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No. The CA held that these ballistic results are inconclusive and can never prevail over appellants positive identification by eyewitness Freddie Alejo. 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. The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to draw the attention of the Supreme Court (SC) of the Philippines to its recent decision on two well-known cases tried in the lower courts; the conviction in the Vizconde Massacre case was overturned while that of the Abadilla murder case was affirmed. 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. (Update 6:47 p.m.) The Supreme Court (SC) has cast doubts on the credibility of Jessica Alfaro, the so-called star witness in the gruesome killings of three members of the Vizconde family almost two decades ago. Jubilation by the citizenry greeted the report of his appointment. Another accused, Joey Filart also fled to the United States. Indeed, her superior testified that she volunteered to play the role of a witness in the Vizconde killings when she could not produce a man she promised to the NBI. Her mother, Estrellita, 47, and sister, Jennifer, 7, were also killed. Philstar Global Corp. All Rights Reserved. "[29], The court maintained that for a person to be convicted there should not be "a reasonable, lingering doubt as to his guilt." He and six others spent 15 years in jail. 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. 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. Youd be surprised who the people are behind the call for his extension; some of them are top politicians. (1994) Details Release date June 24, 1993 (Philippines) Country of origin Philippines Languages English Filipino Tagalog Filming locations With Romeo Vasquez, Elizabeth Oropesa, Robert Arevalo, Tommy Abuel. Lorenzo delos Santos was acquitted due to lack of evidence, but the RTC, the CA and the SC ignored that fact that the same positive identification it invoked in convicting the Abadilla Five came from exactly the same testimonies that have been used to acquit Delos Santos. Copyright 2023. 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. [65] One team uncovered Black Maria, a woman whom one witness said had told him she was with Webb's group inside the Vizconde home and saw the crime take place. 4. Sign up now! The jurisprudence mentioned above that the SC invoked has not been equally applied. Yes, but what can I do (?). The other defendants were Antonio Lejano II, Hospicio Fernandez, Michael Gatchalian, Miguel Rodriguez, Peter Estrada, Joey Filart and Artemio Ventura. God would be stupid to borrow Digongs words if He gifts him the vice presidency the second time around. 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." I will be conferring with my lawyers about my future moves.. [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. a contribution to Human Rights work, Asian Human Rights Commission Alfaro implicated the children of wealthy and prominent families, including Hubert Webb, Antonio Lejano II, Hospicio Fernandez, Michael Gatchalian, Miguel Rodriguez, Peter Estrada, Joey Vffrillaret and Artemio Ventura. De Lima said they could still go after Filart and Ventura, as well as the Villadolid brothers, since the prescriptive period of 20 years for homicide does not apply to them because they were abroad. [57] The witnesses include an electrician, a drug dealer, a couple of neighborhood basketball players, a hairdresser and a village security guard. 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]. This is despite questions to his credibility for receiving money and enjoying privileges while he was in Abadillas custody and the existence of inconsistencies in his testimonies in open court. [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. 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. Secondly, Alfaros quality as a witness and her inconsistent, if not inherently unbelievable, testimony cannot be the positive identification that jurisprudence acknowledges as sufficient. It is hard to believe this there is a record of supposed arrival from other country but no record of departure in 1991 or in any month of 1991, she said. Anyone can be paid! The SC required this test as necessary before a testimony of positive identification could be accepted as credible and with merit. 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. The Vizconde massacre made headlines in the Philippines in the '90s and started a trend in filmmaking. She said the same MRT provided data that several Webbs arrived in the country, including Hubert, sometime in October 1992. A second movie, The Untold Story: Vizconde Massacre II May The Lord Be With Us, was released in 1994 and starred Vina Morales as Carmela and Joko Daz as an assailant. 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. He also claimed to have heard Hubert shout, Putang ina nyo! It would be a serious miscarriage of justice and a demonstration of inequality before the law should jurisprudence not be applied equally. 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. September 7, 2010http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2010/september2010/182555.htm Estrellita, 47, had suffered thirteen stab wounds; Carmela, 18, had suffered seventeen stab wounds and had been raped before she was killed; and Jennifer, 7, had nineteen stab . Ho Man Tin, Kowloon No. 16:53. Pray to them. No. Alejo had been under the Abadillas custody and protection instead of that of the WPP of the government. The politician would only be allowed by the spouse to run if the party that this politician will join can come up with a big amount for their family. [49], On January 4, 2011, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said suspect Joey Filart was spotted in the United States. Even if we were denied justice, I consoled them that at least people already know what really happened, he said. 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. [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. The other accused were Artemio Dong Ventura, Michael A. Gatchalian, Hospicio Pyke Fernandez, Peter Estrada, Miguel Ging Rodriguez, and Joey Filart. As already mentioned, the SC concluded Alfaro to be not a credible witness because she did not meet these two criteria. Vizconde Massacre: The hidden Truth. [22], On October 8, 2010, Webb filed an urgent motion for acquittal. It strictly laid down these as the least requirement in evaluating the credibility of the claim of positive identification. In a decision dated January 6, 2000, Paraaque Regional Trial Court Judge Amelita Tolentino convicted Webb and the co . Webbs son, Hubert Jeffrey, is also the brother of a television host, Pinky, in one of the largest television networks in the country. Besides the horror itself, the suspected perpetrators included high-society figures. This column will tackle various topics on the days it will come out: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. I also updated them on the new twist in the investigation. Firstly, like Alfaro, Alejo also received money and free accommodation from the persons who had interest in his testimony. Episode on July 5, 2011 Tuesday after Saksi! I told my family that I did my best. Inconsistencies: In Vizconde case damages credibility, in Abadilla case does not. LYN RILLON. He was sentenced to eleven years in prison. Tolentino also said, the photographs and videotapes purportedly showing Webb in the United States appeared to be tampered. 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. The President has time and again said that he was very tired of running the country and, if he had his way, would have stepped down. Former NBI official Pedro Rivera however dismissed as lies the testimony of Sacaguing saying that Agent Sacaguing had a record of notoriety in the NBI which prompted his transfer to remote places of assignment until his early retirement. On April 28, 1995, National Bureau of Investigations asset and self-confessed drug user Jessica Alfaro came forward to police authorities to shed light on the killing of the Vizconde family. It was Alejo who had positively identified Joel and Lorenzo (delos Santos) during a police line-up. Abadilla Case Decision from the Court of Appeals:http://campaigns.ahrchk.net/abadilla5/docs/A5-CAdecision.pdf. While washing Hubert Webb's clothing, Gaviola said she noticed fresh bloodstains on his shirt. [29] With the exception of Filart and Ventura who had been convicted in absentia the men were acquitted by the Supreme Court on December 14, 2010 for failure of the prosecution to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The filming location took place in the actual home of the Vizconde's where the massacre took place on June 30, 1991. Sacaguing broke the guidelines in taking affidavits from witnesses. It was hard to tell which made up the truth and the lies. Massacre case in 1991 Webb was accused of raping Carmela Vizconde, 18, who was killed in her family's Paraaque home on June 30, 1991. Those initially jailed for. But I could not work there), Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption chairman. Night of June 2930, 1991 Estrellita, Carmela and Jennifer Vizconde were killed in their Paraaque home; Carmela was found to have been raped. Former Paraaque policeman Gerardo Biong was found guilty as an accessory for burning bedsheets and tampering with other evidence in the crime. Manila Times Special Report on the Vizconde Case, G.R. But, unlike the house robbers, however the court points out that "Webb and his friends did not have anything to do in a darkened garage. 176389 / G.R. InAbadilla case: The SC admitted the positive identification of witness Freddie Alejo when it considered him a credible witness. A second movie, The Untold Story: Vizconde Massacre II, was released in 1994. 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. 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. This coincided with his passport and Philippine Immigration records but were dismissed by Tolentino due to belief that these documents can possibly be falsified. 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. People vs. Bello, G.R. Webb was among the nine people convicted by Paranaque Regional Trial Court Branch 274 Presiding Judge Amelita Tolentino in January 2000 for the killings. [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. The film claims to have been based on new evidence from the then-ongoing trial. The fight is not over. [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. 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. No. Tolentino also found it hard to believe that Webb was working with a pesticide company because he was asthmatic and allergic to various substances. 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. [60] Mario, a hair stylist during the period June 1991, testified that Webb, along with Tony Boy Lejano and Dong Ventura had their haircut. 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. Based on the infamous and seemingly never ending 1991 Vizconde murder case in the Philippines where a woman and her two children; a teen daughter who was also raped and a 6-year-old, were all viciously stabbed to death while the husband was away in America on business. al, 1995, G.R. [2][12] Security guards Justo Cabanacan and Normal White. For example, it rejected as not impartial the corroborating testimony of Augusto Santoss brother-in-law that he was at the hospital with him when Abadilla was murdered. Executive M/Sgt. All rights are reserved. But both the RTC and the CA rejected his defence ruling that his alibi cannot stand against Alfaros positive identification of him as the rapist and killer. 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. 187745. She did not know nor met any of them. Among those present were former Vice President Teofisto Guingona; Arsenio Boy Evangelista, father of carjack victim Venson Evangelista; Dacer-Corbito witness Cezar Mancao and his lawyer Ferdinand Topacio; and members of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC). But Justice Conchita Carpio Morales, who concurred with the decision, wrote strongly against basing judgement on conjectures: Facts decide cases. The court also said that if Webb was in the U.S. when the crime was committed, the Alfaro's testimony would not hold together: "Without it, the evidence against the others must necessarily fall. [29], The court said that "among the accused, Webb presented the strongest alibi". Alfaro, upon explaining on how the house was ransacked, (the Paraaque police had earlier blamed house robbers as suspects), said that Ventura was looking for the front-door key and the car key. Given the financial resources and political influence of his family, it was not unlikely that Webb could have traveled back to the Philippines before June 2930, 1991 and then departed for the US again, and returning to the Philippines in October 1992. Biong was released from jail on November 30, 2010, after serving his sentence. Thus, it was not surprising for Alfaro to testify with great details in court. Equal protection of the law is fundamental in the countrys Constitution. The public and the media continue to watch as the years go by . [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". The trial of the case having been long concluded, the requirements of the law may have been satisfied, but not the demands of justice. No. God does not teach us to retaliate. Call 896 6000. Vizconde said his quest for justice was continuing despite the end of the prescription period for the prosecution of his familys killers. For almost two decades, Filipinos have been mystified by the brutal 1991 killing of a mother and her two daughters. Like the accused in the Vizconde case and for any other cases for that matter, the accused in the Abadilla murder case also deserve equal protection of the law. G.R. 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. Their original conviction was capital punishment but their sentence was modified to life imprisonment when the death penalty was abolished. A local elected official whos being groomed to run for a national office is being sold to the highest bidder by the politicians spouse. [29], The court also held that the testimony of the Webb's maid, Mila Gaviola, was also unreliable since she was not able to distinguish if it was Hubert whom she saw on June 30, 1991, nor "did she remember any of the details that happened in the household on the other days". Early Thursday, Lauro Vizconde went to Holy Cross Memorial Park and laid bouquets of roses on the tombs of his wife and daughters. No. As a result, the court reverses the decision of the Court of Appeals, and acquits Webb, et al. The presumption leaned on is disputable and can be overcome by evidence to the contrary. Former Paraaque City cop Gerardo Biong walked free from the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) in Muntinlupa City after serving a 12-year sentence. InAbadilla case: Both the RTC and the CA did not apply this test of credibility of a witness before accepting the testimony of Alejo. ), Moreover, Judge Tolentino also denied Webb's request to subject semen samples to DNA testing on the belief that the samples may no longer be intact. This contradicted Hubert Webb's claim that he was in the United States from March 9, 1991, to October 27, 1992. X' key to real perpetrators of Vizconde murders? Still seeking justice for his family's grim fate, Lauro Vizconde exhausts all resources available to him. That's all crap! Francisco Kit Hernandez celebrated Mass. Corona." 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. The tapes were restored by IBM while being monitored by the National Computer Center. 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. 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. 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. 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. Six months is not enough for him to clean up the Aegean stable that is the PNP. 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. In the Philippines in 1992, the Vizconde Massacre, which saw the murder of multiple women who had been stabbed to death, created an investigation full of problems. Similar to the accused in the Vizconde case, all the accused in the Abadilla case invoked their defence of alibi. [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. 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. On the night of June 29, 1991, Asuncion was supposed to have a sleepover with Jennifer at the latters home in Paraaque City. 176864), it became one of the most sensational cases in the Philippines, being described as a "trial of the century". 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 Vizconde Massacre. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. "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 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. The CA rather held that positive and unequivocal declaration is sufficient to support a conviction which was affirmed by the SC. 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. It is time to heal the past. Theyre projecting Digong as a feeble old man still seeking power. 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. This policewoman is either ignorant of the law or plain lazy. 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." 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. :Isumbongwill make a comeback on PTV-4 on June 12, 2021. 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. G.R. Apart from Alejo, earlier there was another witness, Merlito Herbas. Alfaro said she was then having reservations when she first executed the first affidavit and held back vital information due to her natural reaction of mistrust. The Vizconde massacre, dubbed the crime of the 20th century, was my defining moment as a columnist and defender of the oppressed and those. 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. Choose Gods endless kind of love., Hernandez also reminded Vizconde that he now had three saints in Heaven.. Hello friends! Hopefully, if they will surface, public pressure will snowball and I will finally get the justice I am looking for, he said. Shades of what happened in the 2004 elections, when a national official was paid a huge sum to run under a political party. Remember that death is the ultimate equalizer. InVizconde case: The majority of the justices strongly argued against relying on conjectures on deciding the case, particularly on the claim that Hubert Jeffrey could have been in the Philippines, and not in the U.S., when the crime happened. The San Jose police station eventually received and filed the complaint with the prosecutors office in Batangas City, only after my staff at Isumbong mo kay Tulfo told them Diazs arrogance would reach Camp Crame. vs. People of the Philippines et al., 1997, G.R. The passing away of Lauro Vizconde a few days ago does not close the sad chapter on the tragedy known as the Vizconde massacre. SC slams 'unbelievable' testimony of Vizconde massacre witness. [61], The findings also point to another set of suspects, namely Dong Villadolid and his brother Bing. February 26, 2021. . [6], Alfaro's testimony coincided with the angle that was being explored by Supt. She took advantage of her familiarity with these details to include in her testimony. She was the prosecutions worst possible choice for a witness. 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". It held that a positive declaration from a witness that he saw the accused commit the crime should not automatically cancel out the accuseds claim that he did not do it. The lower courts, the Supreme Court said, held that "Webb was actually in Paraaque when the Vizconde killings took place". I did that hoping to make them have second thoughts about doing so,.There is no justice in the Philippines. In rejecting the defence of the accused, the SC also affirmed the conjecture the CA had put forward as to the possibility that the accused could have been present or somewhere at the vicinity where the crime took place, as mentioned below: On Joel de Jesus, it was not impossible for him to have gone also Katipunan Avenue (from Quezon City where he was driving), which is also part of Quezon City, not to mention the fact that with his tricycle, he could have easily moved from one place to another; On Rameses de Jesus and Lenido Lumanog, their claims lack credence as they are unsupported by the testimonies of independent witnesses.