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For almost two decades, Filipinos have been mystified by the brutal 1991 killing of a mother and her two daughters. The SC also held that it was possible for Alfaro to know the details about the Vizconde killings because she had prior access to the details that the investigators knew of the case. [17], On January 6, 2000, Judge Tolentino rendered her decision, finding Hubert Webb, Peter Estrada, Hospicio Fernandez, Michael Gatchalian, Antonio Lejano II and Miguel Rodriguez guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of rape with homicide. However, the court pointed out that while Webb or his parents may be able to "arrange for the local immigration to put a March 9, 1991 departure stamp on his passport and an October 27, 1992 arrival stamp", they could not fix a foreign airlines passenger manifest, and the U.S. Immigration's record system. The most significant topic that Ive ever written about and which I personally got involved in was the Vizconde massacre. The Untold Story: Vizconde Massacre II - May the Lord Be with Us! He adds, this Court takes judicial notice of reported irregularities and tampering of passports in the years prior to the recent issuance by the Department of Foreign Affairs(DFA) of machine-readable passports. June 14, 1993 - Vizconde Massacre solved; 'brains,' three others fall Police finish investigation of the Vizconde case with the arrest of the suspected mastermind and three other suspects,. ", Jessica Alfaro: Alfaro's e-mail from abroad read. The women were found dead with multiple stab wounds and no witnesses, murder weapons or motive have been uncovered. Vizconde Massacre: The hidden Truth. October 1, 1996 Judge Amelita Tolentino of the Paraaque RTC rejected 132 of the defense's 142 pieces of evidence. vs. People of the Philippines et al., 1997, G.R. The majority of the justices also rejected as conjecture the argument of one of the dissenting justices, Martin Villarama Jr., that it would not have been impossible during the interregnum for Webb to travel back to the country and again fly to the US several times considering that the travel time on board an airline from the Philippines to San Francisco, and from San Francisco to the Philippines takes only about twelve (12) to fourteen (14) hours. Lauro Vizconde: "Is there still anyone among you who doubts that there is rampant corruption in our government? [5] The other defendants were convicted by the Paraaque Regional Trial Court, which the Court of Appeals affirmed. I did that hoping to make them have second thoughts about doing so,.There is no justice in the Philippines. Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer & other 70+ titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download as early as 4am & share articles on social media. Inconsistencies: In Vizconde case damages credibility, in Abadilla case does not. Hong Kong For there is no law requiring that the testimony of a simple [sic] witness should be corroborated for it to be accorded full faith and credit. This column will tackle various topics on the days it will come out: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. A news report on Thursday in Business Mirror that headlined Senate grills defense brass on plans for EDCA expansion, sites raised much curiosity for its sheer lack of detailed information. He was sentenced to eleven years in prison. al., 2010, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vizconde_murders&oldid=1138122178, Loss of DNA evidence not a ground for outright acquittal. But big offenses, such as rape or attempted rape, should be filed with the police or the prosecutors office. The NBI is a special investigating body attached to the DoJ. They were sentenced to reclusion perpetua and ordered to indemnify the Vizconde family Php 3 million for the murders. Hence, it was not physically impossible for them to travel to Quezon City via the North Expressway at the time the crime took place; On Augusto Santos, the corroboration of his brother-in-law, Jonas Padel Ayhon, that he was at the Jose Fabella Hospital when the crime happened, the CA rejected his corroboration because he was not an impartial witness and ruled that where nothing supports the alibi than the testimony of a relative, it deserves scant consideration. Eleazar, a strict disciplinarian, is probably the only PNP chief who is loved and respected by the citizenry. Their original conviction was capital punishment but their sentence was modified to life imprisonment when the death penalty was abolished. Seven justices based its decision on the following points: Webb, citing Brady v. Maryland, said "that he is entitled to outright acquittal on the ground of violation of his right to due process given the States failure to produce on order of the Court either by negligence or willful suppression the semen specimen taken from Carmela." "[21], In April 2010, the Supreme Court approved DNA testing to be performed on the semen specimen obtained during autopsy from Carmela Vizconde. Birrer said she had accompanied Biong to the Vizconde house to destroy the evidence and to retrieve Webb's jacket and the murder weapon. No. (1994) Details Release date June 24, 1993 (Philippines) Country of origin Philippines Languages English Filipino Tagalog Filming locations [2] Lauro Vizconde, Estrellita's husband and the father of Carmela and Jennifer, was in the United States on business when the murders took place. 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. Hubert and his co-accused were convicted by the Paraaque Regional Trial Court for the crime on June 6, 2000. Hubert Jeffrey Webb sought for an acquittal after he had found out that the NBI could no longer produce the DNA specimen extracted from the cadaver of the rape victim. We have ruled that accused-appellant may not invoke the acquittal of the other conspirators to merit the reversal of his conviction for murder. The trial began in August 1995 before Paraaque RTC Judge Amelita Tolentino. The AHRC is deeply concerned by the contradiction in the application of jurisprudence by the SC in these cases, particularly its ruling on positive identification, the credibility of witness and its appreciation of forensic evidence. 176864. Of the 15 Justices, 7 voted for acquittal while four dissented and four Justices, including Carpio, did not participate.[27][28]. 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. The Vizconde massacre has been dubbed as the trial of the century as the accused hailed from prominent families of the Philippines. Under the law, prosecutors of a murder case are given 20 years from the time it occurred or the time it was discovered to identify suspects and charge them in court. Even if we were denied justice, I consoled them that at least people already know what really happened, he said. My program is the originalsumbungan ng bayan sa radyo(roughly, citizens complaint center on radio). Both the SC and the CA affirmed the RTCs sentence of guilty verdict without applying the test on the credibility of a witness as they did in Vizconde case. On SPO2 Cesar Fortuna, the RTC, the CA and the SC, accepted the fact that he was at Camp Crame, but the SC affirmed the RTC and the CAs conjecture that it was not impossible for him to have gone to Katipunan road, Blue Ridge, which is relatively near Camp Crame when the shooting happened around 8.40 in the morning. This is a violation of the duty of state." But Custodio admits this may be easier said than done. God would be stupid to borrow Digongs words if He gifts him the vice presidency the second time around. It cannot be coached or allured by a promise of reward or financial support. The ballistic test results also did not match to any of the firearms supposedly taken from the accused to the empty shells that were recovered at the crime scene. InVizconde case: The SC has given weight to the importance of forensic evidence in a court trial. This has resulted in the revelation by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) that they no longer had the specimens as these were remanded to the Paraaque courts. His intention was very, very dubious, he said. There was entry of (former senator) Freddie Webb leaving the country in March 1991 but no Hubert Webb, De Lima said. At about 4 a.m. on June 30, 1991, Gaviola woke up and entered the bedrooms to get the Webb's dirty laundry and wash it as part of her job. Massacre era. The Vizconde massacre, dubbed the crime of the 20th century, was my defining moment as a columnist and defender of the oppressed and those wrongfully accused. The High Court put to question the quality of the testamentary evidence furnished by the witnesses. The SC identified the inconsistencies and the incredible facts in Alfaros testimony: her claim that Hubert Jeffrey Webb and Carmela Vizconde had a relationship; that Carmela had another lover whom she met just before Hubert came to her home and that she saw in open the five other accused taking turns in raping Carmela. It was also not true that there was no showing that he (Alejo) was actuated by improper motive to testify falsely against the accused because the defence had since been challenging his credibility during the trial. It held that the acquittal of their co-accused does not necessarily benefit the appellants. [2][20], The court ruled that the Paraaque RTC was correct in sentencing Webb et al. The court noted the inconsistency between Alfaro's testimony of Webb being Carmela's boyfriend, who had no reason in breaking the glass panel of the house's front door to enter the house; Alfaro said that Webb "picked up some stone and, out of the blue, hurled it at the glass-paneled front door". 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." For those who havent heard aboutIsumbong, the public service program started at Radyo Veritas on June 1, 1991. [23] On November 26, 2010, Lauro Vizconde voiced his concern to media about the purported lobbying of Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio for the reversal of the guilty verdict. Several jeepney drivers groups have called for an unprecedented one-week strike next week to demand extension of the deadline for phasing out traditional vehicles and replacing them with modern It will take over 200 years for women to be at par with men, a news report from Davos said. Webb's reliance on the presumption of regularity of official functions, stressing the fact that the US-INS certifications are official documents, is misplaced. The Supreme Court acquitted them on Dec. 14, 2010. Based on my findings, I defended Hubert in my column and in my radio and TV programs. ), Among evidence that was not admitted by Judge Tolentino, was the note verbale from the United States Embassy in Manila claiming that Webb entered the United States in March 1991 and left in October 1992. Sison was ordered to desist from further investigating that angle by then Philippine National Police Capital Region Commander Marino Filart after six members of akyat bahay gang (burglars) were arrested by Regional Police Unit in October 1991. Alejos testimonies in open court were also not consistent to what he had said to the police investigators immediately after the murder. Another accused, Joey Filart also fled to the United States. To support this, Webb presented a Certification issued by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service of August 31, 1995 confirming that his entry into that country was recorded. Who does forget the heart-crushing 1991 Visconde massacre, with Jessica Alfaro standing as the star witness, whistle-blowing the details how these young men before, coming from our society's influential families, killed Mang Lauro's wife and his two daughters. [11], Alfaro's testimony was corroborated by other witnesses including: Lolita Birrer, a former live-in partner of policeman Gerardo Biong, who narrated the manner of how Biong investigated and tried to cover up the crime. MANILA, Philippines - Six new witnesses reveal Hubert Webb, son of former Senator Freddie Webb, was in the Philippines when the Vizconde massacre took place on June 1991. The public and the media continue to watch as the years go by . Alfaro testified that as Webb followed Carmela into the dining room, she decided to step outside for a smoke. When she could not produce the person, Sacaguing continued to press her saying that she might as well assume the role of her informant.. Alfaro had testified that she knew the suspects and was at the Vizconde house when the crime was committed. "[29], The court maintained that for a person to be convicted there should not be "a reasonable, lingering doubt as to his guilt." Sulu in the eyes of my good friend Princess Jacel Kiram is a potential eco-tourism destination and fruit basket of the country. The men were released on Dec. 14 last year, after the Supreme Court dismissed the testimony of star witness Jessica Alfaro against Webb. Besides the horror itself, the suspected perpetrators included high-society figures. It strictly laid down these as the least requirement in evaluating the credibility of the claim of positive identification. : Directed by Carlo J. Caparas. 127262 Hubert Webb, et al. But in the Abadilla case, not only did the SC affird the CAs ruling in rejecting the defence of alibi, it did not also question the CAs formulation of conjectures on which it based its judgement. Alfaro, who had "practically lived" at the NBI's offices, would have been able to hear about the details, and gain access to the documents, without difficulty. [11], The defense produced documents and presented 95 witnesses, including Hubert Webb himself and his father, along with other relatives and friends to support Webb's alibi that he was in the United States from March 9, 1991, to October 26, 1992. The defense questioned Alfaro's credibility noting that she admitted to being under the influence of drugs when she allegedly witnessed the crime and had made inconsistent statements on her two affidavits. 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.