Module 1 Case Analysis
Module 1 Case Analysis
The case of Leonardo Manicio, which occurred in the province of Cavite had an
enormous effect on the community’s safety with more than one heinous crime committed, and
many other preceding events that happened. Because of this, there would be a wide scope of
investigation to further explain its phenomenon. There are several studies which may help
describing and understanding Manicio’s setting.
The following are the possible branches of criminology that can further expound the
investigation in this case scenario.
1. Criminal Anthropology. This branch deals with the profiles of the offender. The study
can be used to investigate Manicio’s identity with his roots and foundation, which could
possibly contribute to his personality. This includes distinguishing his physical
appearance and attributes along with his way of life.
Since the offender existed in the criminal world for a long period of time, the cops would
have had a hard time chasing him. One way to make his search convenient is to sketch
down his distinctive details from his face, height, birth marks etc.
Moreover, it was mentioned that he is a gangster. His mysterious ways in coping up with
various situations can be further explained. A concrete hint from the scenario is when the
Maragondon Massacre in 1952 happened, the criminal used a ‘hunting knife’ in killing.
This can appear as the criminal’s culture since he is known as a hoodlum from a
province.
2. Criminal Psychology & Psychiatry. In this field, the criminal’s thoughts, behavior and
possible mental disorder are going to be investigated. The fact that Manicio was able to
commit a lot of crime with abnormal ways of dealing with his works makes psychology a
necessity in this investigation.
The narrative gave a few hints of a possible mental instability and ‘obsession’ of
Manicio. In his family background, his politician father’s assassination by enemies would
have contributed to his avengement mindset that affected a lot of people involved in
politics. He would have ridiculed himself with a certain fascination for revenge, since the
undeserved tragedy happened.
Another suspicious fact is his superstition about his amulet. This element could have
contributed to his obsession, as he claimed that it is one thing that kept him going and
alive. It is his source of optimism and perseverance, despite having a negative impact.
From his nickname ‘Nardong Putik’, reports detailed his way of hiding to searches by
submerging himself in mud paddies, among carabaos, using bamboo or papaya stalks as
breathing tubes. It is notable that Cavite is also a province; a dilated site without
buildings and infrastructures for a hide out. It is simply a small town with farm villages,
which makes it even more difficult to conceal. But Manicio’s case is an exception. He
used this kind environment as an advantage to make his hiding unobvious. These
elements can also be used to see how it affected his innovations and creativity in
performing the crime.
4. Criminal Sociology. This study involves validating the social conditions when the crime
happened. It also captures a group of people or society and its social problems. The crime
of today is different from the crime in the past. According to the narrative, Manicio
existed as a criminal starting from 1948. Since its year of occurrence is far from the
current year, Criminal Sociology will enable going back to its time to study people’s
perception about the crime and how severe the case was back then.
The case scenario also shown a number of people involved, as he also became a leader of
bandits and a beneficiary of political families. There is certainly a reason why he was
able to negotiate with these people and as to how they are able to deal with his terms.
Perhaps, they are having similar societal dilemma, which can possibly be poverty,
corruption or disapproval of political dynasties in the small town of Cavite. These social
conflicts can be distinguished by comparing Manicio with his father, who is a politician,
while his son is simply a driver.
Criminal Demography. This study can be used to examined how much the crime
affected the area. Manicio’s case that long-lived seems to be famous in Cavite and have
grown to be a nightmare for its residences. It is considerable that there’s a possibility that
their migration rate would increase.
This branch can also study the list of crimes which became the popular in the province of
Cavite with the latitude of the crimes Manicio committed. Based on the case, the
mastermind is a leader of bandits who are also criminals involved in various heinous acts
such as kidnapping, robbery, car theft, murder, marijuana growing, protection and
murder-for-hire.
5. Victimology. This aims to study the victims and how they were affected by the crime.
Since the case has more than one crime committed, it meant that there are many more
victims involved.
For some reasons, Manicio always victimizes people whose job is incorporated with
politics. The case scenario mentioned two concrete events. In 1952, he was a part of
Maragondon Massacre where the mayor, police chief and policemen were killed. And in
1957 Election Day, the provincial commander of Cavite was also killed along with
several other men. Other Cavite politicians who are aiming for political supremacy and
are utilizing him to eliminate their rivalries can also be considered victims, since the
source of all crimes successfully captured their favor.