, providing more transparency in the medical screening and appeals process, a more comprehensive health safety net for recently-returned volunteers, and authorizing volunteers to accept, under certain circumstances, private donations to support their development projects. He plans to circulate draft legislation for review to members of the Peace Corps community and welcomes RPCV comments. |
| He served with honor One year ago, Staff Sgt. Robert J. Paul (RPCV Kenya) carried on an ongoing dialog on this website on the military and the peace corps and his role as a member of a Civil Affairs Team in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have just received a report that Sargeant Paul has been killed by a car bomb in Kabul. Words cannot express our feeling of loss for this tremendous injury to the entire RPCV community. Most of us didn't know him personally but we knew him from his words. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends. He was one of ours and he served with honor. |
| Peace Corps' Screening and Medical Clearance The purpose of Peace Corps' screening and medical clearance process is to ensure safe accommodation for applicants and minimize undue risk exposure for volunteers to allow PCVS to complete their service without compromising their entry health status. To further these goals, PCOL has obtained a copy of the Peace Corps Screening Guidelines Manual through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and has posted it in the "Peace Corps Library." Applicants and Medical Professionals (especially those who have already served as volunteers) are urged to review the guidelines and leave their comments and suggestions. Then read the story of one RPCV's journey through medical screening and his suggestions for changes to the process. |
| The Peace Corps is "fashionable" again The LA Times says that "the Peace Corps is booming again and "It's hard to know exactly what's behind the resurgence." PCOL Comment: Since the founding of the Peace Corps 45 years ago, Americans have answered Kennedy's call: "Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." Over 182,000 have served. Another 200,000 have applied and been unable to serve because of lack of Congressional funding. The Peace Corps has never gone out of fashion. It's Congress that hasn't been keeping pace. |
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| History of the Peace Corps PCOL is proud to announce that Phase One of the "History of the Peace Corps" is now available online. This installment includes over 5,000 pages of primary source documents from the archives of the Peace Corps including every issue of "Peace Corps News," "Peace Corps Times," "Peace Corps Volunteer," "Action Update," and every annual report of the Peace Corps to Congress since 1961. "Ask Not" is an ongoing project. Read how you can help. |
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Story Source: San Diego Union Tribune
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Philippines; Safety; Crime; Murder; Journalism
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