In October 2011, the lifeless body of Given Grace Cebanico, a brilliant and dedicated student, was discovered in a canal in Los Baños, Laguna. Her hands were tied, her mouth was covered with masking tape, and she had sustained a gunshot wound to the forehead.

Her body was also covered in bruises, indicating a violent struggle. This horrific case quickly captured the nation’s attention, sparking widespread public outrage and raising profound questions about the adequacy of security measures provided by educational institutions for their students.

Given Grace, born on September 23, 1992, was a Computer Science student at the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB).

She resided at the 5th of September Mansion dormitory on Diamond Street, located conveniently close to her faculty building on Harold Conner Royal Palm Avenue. Her typical Monday, October 10, 2011, ended with her leaving her dorm around 8:00 PM to meet a classmate for a group project.

The collaborative work lasted well into the early morning hours. Around 3:00 AM, the young student began her walk back to her dormitory. Sadly, her classmates and family would never see Grace alive again.

The discovery was made on the morning of October 11, 2011. Residents were stunned by the sight of a body in a canal near the Institute of Plant Breeding in Barangay Putho Tuntungin. The police swiftly responded, retrieving the body and transporting it to a funeral home in Bay, Laguna, where an autopsy and identification process began.

Meanwhile, in Binangonan, Rizal, Pastor June Cebanico started his day normally.

Upon opening his social media, he noticed posts from his daughter Grace’s classmates expressing concern because she had not returned to her dorm. His wife, Marlene, became immediately worried, texting and chatting with their daughter’s friends to find out what was happening.

A few hours later, Pastor June received a call from his niece, who informed them that Grace had been missing since Monday night and that news was circulating about a body found in a nearby canal.

Panic immediately set in. Within an hour, they received a devastating follow-up call confirming the body found was indeed Grace. Unable to fully accept the news, Pastor June asked his wife to call Grace’s cellphone, but there was no answer.

The couple immediately traveled to Los Baños, where police escorted them to the morgue to identify the body. The heartbreaking sight of their daughter’s body was met with agonizing cries, confirming their worst fears.

Within two days of the discovery, the crime was picked up by national television, and the brutal details spread across the Philippines.

The public learned that in addition to the extensive injuries and the gunshot wound to her head, she was believed to have been raped, as her lower garments were missing. The Calabarzon chief of police, however, neither confirmed nor denied the sexual assault, pending the final autopsy report.

Authorities further disclosed that Grace also had stab wounds on her back, her mouth had been gagged with a towel, and she had tape covering her mouth. The sheer barbarity of the crime prompted a strong, collective public outcry demanding the police solve the case immediately.

On October 14, at a press conference, authorities announced they had a significant lead. A barangay official had contacted them, reporting a young man who claimed his life had been threatened by a man involved in Grace’s murder. The authorities quickly located and questioned the young man, who became their star witness.

The witness stated that on the night of October 10, 2011, he was with two other men inside a tricycle. Their intention, he claimed, was to find someone to rob.

Though uncomfortable with the idea, he said he was easily convinced by the promise of money. As the night wore on, they spotted Grace. The tricycle stopped near her, and one of the men pointed a gun at her, forcing her inside the vehicle.

Believing they were only going to rob her, the witness panicked when one of his companions brandished a weapon, and he ran away. Grace was left in the hands of the two assailants. The witness identified one of the men as Percival de Guzman, a tricycle driver.

Later that same day, police apprehended de Guzman at a billiard hall in Barangay Batong Malaki; he was inebriated at the time. At the precinct, the young witness positively identified de Guzman as one of the men who abducted Grace. During a routine search, police recovered Grace’s iPhone and iPod from his pocket, although her laptop and wallet were not found.

Under interrogation, de Guzman broke and implicated the alleged mastermind: Lester Rivera, a security guard at PS Bank. De Guzman further claimed that the gun they used belonged to the security guard. Authorities immediately launched a manhunt for Rivera, offering a reward of P25,000 for information leading to his capture.

The same day Rivera’s identity was publicized, authorities in Florida Blanca, Pampanga, were surprised when the security guard voluntarily surrendered at their precinct.

Senior Superintendent Edgardo Tino reported that Rivera had initially sought refuge at his grandfather’s house in Barangay Palmayo.

After learning from his grandfather, Renato, that his grandson was involved in Grace’s murder, Renato decided to do the right thing.

He contacted the barangay captain, Alfonso Diong, admitting his grandson used his gun to shoot the victim but insisting his grandson denied the sexual assault. Barangay Captain Diong then coordinated with the Palmayo police for Rivera’s peaceful arrest.

At 6:00 AM on October 14, 2011, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) Calabarzon arrested the former security guard. Rivera was reportedly silent during the arrest and was turned over to the Los Baños police by 11:00 AM.

The suspects were met by an angry mob of Cebanico family members and supporters at the Los Baños precinct. The sight of the two suspects—Lester Ivan Rivera and Percival de Guzman—ignited an emotional confrontation.

Mr. Cebanico, Grace’s father, was seen weeping repeatedly, particularly upon hearing details of how his daughter was allegedly brutalized. In an emotional statement, he shared that Grace was punched until she was unconscious before the assault and shooting occurred.

When the two suspects were brought together at the precinct, they both admitted guilt for the crime against Grace but mutually denied the rape.

They began pointing fingers at each other, with neither willing to admit to being the mastermind. Their statements were consistent on the key facts: after forcing Grace into the tricycle, they stole her laptop, cellphone, iPod, and wallet, before assaulting and shooting the defenseless student.

De Guzman told authorities that Rivera had boasted that this was not his first murder, claiming to have killed seven other people. Authorities investigated the angle of Rivera possibly being a serial killer, but no published report confirmed this claim, suggesting Rivera may have been exaggerating or de Guzman was lying to further incriminate him.

A background check revealed Rivera had prior criminal records, and his family knew him to be a thief. The police were left perplexed as to why PS Bank had hired him as a security guard despite his known history, a question that could only be answered by the security agency and the bank itself.

Rivera and de Guzman were charged with the capital offense of rape with homicide and theft. The following day, students and staff at UPLB held a massive rally, demanding justice for Grace and calling for stricter security on campus. On October 18, 2011, seven days after her body was found, Grace was laid to rest.

Thousands of mourners attended the funeral, most wearing white and lavender, her favorite colors. Her parents shared cherished memories of her, including her dedication to her studies and her desire to help them pay for her younger sibling’s education.

Grace’s mother, Marlene, expressed the deep pain: “Given Grace literally means a blessing from the Lord, and she was truly a blessing to us… I look strong, but the truth is my heart is being sliced. Our hearts are truly bleeding over what happened to her. It is very, very painful.”

Even as the case awaited trial, the heightened security implemented by the UPLB council failed to deter further violence.

Five months after Grace’s murder, high school student Rochelle Honda was killed and possibly raped before being dumped in a banana plantation in Los Baños.

Then, on March 4, 2012, Ray Bernard Peñaranda, a third-year UPLB agriculture student, was fatally stabbed in the chest while resisting robbers.

Just days later, on March 9, another student, Peter Cruz, survived an attack when two young robbers entered his room, took his laptop, and stabbed him in his hands, arms, and stomach when he fought back.

The spate of crimes targeting students forced the UPLB council to impose a curfew for student safety.

Regional police authorities in Southern Tagalog transferred Senior Superintendent Dante Novicio and 53 other police officers, seemingly due to the perceived inaction regarding the surge in crime.

Los Baños received three new police chiefs, established a police outpost, and installed an additional 200 streetlights. The municipal government purchased CCTVs, and the provincial government donated multicabs for emergency response.

While many students welcomed the action, some were skeptical, viewing the measures as superficial and doubting the effectiveness of the new, recently graduated police officers.

Nearly five years after the murder, the Cebanico family finally achieved justice.

In April 2016, Judge Alberto Serrano of the Calamba City Regional Trial Court Branch 92 found Lester Rivera guilty beyond reasonable doubt and sentenced him to three life imprisonments for rape with homicide and theft.

In September 2016, Percival de Guzman was also found guilty and received the same sentence. Grace’s family expressed their joy at the verdict and thanked the relentless support they received.

In a powerful moment of closure, Mr. Cebanico recounted an encounter with the killer. After the verdict, as Lester Rivera was walking out of the courtroom, he stopped in front of the Pastor, looked at him, and apologized.

“Forgive me for what I did to your daughter.” He then hugged the father. Pastor Cebanico felt the sincerity of the killer’s apology and responded: “We have already forgiven you.

If what you did to our daughter is the way for you to find God, then come to the Lord and start a new life. What happened was painful, but we are happy for you and for what happened to our daughter.” It was a remarkable demonstration of faith and forgiveness, providing a measure of peace to the family after years of anguish.