The prosecution
Leo Echegaray was prosecuted for the rape of the ten-year-old daughter of his common-law partner. The offense was committed in 1994, after Republic Act No. 7659 had restored capital punishment for specified crimes. He was convicted and sentenced to death.
Supreme Court review
The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and death sentence in 1996. In a February 7, 1997 resolution, the Court denied reconsideration and rejected the constitutional arguments then raised against the restored death-penalty law, leaving the judgment in place.
Last-minute litigation
The execution generated repeated legal challenges and public debate. In January 1999 the Supreme Court lifted a temporary restraining order that had delayed the execution while Congress considered the death-penalty law, and the execution was rescheduled.
Execution
Echegaray was executed by lethal injection on February 5, 1999 at the national penitentiary. Contemporary records described it as the first execution carried out in the Philippines in twenty-three years.
Why the case matters
The case became a central reference in debates over capital punishment, constitutional review and the treatment of sexual violence against children. It is documented here as a criminal and legal-history case, without reproducing graphic details about the offense.
Sources
Supreme Court E-Library — G.R. No. 117472, February 7, 1997
Amnesty International — execution update, February 23, 1999