Smaller and Smaller Circles

Smaller and Smaller Circles

By Jonathan Aquino

Saturday Stories

September 7, 2019

I

I have never been to Payatas, the 13-hectare dumpsite in Quezon City, but I heard that mountains of garbage stood high above hundreds of shanties. Many people make their living there – picking though the endless piles and selling anything they find that could be sold. But there have been a lot of landslides. The most recent was on July 2000, and 218 people died.

II

In 1997, Payatas became the scene of a series of murders. Director Francisco Lastimosa of the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) has requested the help of Father Gus Saenz and Father Jerome Lucero, Jesuit priests who were also trained forensics experts. This is the story of "Smaller and Smaller Circles" by F.H. Batacan, published by Soho Crime in New York in 2002 – winner of the Palanca Award, the National Book Award and the Madrigal-Gonzalez Award.

III

The victims were all young boys, their ages ranging from eleven to fifteen. Their bodies would be found mutilated and in an advanced state of decay. They were eviscerated – the hearts were taken out. The genitals were cut off. And their faces – surgically peeled off the skulls – were gone. It was ghastly, but Saenz and Lucero have allies like Lastimosa, veteran crime scene investigator Ading Rustia, NBI Deputy Director Jake Valdez, even the reporter Joanna Bonifacio.

IV

But Lastimosa had a heart attack on live TV, and he had to go the U.S. for an emergency operation. Then their adversaries, the lawyer Benjamin Arcinas and the political appointee Philip Mapa, began to grab power at the NBI. Saenz was being stonewalled, but he has other enemies. He had been pursuing a priest named Ramirez, who he accused of being a pedophile, but no less than a Cardinal, Rafael Meneses, was the protector. Then, one day, he got a call, but all he heard was someone breathing. While reading the book, I was also the "director" of my imaginary movie, like David Fincher, and here is my cast:

Father Gus Saenz – Alvin Anson

Father Jerome Lucero – Epy Quizon

Joanna Bonifacio – Mylene Dizon

Francisco Lastimosa – Ronaldo Valdez

Benjamin Arcinas – Tirso Cruz III

Ading Rustia – Dante Rivero

Jake Valdez – Raymond Bagatsing

Philip Mapa – Albert Martinez

Councilor Mariano – Tonton Gutierrez

Father Emil – Bodjie Pascua

Monsignor Ramirez – Michael De Mesa 

Cardinal Rafael Meneses – E.A. Rocha

Alice Panganiban – Nova Villa

Gino Sta. Romana – Manilyn Reynes

Mrs. Salustiano – Irma Adlawan

Arcinas' secretary – Luz Valdez

Sister Miriam Taguibao – Laurice Guillien 

Flora Carlos – Gina Alajar 

Mr. Carlos – Joel Torre

Carding Navato – Alex Medina

Rommel Salustiano – Vandolf

Isabelo Gorospe – Allan Paule 

Tato Ampil – Ketchup Eusebio

Emong Ricafrente – Jhong Hilario

Photo courtesy of IMDb