Republic of the Philippines

Regional Trial Court

th
8 Judicial Region Branch VI
Tacloban City
Carmi Martyn,
representative for Coco Martyn
Plaintiff
32790

Civil Case No.

For: Damages

-versusDr. Vicente Sotto Law School and

Atty. Simon Bir, Atty. Richard Lab
Defendant
x- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - x
JUDICIAL AFFIDAVIT OF CARMI MARTYN
I, CARMI MARTYN, 35 years old, married, residing at
Tacloban City, after having been sworn to in accordance with
the law do hereby depose and state:
That Atty. Manuela M. Kilton is the counsel who
conducted and supervised my examination as a witness at
her office at Door 12, Yaokasin Bldg. Rizal Ave. Street,
Tacloban City, Philippines;
That I am answering the questions herein fully
conscious that I do so under oath and that I may be
criminally liable for false testimony or perjury;
PURPOSE: This affidavit / testimony of plaintiff, CARMI
MARTYN, is being offered to prove that the witness brother,
Mr. Coco Martyn, suffered from extreme anguish and
depression caused by the defendants oral promise to Mr.
Martyn of giving him passing grades for him to be able to
graduate but which they failed to fulfill and give, instead him
a failing grade, which ultimately led to his suicide.
Q1: Do you swear to tell the truth and nothing but the
truth?
A1: Yes Maam.

Q2: Please state your name and other personal

circumstances for the record.
A2: I am Carmi Martyn, 35 years of age, married and
resides in Tacloban City. I am the eldest sister of Coco
Martyn. I am the one who helped him in his financial
needs in studying Law.
Q3: How long has Coco been studying in Dr. Vicente Law
School?
A3: About 9 years already.
Q4: What took him so long in studying Law?
A4: He was not enrolling in a full load every semester and
that if not getting failing grades, He would get an INC,
in which case he would repeat those subjects in another
semester.
Q5: Did Coco tell you about his standing in school in the past
semester?
A5: Yes. He tells me everything that happens to him in law
school. He would even sometimes share to us his
frustrations in his classes, his performance and even
the grades he got from every subject. In his last
semester in DVLS, he told us that he will already
graduate were it not for Labor Law II and Taxation I
subjects which he had failed in the previous semester.
But, after 2 days, he was so excited to confirm to us
that he will already finally be graduating on May 30,
2015 because his two professors in the two subjects
already promised him a passing grade.
Q6: After that, what did he do?
A6: He was so elated. So excited and happy as if he
already passed the Bar exam! He partied with his
classmates after he learned that he will finally
graduate. He even prepared and bought things that he
would be wearing in his graduation where we spent so
much. Our parents also prepared a graduation party for
him. He also applied for a review for the Bar on the
same year. He was so ready and very much looking
forward to taking the Bar exam the soonest possible
time.
Q7: What did he do next?
A7: He went to Manila to fix everything, prepare his
boarding house, pay for his review fees and others. He

just came back for the graduation day. Of course he

didnt want to miss that. But surprisingly, it was only on
that day when he learned that his name was not in the
program where the names of graduates were listed. He
checked it with the person in-charge of the program
thinking that they only skipped on his name but his
classmates told him that he really was not listed in the
program of graduating students. Eventually, he found
out from the two professors themselves that they
actually gave him failing grades in Labor Law II and
Taxation I despite their promise. After such happening,
he got so depressed. He would not eat or go out of his
room, he would not talk to any of us. He was in deep
anguish and depression, and this went on for a couple
of weeks that ended up in suicide and we were not
able to prevent it.
Q8: Before his demise, did he tell you something? Or did
you notice something wrong about him?
A8: Yes. He was very depressed. He would not go out of his
room. He would not eat anything at all. But after a
couple of weeks, That night on the 11 th of June 2015, he
went out of his room and ate dinner with us. We felt so
happy that he joined us that night. He was still quiet.
He didnt say anything. He barely touched his food but
it was better than not eating at all. We were trying to
have a conversation with him but he wouldnt say
anything at all. We didnt mind this though. We thought
maybe this was just a part of his process of recovering.
After that he said ayoko na (I dont want this
anymore). We didnt understand what he meant. We
thought maybe he just did not want the food or he was
just tired that he needed to go back to his room. Later
that day, a very despairing, grief-stricken thing
happened. We saw him in his room bathed in his own
blood. He committed suicide.
Q9: What did you do after?
A9: We all panicked and checked if he still had pulse. We
rushed him to the nearest hospital, which was the
Romualdo T. Romualdez Hospital, at around 9:30 in the
evening but when we got there, he was already
pronounced dead on arrival. They said the cuts on his
wrists were so severe and deep that he lost a lot of
blood.
Q10: Why do you think did he commit suicide?

A10: We strongly believe that his death stemmed from the

fact that he was not able to graduate. Before he got so
distant from us, he told me how disappointed he was of
what happened and that he could not accept it. He held
on to his professors promises that in good faith they
would fulfill but only to find out they didnt, which put
him in a huge humiliation because he became the
laughing stock of the whole school on that day. He told
me he has been through a lot and that he did not need
any more disappointments like this. This was the only
thing he talked about weeks before the death.
Q11: Were you able to confirm that Labor Law II and Taxation
I were the only subjects he needed to pass for him to be
able to graduate?
A11: Yes. We have a certified true copy of Cocos Transcript
of Records.
Q12: Why were you not able to get hold of the original?
A12: The admin assistant, Ms. Chavez, told us that we
cannot obtain the original copy at that moment
because my brother had pending obligations with the
school that he had yet to accomplish. Only upon the
fulfillment of those obligations can they then release an
original copy. She also said that only a bona fide
student of the school can get an original copy right
away. But because he is already deceased, they
permitted us to get a faithful reproduction of the same
document. They insisted that this was enough since it
was a faithful reproduction of the original document
and it was part of their standard protocol. We of course,
did not insist any further. We just had the said transcript
certified.
Q13: What proof do you have that leads you to believe that
Coco Martyns death was due to the fact that he was
not able to graduate?
A13: Only his testimonies, the graduation program and a
photocopy of his transcript of records. My parents can
also attest to this fact that he got depressed solely on
the fact that he was not able to graduate. He got so
disappointed with the unfulfilled promises of his
professors that he depended on in good faith. He felt as
if he was betrayed by his own professors, his mentors.
When he told me about his professors finally giving him
passing grades on both subjects, I asked Coco to have
everything in writing for his own security. He declined
and said it would be too much to ask them to have it in
writing. He trusted in their word and promises.

Q14: Do you have anything else to say?

A14: I just hope that the professors involved in this matter,
especially the school, pay for the damages they caused
to my brother.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto affixed my
signature this 19th day of March 2016 at Tacloban City,
Philippines.

Martyn

Carmi
CARMI MARTYN
Affiant

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me, a notary public

of Tacloban City on this 19th day of March 2016, affiant
personally came and appeared before me, exhibiting her
Passport No. 1-2462 issued on March 16, 2014 at Tacloban
City, known to me and avowed under penalty of law to the
whole truth of the contents of said instrument.

Julia C. Romualdez

Atty. Julia C.
Romualdez
NOTARY PUBLIC
Until December 31, 2016
PTR No. 050183/Baguio City/01-11-16
Roll of Atty. No. 8121983
IBP Lifetime Membership No. 9031984
Tacloban City
Doc. No. 28
Page No. 04
Book No. 06
Series of 2016.

ATTESTATION OF LEGAL COUNSEL

I, JULIA C. ROMUALDEZ, Asst. Provincial Prosecutor,
Detailed PPO-Tacloban City, Leyte, after having been sworn
to in accordance with the law do hereby depose and say:
1. That I have faithfully recorded or caused to be
recorded
the
questions
I
asked
and
the
corresponding answers that witness, Atty. Leila
Delima, gave;
2. That I have not, nor any other person present or
assisting coached the witness regarding the witness
answers; and
3. That I fully understand that any false attestation shall
subject me to disciplinary action, including
disbarment.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto affixed my
signature this 12th day of March 2016 at Tacloban City,
Philippines.

Manuela Kilton

ATTY. MANUELA M. KILTON

Counsel for Plaintiff
31 Burgos Street, Tacloban City
PTR No. 050183/Tacloban City/01-11-16
Roll of Atty. No. 8121983
IBP Lifetime Membership No. 9031984
Both issued in Tacloban City
MCLE Compliance V005374
Issued on January 11, 2016

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this 12th day of

March 2016 at Tacloban City, Philippines.

Julia C. Romualdez

Atty. Julia C.
Romualdez
NOTARY PUBLIC
Until December 31, 2016
PTR No. 050183/Baguio City/01-11-16
Roll of Atty. No. 8121983
IBP Lifetime Membership No. 9031984
Tacloban City
Doc. No. 28
Page No. 04
Book No. 06
Series of 2016.