the truth about vizconde massacre

But the grieving father couldn't distinguish the truth from the lies. [5] The other defendants were convicted by the Paraaque Regional Trial Court, which the Court of Appeals affirmed. So how can such accused penetrate a mind that has been made cynical by the rule drilled into his head that a defense of alibi is a hangmans noose in the face of a witness positively swearing. Nos. 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. [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. I will be conferring with my lawyers about my future moves.. TV-14. Copyright 2023. 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. The AHRC urges the SC to thoroughly review the pending final appeal of the accused in the Abadilla case. 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. ABADILLA MURDER CASE: This case is about the murder of Rolando Abadilla, a police colonel during Marcos regime, at 8:30 on June 13, 1996 at the Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City. [13][14], Other prosecution witnesses were: Carlos J. Cristobal who alleged that on March 9, 1991, he was a passenger of United Airlines Flight No. Rey and Jerry claimed they saw Webb playing basketball between the months of June and July 1991 during a league in BF Homes. As a result, the court reverses the decision of the Court of Appeals, and acquits Webb, et al. a contribution to Human Rights work, Asian Human Rights Commission Former Paraaque City cop Gerardo Biong walked free from the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) in Muntinlupa City after serving a 12-year sentence. He and six others spent 15 years in jail. [2][20], The court ruled that the Paraaque RTC was correct in sentencing Webb et al. The Vizconde massacre made headlines in the Philippines in the '90s and started a trend in filmmaking. After 15 years behind bars, Hubert Webb and 5 others in the Vizconde massacre case (Manila-Philippines) were released from prison on Tuesday. 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." Fax: +(852) 2698 6367, Copyright 2023 Asian Human Rights Commission. [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. "I doubt that at this time, physical evidence will be available because a lapse of time has taken place, but that's the only way we can find the true killers." Run after Alfaro [139] Against positive evidence, alibi becomes most unsatisfactory. Francisco Kit Hernandez celebrated Mass. [29], The court said that "among the accused, Webb presented the strongest alibi". Alfaro said that when she went back to the house, she saw the bodies of Estrellita and Jennifer on the bed and Webb raping Carmela on the floor. And while justice seems elusive, life must go on, Vizcondes grandniece Katherine Asuncion said, reading from a family statement. It was hard to tell which made up the truth and the lies. The story of the Vizconde Massacre wasn't just a single story; it varied as told by a number of witnesses. This was how Lauro Vizcondes relatives summed it up on Thursday night after a Mass marking the 20th anniversary of the death of his wife Estrellita and daughters Carmela and Jennifer. I found this As of yesterday, police had arrested and filed criminal charges against six fraternity members suspected to have beaten to death John Matthew Salilig in a twisted concept ofbrotherhood. After the Mass, VACC founding chair Dante Jimenez urged Congress to initiate impeachment proceedings against the seven Supreme Court justices who either voted to acquit Webb and coaccused or abstained from voting last December. Envy aliens who can avoid PH; pity Pinoys who are stuck here. Biong was released from jail on November 30, 2010, after serving his sentence. Alfaro could not possibly prove the relationship between Hubert and Carmela, as they were strangers to each other, and Alfaro also could not have possibly identified the other accused because all of them were strangers to her. 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. 1. Episode on July 5, 2011 Tuesday after Saksi! Indeed, the testimony of a single witness, when positive and credible, is sufficient to support a conviction even for murder. Kaya laban lang tayo. 'Ms. The court ruled that Alfaro was "a stool pigeon, one who earned her living by fraternizing with criminals so she could squeal on them to her NBI handlers." The public and the media continue to watch as the years go by . I would not have ended up like this if you had not neglected me). Cabanacan said Webb had entered the subdivision (where the Vizconde house was located) a few days before the massacre and that he even identified himself as the son of then Congressman Webb. 1. The prosecutors, the RTC and the CA have been made aware of this fact by the defence. The lower courts, the Supreme Court said, held that "Webb was actually in Paraaque when the Vizconde killings took place". 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. :Isumbongwill make a comeback on PTV-4 on June 12, 2021. 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. "[29], The court maintained that for a person to be convicted there should not be "a reasonable, lingering doubt as to his guilt." 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. The details of how they were killed were grim. [48] Other witnesses say Webb was in the Philippines at the time of the murders. Originally, there were seven accused charged in this case. 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. 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]. Hell never return to the Philippines, said the Thai tourist whose cash was filched by Manila airport security personnel. ", Jessica Alfaro: Alfaro's e-mail from abroad read. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Vizconde said he was optimistic about finding more witnesses.. It cannot be coached or allured by a promise of reward or financial support. This policewoman is either ignorant of the law or plain lazy. The SC, however, upheld the RTC and the CAs judgement that the defence of alibi of the accused is a weak defense, (and that) for it to prosper, the accused must prove not only that he was at some other place at the time of the commission of the crime, but also, that it was physically impossible for him to be or within its immediate vicinity. But to Judge Amelita Tolentino of the Paranaque Regional Trial Court, the truth was the account of star witness Jessica Alfaro. The readers will notice soon enough the brevity of each topic. Like Herbas, court records had also shown that Alejo has been receiving money and free accommodation from the Abadillas. Lauro Vizconde the husband of Estrellita and father of Carmela and Jennifer, was in the United State on business when the murders took place. He alleged that he could not forget Webb because Biong had allegedly threatened him, Do not cheat him. 124871, May 13, 2004. Nine years later, still no clarity on EDCA sites. 132577 People of the Philippines vs. Hubert Jeffrey P. Webb, 1999, G.R. Justice Villarama argued that a photocopy of Webbs passport in court to support his alibi and the testimonies of witnesses, mostly his relatives and friends, could not be given merit, by cautioning his fellow justices that it can be gleaned from the fact that passports and plane tickets indicating dates of arrival and departure do not necessarily prove that the very same person actually took the flight and added that indeed, alibi cannot be sustained where it is not only without credible corroboration, but also where it does not, on its face, demonstrate the physical impossibility of the accuseds presence at the place and time of the commission of the crime. Im still hoping for a miracle to happen. Shades of what happened in the 2004 elections, when a national official was paid a huge sum to run under a political party. When the accused appealed the decision, the Court of Appeals (CA) affirmed the judgement of conviction by the RTC. 2. [55], On June 28, 2011, Justice Secretary Leila De Lima said Hubert Webb was in the Philippines when the murders took place. Herbas had testified for the defence instead of the prosecution when the Abadilla did not fulfil his promise to give him (Herbas) exactly the same salary he was receiving and when he was told that he would no longer be presented as witness because the testimony of Alejo would be sufficient. . After the shooting, he could have easily and quickly transferred to Camp Crame between 9:00 and 9:30 in the morning. The SC required this test as necessary before a testimony of positive identification could be accepted as credible and with merit. Apart from Alejo, earlier there was another witness, Merlito Herbas. White, on the other hand, said he saw the three cars enter the subdivision on the night of June 29, as Alfaro had testified; White also testified that policeman Gerardo Biong was the first to arrive at the crime scene. Firstly, the SC held Alfaro was not a credible witness. Firstly, like Alfaro, Alejo also received money and free accommodation from the persons who had interest in his testimony. She did not show up at the NBI as a spontaneous witness (only after four years) bothered by her conscience. Acting solely on Alfaros testimony, the Department of Justice (DoJ) filed charges of rape with homicide against the eight accused on August 1995. [61], The findings also point to another set of suspects, namely Dong Villadolid and his brother Bing. [9] They were acquitted by a trial judge in September 1993 for insufficient evidence.[9]. Sign up now! The SC rendered its judgment on the Abadilla case on September 7 and on the Vizconde case on December 14 of this year [2010]. So, some sectors are calling for Eleazars extension until after the May 2022 elections. InVizconde case: Jessica Alfaros positive identification was rejected because she did not meet the test of a credible witness and that what she personally saw must be believable, not inherently contrived. The case of the Vizconde Massacre took another direction only after four years, when Jessica Alfaro surfaced and became the case's star witness. Abadilla Case Decision from the Court of Appeals:http://campaigns.ahrchk.net/abadilla5/docs/A5-CAdecision.pdf. 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. Thus, her testimony could not be admitted. Carpio testified for the defense during the trial. You will regret it.[58][59] Jack, a village security guard who kept records of the village where Webb lived said he saw Hubert Webb during the time of the massacre. On June 30, 1991, 47-year-old housewife Estrellita Vizconde and daughters Carmela, 18, and Jennifer, 7, were found dead in their residence in BF Homes in Paraaque. [6], Alfaro's testimony coincided with the angle that was being explored by Supt. Webb was among the nine people convicted by Paranaque Regional Trial Court Branch 274 Presiding Judge Amelita Tolentino in January 2000 for the killings. All rights are reserved. They cannot be the bases of conviction as they cannot substitute for the constitutional requirement of proof of guilt beyond reasonable doubt. LIKE me to support Mr. Vizconde Eh di sana may sweldo ako. 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. 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. In a 38-page strongly-worded decision promulgated on Tuesday, the . 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. 3. The CA rather held that positive and unequivocal declaration is sufficient to support a conviction which was affirmed by the SC. The Villadolid brothers were mentioned by a certain Rhoda Pujanes alias Dang, who claimed she overheard Villadolid and his friends, including Miguel Rodriguez and Michael Gatchalian (both co-accused of Webb), talking about the massacre during a pot session in 1991. Therefore, the applications of the SC on evaluating the defence of alibi of the accused have not been equally applied in these two cases. The SC acquitted all the accused, reversing and dismissing the guilty verdict of the RTC and the CA. vs. Raul de Leon et. [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. The court also said that it was "possible for Alfaro to lie" on the details of the case. The unconstitutionality of prior restraint. [52] On June 14, 2011, Hubert Webb filed a P180,000 compensation claim for "unlawful conviction" for the Vizconde massacre. Footnote: This article comprises the text of a statement issued by the Asian Human Rights Commission, AHRC-STM-266-2010, dated 21 December 2010. [8] If, on examination, the DNA of the subject specimen does not belong to Webb, then he did not rape Carmela. 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. 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. This coincided with his passport and Philippine Immigration records but were dismissed by Tolentino due to belief that these documents can possibly be falsified. 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. But Villaramas opinion was not considered by the SC in their majority decision. It defended the attack on Alejos credibility, for example, his inconsistencies on the number of gunmen, arguing that this had already been explained by Alejo during cross-examination by correcting his earlier statement and that the affidavits, being ex-parte, are almost always incomplete and often inaccurate, but do not really detract from the credibility of witnesses. [10] According to the footage of the trial, Alfaro had been able to identify all the defendants by their names. In this case, the existence of an earlier negative report on the NIIS record on file concerning the entry of appellant Webb into and his exit from the US on March 9, 1991, and October 26, 1992, respectively, had raised serious doubt on the veracity and accuracy of the subsequently issued second certification dated August 31, 1995 which is based merely on a computer print-out of his alleged entry on March 9, 1991, and departure on October 26, 1992. The SCs decision affirming the guilty verdict by the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Quezon City on the Abadilla Five, the five men accused in the murder of police colonel Rolando Abadilla on June 13, 1996, is already the subject of a final appeal filed on October 8, 2010. Remember that death is the ultimate equalizer. The jurisprudence mentioned above that the SC invoked has not been equally applied. Similar to the accused in the Vizconde case, all the accused in the Abadilla case invoked their defence of alibi. While the SC rejected Alfaros testimony being not a credible witness, it held Alejo still a credible witness despite the inconsistencies in his testimony. The Vizconde massacre has been dubbed as the trial of the century as the accused hailed from prominent families of the Philippines. Guillermo Lorenzo Guilor Eleazar, recently appointed chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), bows out on Nov. 13 this year when he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 56. 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. I am not an NBI agent nor an NBI asset. Once again, the SCs applications of jurisprudence on the admissibility of forensic evidence in criminal trial have not been equally applied.

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