Philippine government files last-ditch appeal to stop Calambro execution

Martin Griffith

Sunday, April 4, 1999 | 9:29 a.m.

RENO, Nev. - The Philippine government filed a last-ditch petition on Saturday with the state Pardons Board to stop Monday's execution of a low-IQ man for the brutal killings of two Reno U-Haul workers.

Philippine officials allege the execution of Alvaro Calambro, 25, a Filipino national, would violate international law because they were not immediately notified about Calambro's 1994 arrest by Nevada authorities.

At a news conference late Saturday afternoon at the Eldorado Hotel & Casino, the officials claimed the alleged violation allowed Calambro to receive inadequate legal representation. His father was insane and Calambro, who has said he wants to die Monday, borders on insanity, they added.

"The governor (Kenny Guinn) said that he couldn't change his mind about the execution unless something compelling was presented," said Consul General Amado Cortez. "We believe this is the most compelling reason for the governor to intervene.

"If he's executed, I'm 100 percent sure it not only will create a public reaction in the Philippines, but all over the world because he doesn't have the full capacity of his mind."

Guinn spokesman Jack Finn said he was unsure whether Guinn would convene a meeting Monday of the Pardons Board, which consists of the governor, attorney general and seven Supreme Court justices.

"To my knowledge, the governor hasn't seen this appeal and he'll need a chance to review it before making that determination," Finn said. "Until that time, it's his intention for the Calambro execution to proceed as planned."

After meeting with a Philippine delegation Friday, Guinn said there was no compelling evidence to warrant a delay in the 9 p.m. Monday execution.

The U.S. Supreme Court also has refused to stop the execution, and Philippine officials acknowledged it's too late to file an appeal with the high court.

Benjamin Domingo, the Philippines undersecretary for foreign affairs, said his government did not learn of Calambro's arrest until reading newspaper articles about it a year later.

He said the alleged failure of Nevada authorities to make an immediate notification of the arrest violated terms of a 1963 Vienna convention on consular relations and a 1946 treaty between the U.S. and his government.

"The right of notification is as important to us as Miranda rights are to Americans," Domingo said. "If we were advised of his arrest, we could have reacted quicker to assist him."

Domingo insisted his government could not raise the issue until the appeals process involving Calambro's mother ran its course last week.

The killings occurred during a $2,400 robbery at the U-Haul business where Calambro's crime partner, Duc Huynh, had just been fired.

Peggy Crawford had a tire iron driven through her skull. Keith Christopher's head was crushed by repeated blows from a ball-peen hammer.

Huynh also got a death sentence, but hanged himself at Ely State Prison.