This site uses cookies. 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. [165] The discrepancies between a sworn statement and testimony in court do not outrightly justify the acquittal of an accused,[166] as testimonial evidence carries more weight than an affidavit. VIZCONDE MASSACRE: 20 YEARS, TWO FACES OF JUSTICE Report by Maki Pulido It is one of the most controversial cases in the country's history, the most shocking crime in the 90s - the Vizconde Massacre. From there she allegedly saw Lejano and Ventura take a knife from the kitchen drawer, while the rest of the gang acted as lookouts. No. Rey and Jerry claimed they saw Webb playing basketball between the months of June and July 1991 during a league in BF Homes. After she finished the laundry, she went to the servant's quarters. The court said that Alfaro was not a credible witness and that her "story of what she personally saw must be believable, not inherently contrived". May I invite you to watch?). The unconstitutionality of prior restraint. ", Jessica Alfaro: Alfaro's e-mail from abroad read. He then hurled the little girl to a wall and started stabbing her. Conjectures and suspicions are not facts, hence, they have no evidentiary value. After the shooting, he could have easily and quickly transferred to Camp Crame between 9:00 and 9:30 in the morning. Hubert and his co-accused were convicted by the Paraaque Regional Trial Court for the crime on June 6, 2000. [58] George, a drug dealer, claimed he was introduced to Webb by former SPO1 Gerardo Biong sometime in April 1991 where the young Webb allegedly purchased from him 10grams of shabu worth P10,000. They are Lenido Lumanog, Augusto Santos, Senior Police Officer 2 (SPO2) Cesar Fortuna, Rameses de Jesus and Joel de Jesus. Alfaro testified that as Webb followed Carmela into the dining room, she decided to step outside for a smoke. People vs. Bello, G.R. De Lima said the evidence that showed Webb and any of the co-accused were in the country came from the magnetic reel tape (MRT) of the Philippine Bureau of Immigration (BI) where all records of incoming and outgoing passengers from the Philippines are recorded. Still seeking justice for his family's grim fate, Lauro Vizconde exhausts all resources available to him. Copyright 2023. This is a violation of the duty of state." But Custodio admits this may be easier said than done. It was Alejo who had positively identified Joel and Lorenzo (delos Santos) during a police line-up. 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. Anyone can be paid! On the acquittal of Lorenzo delos Santos, the accused whom Alejo had also positively identified, it ruled that his acquittal did not damage Alejos credibility; and his positive identification of the accused. But big offenses, such as rape or attempted rape, should be filed with the police or the prosecutors office. 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. This column will tackle various topics on the days it will come out: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. 132577 People of the Philippines vs. Hubert Jeffrey P. Webb, 1999, G.R. Alfaro said Estrellita was killed before Webb began to rape Carmela. Abadilla Case Decision from the Court of Appeals:http://campaigns.ahrchk.net/abadilla5/docs/A5-CAdecision.pdf. Hong Kong Tolentino also said, the photographs and videotapes purportedly showing Webb in the United States appeared to be tampered. 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." The Vizconde Massacre. [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. Equal protection of the law is fundamental in the countrys Constitution. No. I also updated them on the new twist in the investigation. The women were found dead with multiple stab wounds and no witnesses, murder weapons or motive have been uncovered. The NBI is the agency responsible in providing security and protection of witnesses admitted under WPP. After reading about how responsive Secretary Benhur Abalos is to matters raised by the media, some members of the PNP, particularly in the province of Iloilo, have shared through channels about their operational Local producers wont like it, but it looks like in the near future, there will be a flood of imported agricultural commodities. Firstly, like Alfaro, Alejo also received money and free accommodation from the persons who had interest in his testimony. The case remained unsolved for almost four years until eyewitness, Jessica Alfaro Testified that Hubert Webb is the lead suspect and responsible of the crime committed. On October 1, 1996, Judge Amelita Tolentino admitted only 10 of the 142 pieces of evidence the defense presented. Their claims were corroborated by witnesses who are disinterested parties, their relatives and friends and documentary evidence. No. I incurred the ire of the citizenry, including some of my fellow columnists in theInquirer,for my defense of Hubert. The prosecutors, the RTC and the CA have been made aware of this fact by the defence. [8] If, on examination, the DNA of the subject specimen does not belong to Webb, then he did not rape Carmela. He was sentenced to eleven years in prison. Jennifer Diaz, chief of the women and childrens desk, told Allan to file the complaint with the barangay where they reside. vs. People of the Philippines et al., 1997, G.R. I became a villain in the eyes of the citizenry that was crying for blood; but I was steadfast. Inconsistencies: In Vizconde case damages credibility, in Abadilla case does not. Vizconde is clinging to the hope that even if this period ended Thursday, more concerned citizens will approach the National Bureau of Investigation to corroborate claims made by new witnesses that Webb was seen in BF Homes, Paraaque City, at the time of the murders. "[29] In general, the court said that Alfaro's story "lacks sense or suffers from inherent inconsistencies. The men were released on Dec. 14 last year, after the Supreme Court dismissed the testimony of star witness Jessica Alfaro against Webb. But to Judge Amelita Tolentino of the Paranaque Regional Trial Court, the truth was the account of star witness Jessica Alfaro. G.R. Alfaro accused Hubert Webb, son of former senator Freddie Webb, as the mastermind of the massacre, along with five other men, all coming from prominent families. To find out more, please click this link. (P.S. This is one of the most controversial and widely publicised massacre cases because of the involvement of the son of a former Philippine . "[29], The court held that security guard Normal E. White, Jr.'s testimony was unreliable. December 14, 2010:http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2010/december2010/176389.htm :Isumbongwill make a comeback on PTV-4 on June 12, 2021. Philstar.com is one of the most vibrant, opinionated, discerning communities of readers on cyberspace. The Vizconde Massacre was the multiple homicide of members of the Vizconde family on June 30, 1991 at their residence in BF Homes, Paraaque, Metro Manila, Philippines. 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. No. Their original conviction was capital punishment but their sentence was modified to life imprisonment when the death penalty was abolished. The fight is not over. Ho Man Tin, Kowloon 2. 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. Secondly, Alfaros quality as a witness and her inconsistent, if not inherently unbelievable, testimony cannot be the positive identification that jurisprudence acknowledges as sufficient. They were sentenced to reclusion perpetua and ordered to indemnify the Vizconde family Php 3 million for the murders. 176864. But in the Abadilla case, the relatives and friends are not an impartial witness to corroborate the defence of alibi of the accused. [2] Tolentino said the certificates issued by the US Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Philippine Bureau of Immigration "could have easily been obtained by the powerful Webb family". 176389 / G.R. [6][7][8] The suspects said they were tortured and forced to confess to the crime before they were presented by Filart to the media. The court also amended the award of damages from 100,000 pesos to 200,000 pesos, and also upheld the conviction of Biong as accessory to the crime "by abusing his public functions to conceal and destroy the physical evidence in order to prevent the discovery of the crime and by allowing the destruction of the physical evidence, Biong facilitated the escape of the principal accused. [30], In three separate occasions, police authorities mistakenly arrested persons they believed to be suspect Joey Filart: a namesake in August 1995, the same person again in February 2000, and a person from Compostela Valley in March 2000. The Vizconde massacre has been dubbed as the trial of the century as the accused hailed from prominent families of the Philippines. 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. A lying witness can make as positive an identification as a truthful witness can. Former Paraaque policeman Gerardo Biong was found guilty as an accessory for burning bedsheets and tampering with other evidence in the crime. [2][3] Estrellita Vizconde, 49, suffered thirteen stab wounds; Carmela Vizconde, 19, suffered seventeen stab wounds and had been raped before she was killed; and Anne Marie Jennifer, 6, had nineteen stab wounds. All rights are reserved. With Romeo Vasquez, Elizabeth Oropesa, Robert Arevalo, Tommy Abuel. Originally, there were seven accused charged in this case. But Justice Conchita Carpio Morales, who concurred with the decision, wrote strongly against basing judgement on conjectures: Facts decide cases. Similar to the Vizconde case, the five accused made a defence of alibi claiming that they were somewhere else on June 13, 1996 when the murder of Abadilla happened. Thus, her testimony could not be admitted. [29] The Vizconde murders remained unsolved for almost four years, until 1995 when eyewitness Jessica Alfaro, a self-confessed drug addict, came forward on April 28, 1995, to shed light on the massacre. The 47-year-old Estrellita had 13 stab wounds. Unreliability of Jessica Alfaro's testimony: Alfaro had prior knowledge on the facts of the case having been an, Alfaro was not able to explain why the house was ransacked if robbery was not the motive of Webb and his group, Unreliability of testimony from other witnesses, Alfaro's testimony will fall apart if Webb was not at the crime scene and will relieve the others accused of the crime. Similar to the accused in the Vizconde case, all the accused in the Abadilla case invoked their defence of alibi. People cried for justice for the Vizcondes and one of the suspects was Hubert Webb, son of then Paraaque congressman Freddie Webb, who later became a senator. 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. Sources from the Department of Justice said Webb, who was acquitted by the Supreme Court last December, 2010, was in the country during and after the crime happened in . Besides the horror itself, the suspected perpetrators included high-society figures. "[21], In April 2010, the Supreme Court approved DNA testing to be performed on the semen specimen obtained during autopsy from Carmela Vizconde. Published July 4, 2011 7:24pm. They were victims of gory murder; Carmela was raped before she was killed. Two of the accused have also been acquitted by the RTC on the basis of their defence of alibis. Yes, but what can I do (?). Lauro Vizconde on Thursday marks the 20th anniversary of the murders of his wife and two daughters at his residence in BF Homes, Paraaque City. She added that suspect Miguel Rodriguez warned her to "shut up or you're gonna get killed" in the same disco on April 8, 1995, prompting her to voluntarily submit herself to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for protection. The SC, however, held that by failing to prove the existence of a relationship between Hubert and Carmela; and that the lover that Alfaro claimed that Carmela had met did not come forward in public or in court, her testimonies about the accused and the victims were like a piece of jigsaw puzzle trimmed to fit into the shape on the board but does not belong because it clashes with the surrounding pieces and the lover was a mere ghost of the imagination of Alfaro, the woman who made a living informing on criminals. [10] According to the footage of the trial, Alfaro had been able to identify all the defendants by their names. 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." . Allan (surname intentionally omitted), stepfather of a 16-year-old girl who was nearly raped by a neighbor, went with his daughter to the police station in San Jose, Batangas recently to file a complaint. The Vizconde murder case, colloquially known as the Vizconde massacre, was the multiple homicide of members of the Vizconde family on June 30, 1991 at their residence at 80 Vinzons Street, BF Homes, Paraaque, Metro Manila, Philippines. Movie producers and directors rode the wave of public outcry by creating true-to-life films based on such heinous crimes. : Directed by Carlo J. Caparas. Secondly, in the Abadilla case the SC held that the defense of alibi is weak, but in the Vizconde case it held that not all denials and alibis should be regarded as fabricated. Thus, it was not surprising for Alfaro to testify with great details in court. Three days after that, he was allegedly approached by Mrs. Webb who reportedly told him, You did not see anything. A week after, Sen. Freddie Webb allegedly told him, You did not see anything. 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". Firstly, the SC held Alfaro was not a credible witness. Pray to them. [citation needed] (The Philippine Rules of Evidence require official attestation of the authenticity of any public document presented in evidence; as per Sec. Firstly, in the Vizconde case, the SC still held as credible the corroborating testimonies of the witnesses favouring Hubert Jeffrey who are mostly his relatives and friends in support of his defence of alibi. On April this year, the Webbs filed an urgent motion to acquit when they found out that the NBI no longer has custody of the specimen that was taken from the body of the rape victim, Carmela Visconde. Lauro Vizconde: "Is there still anyone among you who doubts that there is rampant corruption in our government? I can't express enough how sad and unjust today's story. The CA rather held that positive and unequivocal declaration is sufficient to support a conviction which was affirmed by the SC. The other accused were Artemio Dong Ventura, Michael A. Gatchalian, Hospicio Pyke Fernandez, Peter Estrada, Miguel Ging Rodriguez, and Joey Filart. The filming location took place in the actual home of the Vizconde's where the massacre took place on June 30, 1991. Footnote: This article comprises the text of a statement issued by the Asian Human Rights Commission, AHRC-STM-266-2010, dated 21 December 2010. 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. The SC rendered its judgment on the Abadilla case on September 7 and on the Vizconde case on December 14 of this year [2010]. By providing an email address. X' key to real perpetrators of Vizconde murders? Alfaro claimed that Hubert was angry at Carmela thus raping and murdering her, her younger sister and her mother, to supposedly revenge her unfaithfulness to him. For example, I was the first one to report the shooting of 16-year-old Maureen Hultman and her boyfriend by the son of former chief justice Claudio Teehankee in 1991 in my column at theInquirer, because the girls stepfather, Anders, a Swede, came to myIsumbongoffice at Radyo Veritas. No. [53], Lauro Vizconde, family patriarch and the founding president of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption, died on February 13, 2016, at the age of 77. 1 newspaper in terms of circulation and readership. No acquittal has been made as to the two accused, Filart and Ventura, who remain at-large. The case of the Vizconde Massacre took another direction only after four years, when Jessica Alfaro surfaced and became the case's star witness. But I could not work there), Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption chairman. [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. 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. True Crime. She cited the testimony of Alex del Toro, husband of Webb's relative, who said he hired Hubert Webb as an employee at his pesticide company in California. Credibility of a witness: In Vizconde case not credible, but credible in the Abadilla case.

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