The court also said the same for the issue of the garage light: she claimed that Ventura climbed the car's hood, using a chair, to turn the light off. "[29], The court maintained that for a person to be convicted there should not be "a reasonable, lingering doubt as to his guilt." Vizconde massacre case: Back to square one | ABS-CBN News The lower courts, however, reasoned that "Webb's alibi cannot stand against Alfaro's positive identification of him." Vizconde murders - Wikipedia 808 bound for New York and who expressed doubt on whether Hubert Webb was his co-passenger in the trip; NBI medico-legal Dr. Prospero Cabanayan, Belen Dometita and Teofilo Minoza, two of the Vizconde maids; and Manciano Gatmaitan, an engineer. Methinks one year would give Eleazar ample time impose his brand of discipline on one of the most undisciplined police forces in the world. De Lima also said seven new witnesses claimed they saw Webb in the country during the months of April, May and June 1991. Lauro Vizconde: "Is there still anyone among you who doubts that there is rampant corruption in our government? The prosecutors, the RTC and the CA have been made aware of this fact by the defence. 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,. 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. 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. I will kill you, brandishing a shiny revolver. It cautioned itself from accepting the testimonies of witnesses without applying these tests. It was hard to tell which made up the truth and the lies. Night of June 2930, 1991 Estrellita, Carmela and Jennifer Vizconde were killed in their Paraaque home; Carmela was found to have been raped. 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 details of how they were killed were grim. In the said stockroom, there is a small door going to Hubert's room and in that door there is a small opening where she used to see Hubert and his friends sniffing on something. [2] Alfaro said that policeman Gerardo Biong "was instructed by Webb, in my presence, to take care of the house where the incident happened". 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. This page was last edited on 8 February 2023, at 03:37. 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. God does not teach us to retaliate. But her parents did not allow her to go. Alfaro had testified that she knew the suspects and was at the Vizconde house when the crime was committed. Make a difference. I became a villain in the eyes of the citizenry that was crying for blood; but I was steadfast. 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. The massacre and surrounding events were depicted in the 1993 film The Vizconde Massacre Story (God Help Us!) Executive M/Sgt. Still seeking justice for his family's grim fate, Lauro Vizconde exhausts all resources available to him. That's all crap! This column will tackle various topics on the days it will come out: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The SC required this test as necessary before a testimony of positive identification could be accepted as credible and with merit. Acting solely on Alfaros testimony, the Department of Justice (DoJ) filed charges of rape with homicide against the eight accused on August 1995. 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 those who havent heard aboutIsumbong, the public service program started at Radyo Veritas on June 1, 1991. I will be conferring with my lawyers about my future moves.. The AHRC urges the SC to thoroughly review the pending final appeal of the accused in the Abadilla case. 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. Rodolfo Sison, the police investigator originally assigned to the case in 1991. 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. 187745. [48] Other witnesses say Webb was in the Philippines at the time of the murders. Rey and Jerry claimed they saw Webb playing basketball between the months of June and July 1991 during a league in BF Homes. Connections Followed by The Untold Story: Vizconde Massacre II - May the Lord Be with Us! May I invite you to watch?). :Isumbongwill make a comeback on PTV-4 on June 12, 2021. It was based on the rule of the minority and not the majority as they (the SC justices) had enunciated in Fortich v. 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. 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. September 7, 2010http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2010/september2010/182555.htm G.R. 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. But feeling uneasy, she decided to go up to the stockroom near Hubert's room to see what he was doing. Hong Kong 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. June 30, 1991 for a bicycle he bought from a store in Orange County, Los Angeles, California. [57] The witnesses include an electrician, a drug dealer, a couple of neighborhood basketball players, a hairdresser and a village security guard. 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. But I could not work there), Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption chairman. 176864), it became one of the most sensational cases in the Philippines, being described as a "trial of the century". Former Paraaque policeman Gerardo Biong was found guilty as an accessory for burning bedsheets and tampering with other evidence in the crime. 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. 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. He and six others spent 15 years in jail. After the shooting, he could have easily and quickly transferred to Camp Crame between 9:00 and 9:30 in the morning. Besides the horror itself, the suspected perpetrators included high-society figures. Once again, the SCs applications of jurisprudence on the admissibility of forensic evidence in criminal trial have not been equally applied. However, keep in mind not to be vindictive. 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. Choose Gods endless kind of love., Hernandez also reminded Vizconde that he now had three saints in Heaven.. One of the justices, Roberto Abad, who dissented the majority decision affirming the guilty verdict wrote: the public prosecutor chose instead to allow the Abadillas, who had an interest in Alejos testimony, to make him dependent on them for his livelihood at least for the duration of the trial of the case. 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. Remember that death is the ultimate equalizer. [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. 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. The Untold Story: Vizconde Massacre II - May the Lord Be with Us! I got involved in the case after Webb told me Hubert, whose name was slowly cropping up in news reports as a prime suspect, was in the United States when the dastardly crime happened. [51] On March 18, Hubert Webb filed a lawsuit against Jessica Alfaro for false testimony at the Paraaque Prosecutor's Office. [15] The accused alleged that by rejecting 132 of the 142 pieces of evidence, Tolentino had set the tone for their conviction. Visconde Masscre - Weebly 1 newspaper in terms of circulation and readership. Webb's reliance on the presumption of regularity of official functions, stressing the fact that the US-INS certifications are official documents, is misplaced. SC slams 'unbelievable' testimony of Vizconde massacre witness. He alleged that Webb bought illegal drugs from him on two other occasions in May 1991. Abadilla Case Decision from the Court of Appeals:http://campaigns.ahrchk.net/abadilla5/docs/A5-CAdecision.pdf. This is a violation of the duty of state." But Custodio admits this may be easier said than done. A lying witness can make as positive an identification as a truthful witness can. As already mentioned, the SC concluded Alfaro to be not a credible witness because she did not meet these two criteria. Kaya laban lang tayo. SC acquits Hubert Webb, 6 others in Vizconde massacre She also said that Bing was accosting Ging Rodriguez on why he had to stab and kill a young girl. With Romeo Vasquez, Elizabeth Oropesa, Robert Arevalo, Tommy Abuel. Her mother, Estrellita, 47, and sister, Jennifer, 7, were also killed. 'Hubert Webb was in PH during Vizconde massacre' - ABS-CBN News G/F, 52 Princess Margaret Road [22], On October 8, 2010, Webb filed an urgent motion for acquittal. Former Paraaque City cop Gerardo Biong walked free from the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) in Muntinlupa City after serving a 12-year sentence. 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. [52] On June 14, 2011, Hubert Webb filed a P180,000 compensation claim for "unlawful conviction" for the Vizconde massacre. 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. But Justice Conchita Carpio Morales, who concurred with the decision, wrote strongly against basing judgement on conjectures: Facts decide cases. Only minor cases, like oral defamation and quarrel between neighbors, are handled by the barangay. 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. On the night of June 29, 1991, Asuncion was supposed to have a sleepover with Jennifer at the latters home in Paraaque City. InAbadilla case: The SC admitted the positive identification of witness Freddie Alejo when it considered him a credible witness. The trial of the case having been long concluded, the requirements of the law may have been satisfied, but not the demands of justice. Envy aliens who can avoid PH; pity Pinoys who are stuck here. 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 can't express enough how sad and unjust today's story. 185123/G.R. 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. 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. I expected this decision because since the start, I knew that Jessica Alfaro was not entirely telling the truth. 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. "[21], In April 2010, the Supreme Court approved DNA testing to be performed on the semen specimen obtained during autopsy from Carmela Vizconde. Vizconde should go after the national government. Jennifer woke up and, seeing Webb violating her sister, jumped on him and bit him. Corona." 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. Call 896 6000. By her account, after a drug session with the group, Webb allegedly had hatched his plan to rape Carmela Vizconde. Manila Times Special Report on the Vizconde Case, G.R. 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. The most significant topic that Ive ever written about and which I personally got involved in was the Vizconde massacre. Firstly, the SC held Alfaro was not a credible witness. 127262 Hubert Webb, et al. This is one of the most controversial and widely publicised massacre cases because of the involvement of the son of a former Philippine . Like Herbas, court records had also shown that Alejo has been receiving money and free accommodation from the Abadillas. The Vizconde Massacre | GMA News Online 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. The Vizconde Massacre: God, Help Us! (1993) 1. 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. [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". The SC acquitted all the accused, reversing and dismissing the guilty verdict of the RTC and the CA. 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 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. Di naman ako puwede magtrabaho don (If that's the case, then I should have had a salary. Pitong, an electrician who since 1982, already knew the Webb family claimed he saw a laundry woman wash a bloodied T-shirt on the morning of the crime. Six months is not enough for him to clean up the Aegean stable that is the PNP. [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. [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. The Vizconde Massacre: God, Help Us! - sirasa.dixiesewing.com The Vizconde massacre: Justice not served - BusinessMirror Eleazar, a strict disciplinarian, is probably the only PNP chief who is loved and respected by the citizenry. Defence of Alibi: In Vizconde case not admissible, in Abadilla case court acted on conjectures. Hubert Webb of Vizconde Massacre Freed- Breaking News - theAsianparent No acquittal has been made as to the two accused, Filart and Ventura, who remain at-large. Two of the accused have also been acquitted by the RTC on the basis of their defence of alibis. [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. 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.
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