She said the same MRT provided data that several Webbs arrived in the country, including Hubert, sometime in October 1992. No. I will kill you, brandishing a shiny revolver. G.R. This is a violation of the duty of state." But Custodio admits this may be easier said than done. It is said that being elected president is a gift from God. The court said the "portion of Alfaro's story appears tortured to accommodate the physical evidence of the ransacked house" adding that "it is a story made to fit in with the crime scene although robbery was supposedly not the reason Webb and his companions entered that house". Justice Secretary Leila de Lima yesterday said the government task force re-investigating the 1991 Vizconde massacre case has found another witness and was convincing him to come out in public and Webb's testimony was also contradicted by other US-based defense witnesses who said they usually saw him "going to the beach, malling, bar-hopping or playing basketball. [12] (Under Philippine law, generally, alibi is the weakest defense, especially where there is direct testimony of an eyewitness, duly corroborated by another. Lejano and Ventura also took turns raping Carmela, before finishing her off with numerous stabs. The Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption(VACC) asked Justice Antonio Carpio and his cousin Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales to take a leave while the case is being decided to avoid undue influence on the court's decision. Be consoled that the truth will always come out, Hernandez advised Vizconde. No. Therefore, the applications of the SC on evaluating the defence of alibi of the accused have not been equally applied in these two cases. Policewoman Diaz even insulted Allan, saying he had no right to file the attempted rape complaint on behalf of the girl, because he was only the stepfather. VIZCONDE MASSACRE CASE: This case is about the gang rape and murder of a 19-year-old woman, the murder of her 7-year-old sister and their mother on June 30, 1991 at their home in Paranaque City, Metro Manila. 2. During the trial, accused Webb made a defence of alibi claiming that he was in the United States when the massacre of the Vizcondes happened. The lead suspect was Hubert Webb whose father, Freddie Webb was famous as an actor, former basketball player, and Paraaque congressman at the time of the murders. [2][12] Security guards Justo Cabanacan and Normal White. VIZCONDE MASSACRE CASE: This case is about the gang rape and murder of a 19-year-old woman, the murder of her 7-year-old sister and their mother on June 30, 1991 at their home in Paranaque City, Metro Manila. Among the defense witnesses was Artemio Sacaguing, a former, now deceased NBI official who testified that Alfaro was an NBI asset who only volunteered to assume the role of the eyewitness when she could not produce the actual witness to the Vizconde killings. "[21], In April 2010, the Supreme Court approved DNA testing to be performed on the semen specimen obtained during autopsy from Carmela Vizconde. The women were found dead with multiple stab wounds and no witnesses, murder weapons or motive have been uncovered. Lauro Vizconde: "Is there still anyone among you who doubts that there is rampant corruption in our government? But Justice Conchita Carpio Morales, who concurred with the decision, wrote strongly against basing judgement on conjectures: Facts decide cases. It took the trial and appeal process in this case fifteen years. Tolentino also found it hard to believe that Webb was working with a pesticide company because he was asthmatic and allergic to various substances. On August 11, 1999, the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City acquitted two of them and convicted the five others, now collectively known as the Abadilla Five. As to the failure to present the forensic evidence and its subsequent loss, the SC held: the semen specimen taken from Carmela cannot possibly lie. Footnote: This article comprises the text of a statement issued by the Asian Human Rights Commission, AHRC-STM-266-2010, dated 21 December 2010. [60] De Lima believed Dong Villadolid is the same person as Dong Ventura, one of the co-accused who fled to the US following the massacre. Your subscription could not be saved. The court considered the accused's "lack of interest in having such test done" in which they concluded that the state "cannot be deemed put on reasonable notice that it would be required to produce the semen specimen at some future time".[29]. The SCs decision in acquitting all the accused in the Vizconde case has fundamental contradictions to its earlier decision affirming the guilty verdict of the accused in the Abadilla case. She was the prosecutions worst possible choice for a witness. CONCLUSION: The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is deeply concerned by this unequal application of jurisprudence by the SC on the Abadilla murder and the Vizconde massacre. Originally, there were seven accused charged in this case. . All of us who have cases in court, dont we realize that if your opponent has money, brace yourself. While the SC rejected Alfaros testimony being not a credible witness, it held Alejo still a credible witness despite the inconsistencies in his testimony. Hubert and his co-accused were convicted by the Paraaque Regional Trial Court for the crime on June 6, 2000. She did not know nor met any of them. Many of the stories in my columns in previous newspapers were complaints from citizens. Welcome to my maiden column in TheSTAR, now the countrys No. [29], For the alibi to be established "the accused must prove by positive, clear, and satisfactory evidence that he was present at another place at the time of the perpetration of the crime, and that it was physically impossible for him to be at the scene of the crime". All of these had been applied in acquitting the accused in the Vizconde case, which is contradictory to its earlier decision affirming the conviction of the Abadilla Five. [57] The witnesses include an electrician, a drug dealer, a couple of neighborhood basketball players, a hairdresser and a village security guard. Theyre projecting Digong as a feeble old man still seeking power. The AHRC urges the SC to thoroughly review the pending final appeal of the accused in the Abadilla case. The court rejected his testimony because he was a disgruntled witness. The Vizconde massacre made headlines in the Philippines in the '90s and started a trend in filmmaking. Eighteen-year-old daughter Carmela was raped, and had 17 stab wounds. [60], Although Webb's group can no longer be retried because of double jeopardy, De Lima said the purpose of the reinvestigation was to uncover the truth and bring closure to Lauro Vizconde.[65][66]. 2. Cruz, Manila accompanying his brother-in-law, Jonas Padel Ayhon, whose wife had just given birth; and Rameses de Jesus and Lenido Lumanog had just left Manila for Mabalacat, Pampanga where they stayed until the evening of June 14. No. Like Alejo, Herbas also at first instance identified Joel de Jesus as one of the gunmen during a police line-up but later withdraw his statement in open court. True Crime. So, some sectors are calling for Eleazars extension until after the May 2022 elections. But her parents did not allow her to go. Even if we were denied justice, I consoled them that at least people already know what really happened, he said. Thus the SC decision on the Vizconde massacre is flawed, Paguia averred, citing a portion of Fortich v. Corona, 312 SCRA 751, at 758 where the SC itself ruled that unless the minimum number of EIGHT votes for a majority is attained there is no decision to speak of, therefore the release order of the Webb group should not have been signed. 176864), it became one of the most sensational cases in the Philippines, being described as a "trial of the century". Methinks one year would give Eleazar ample time impose his brand of discipline on one of the most undisciplined police forces in the world. [2] Alfaro said that policeman Gerardo Biong "was instructed by Webb, in my presence, to take care of the house where the incident happened". They cannot be the bases of conviction as they cannot substitute for the constitutional requirement of proof of guilt beyond reasonable doubt. Tolentino also said, the photographs and videotapes purportedly showing Webb in the United States appeared to be tampered. On June 30, 1991, three Vizconde women Estrellita, 49; her 19-year-old daughter, Carmela and the younger Jennifer, 6 were found dead in their home at BF Homes Village in Paraaque. A lying witness can make as positive an identification as a truthful witness can. The presumption leaned on is disputable and can be overcome by evidence to the contrary. The passing away of Lauro Vizconde a few days ago does not close the sad chapter on the tragedy known as the Vizconde massacre. No. starring Kris Aquino as Carmela Vizconde. (P.S. [9] They were acquitted by a trial judge in September 1993 for insufficient evidence.[9]. [19], The Court of Appeals' Third Division voted 32 to deny Webb's motion for reconsideration and upheld the ruling of Judge Tolentino on December 16, 2005. Webb presented certifications from the U.S. Immigration but he failed to submit as evidence in court the original copy of his passport with immigration entry stamped on it. Early Thursday, Lauro Vizconde went to Holy Cross Memorial Park and laid bouquets of roses on the tombs of his wife and daughters. Connections Followed by The Untold Story: Vizconde Massacre II - May the Lord Be with Us! I expected this decision because since the start, I knew that Jessica Alfaro was not entirely telling the truth. due to "overwhelming evidence that showed Webb and the other accused had conspired to rape Carmela and, in the process, kill her and the rest of the family." Conjectures and suspicions are not facts, hence, they have no evidentiary value. In their alibis, Joel de Jesus claimed he was driving his passenger tricycle in Fairview, Quezon City the whole day; for SPO2 Cesar Fortuna, he was at Camp Crame (headquarters of the Philippine National Police, PNP) for official business and his presence was also corroborated by two police officials whom he had transacted business with; for Augusto Santos, he was at the Jose Fabella Hospital in Sta. Secondly, Alfaros quality as a witness and her inconsistent, if not inherently unbelievable, testimony cannot be the positive identification that jurisprudence acknowledges as sufficient. Democrito Barcenas, former Integrated Bar of the Philippines Cebu City president and regional coordinator of the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG): I think that most of the justices are right in their decision. She took advantage of her familiarity with these details to include in her testimony. Hello friends! There was entry of (former senator) Freddie Webb leaving the country in March 1991 but no Hubert Webb, De Lima said. The men were released on Dec. 14 last year, after the Supreme Court dismissed the testimony of star witness Jessica Alfaro against Webb. This is one of the most controversial and widely publicised massacre cases because of the involvement of the son of a former Philippine Senator, Freddie Webb; and six others from a wealthy family background similar to that of the accused. She had been hanging around that agency for sometime as a stool pigeon, one paid for mixing up with criminals and squealing on them. It strictly laid down these as the least requirement in evaluating the credibility of the claim of positive identification. On January 4, 2000, the Regional Trial Court of Paranaque City rendered its judgement finding all the accused guilty as charged imposing a penalty of life imprisonment. [22], On October 8, 2010, Webb filed an urgent motion for acquittal.