People vs. Bello, G.R. 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. 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. I also updated them on the new twist in the investigation. Im still hoping for a miracle to happen. Acting solely on Alfaros testimony, the Department of Justice (DoJ) filed charges of rape with homicide against the eight accused on August 1995. TV-14. I did that hoping to make them have second thoughts about doing so,.There is no justice in the Philippines. From there she allegedly saw Lejano and Ventura take a knife from the kitchen drawer, while the rest of the gang acted as lookouts. 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. 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 SCs decision in acquitting all the accused in the Vizconde case has fundamental contradictions to its earlier decision affirming the guilty verdict of the accused in the Abadilla case. I can't express enough how sad and unjust today's story. 5. Suspicions, no matter how strong they are, must never sway judgment. al., 2010, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vizconde_murders&oldid=1138122178, Loss of DNA evidence not a ground for outright acquittal. The prosecution did not present him as their witness during the trial. But to Judge Amelita Tolentino of the Paranaque Regional Trial Court, the truth was the account of star witness Jessica Alfaro. [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 Vizconde massacre has been dubbed as the trial of the century as the accused hailed from prominent families of the Philippines. SC acquits Hubert Webb, 6 others in Vizconde massacre 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. The term dirty politics is appropriate for that kind of set-up. 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. In a decision dated January 6, 2000, Paraaque Regional Trial Court Judge Amelita Tolentino convicted Webb and the co . The 47-year-old Estrellita had 13 stab wounds. 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. 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. Apart from Alejo, earlier there was another witness, Merlito Herbas. 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. White was mistaken in saying that Gatchalian and company went in and out of the gated community many times, since they only entered once. Vizconde massacre. His intention was very, very dubious, he said. Francisco Kit Hernandez celebrated Mass. Am I dismayed by the decision of the (Supreme Court)? My program is the originalsumbungan ng bayan sa radyo(roughly, citizens complaint center on radio). 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. She did not know nor met any of them. Therefore, the applications of the SC on evaluating the defence of alibi of the accused have not been equally applied in these two cases. But big offenses, such as rape or attempted rape, should be filed with the police or the prosecutors office. I will kill you, brandishing a shiny revolver. [50], On January 18, 2011, the Supreme Court denied Lauro Vizconde's motion to reverse the acquittal because of double jeopardy. Vizconde massacre timeline | Philstar.com Police assets are often criminals themselves. 150 likes. The SC acquitted all the accused, reversing and dismissing the guilty verdict of the RTC and the CA. [2] Alfaro said that policeman Gerardo Biong "was instructed by Webb, in my presence, to take care of the house where the incident happened". 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. There was entry of (former senator) Freddie Webb leaving the country in March 1991 but no Hubert Webb, De Lima said. Vizconde Massacre Case Digest - Philippine True Crime Stories | Martin Rules. The tapes were restored by IBM while being monitored by the National Computer Center. Early Thursday, Lauro Vizconde went to Holy Cross Memorial Park and laid bouquets of roses on the tombs of his wife and daughters. He alleged that he could not forget Webb because Biong had allegedly threatened him, Do not cheat him. [52] On June 14, 2011, Hubert Webb filed a P180,000 compensation claim for "unlawful conviction" for the Vizconde massacre. 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. 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. 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. New Vizconde massacre witness found | Inquirer News 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. No. 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 women were found dead with multiple stab wounds and no witnesses, murder weapons or motive have been uncovered. I incurred the ire of the citizenry, including some of my fellow columnists in theInquirer,for my defense of Hubert. The lower courts, the Supreme Court said, held that "Webb was actually in Paraaque when the Vizconde killings took place". InVizconde case: The SC has given weight to the importance of forensic evidence in a court trial. 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. [61], The findings also point to another set of suspects, namely Dong Villadolid and his brother Bing. Massacre era | PEP.ph Similar to the accused in the Vizconde case, all the accused in the Abadilla case invoked their defence of alibi. 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 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. Lauro Vizconde the husband of Estrellita and father of Carmela and Jennifer, was in the United State on business when the murders took place. Thus, it was not surprising for Alfaro to testify with great details in court. 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. 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. Webb had presented the alibi that he was in the United States when the crime was committed, but he was still found guilty by the Paraaque Regional Trial Court. [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". 24, Rule 134, R. 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 lower courts, however, reasoned that "Webb's alibi cannot stand against Alfaro's positive identification of him." Di naman ako puwede magtrabaho don (If that's the case, then I should have had a salary. So, some sectors are calling for Eleazars extension until after the May 2022 elections. For almost two decades, Filipinos have been mystified by the brutal 1991 killing of a mother and her two daughters. 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. 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. The Vizconde Massacre: God, Help Us! - sirasa.dixiesewing.com That's all crap! 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. The Vizconde Massacre | GMA News Online Kung di ninyo ako pinabayaan, 'di ako magkakaganito. (Fuck you all! [48] Other witnesses say Webb was in the Philippines at the time of the murders. 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. No. This is one of the most controversial and widely publicised massacre cases because of the involvement of the son of a former Philippine . 176389 / G.R. [46], President Benigno Aquino III ordered the law enforcement agencies to re-investigate the case six months before the prescription period lapses. Eleazar, a strict disciplinarian, is probably the only PNP chief who is loved and respected by the citizenry. 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. When she could not produce the person, Sacaguing continued to press her saying that she might as well assume the role of her informant.. A lying witness can make as positive an identification as a truthful witness can. Hubert Webb of Vizconde Massacre Freed- Breaking News - theAsianparent "[29], The court held that security guard Normal E. White, Jr.'s testimony was unreliable. [49], On January 4, 2011, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said suspect Joey Filart was spotted in the United States. Knowing this, I cannot but hesitate to swallow everything that Alejo said at the trial. [139] Against positive evidence, alibi becomes most unsatisfactory. "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 [12] (Under Philippine law, generally, alibi is the weakest defense, especially where there is direct testimony of an eyewitness, duly corroborated by another. ), 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. She also testified that Biong received money at a house that she later learned belonged to then Paraaque Congressman Freddie Webb; the Webb family's maids, Mila Gaviola and Nerissa Rosales, who both testified that Hubert Webb was at home on June 30, 1991. No. I expected this decision because since the start, I knew that Jessica Alfaro was not entirely telling the truth. The AHRC urges the SC to thoroughly review the pending final appeal of the accused in the Abadilla case. It strictly laid down these as the least requirement in evaluating the credibility of the claim of positive identification. However, keep in mind not to be vindictive. With Romeo Vasquez, Elizabeth Oropesa, Robert Arevalo, Tommy Abuel. 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. It held that the acquittal of their co-accused does not necessarily benefit the appellants. I am not an NBI agent nor an NBI asset. 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. 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. By providing an email address. Firstly, the SC held Alfaro was not a credible witness. InAbadilla case: Both the RTC and the CA did not apply this test of credibility of a witness before accepting the testimony of Alejo. 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. By continuing, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. [25][26], On December 14, 2010, the Supreme Court reversed the earlier judgment of the lower court and Court of Appeals and acquitted seven of the nine accused, including Hubert Webb, finding that the prosecution failed to prove that the accused were guilty beyond reasonable doubt. I will continue to play that role as long as I live. But Justice Conchita Carpio Morales, who concurred with the decision, wrote strongly against basing judgement on conjectures: Facts decide cases. As a host of the program that carries my surname, I and my all-female staff have handled complaints from citizens, concerning abusive or arrogant policemen and other government functionaries. [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. [60], Although Webb's group can no longer be retried because of double jeopardy, De Lima said the purpose of the reinvestigation was to uncover the truth and bring closure to Lauro Vizconde.[65][66]. Evid. The story of the Vizconde Massacre wasn't just a single story; it varied as told by a number of witnesses. The people urging President Rodrigo Digong Duterte to run for vice president in the 2022 elections are making fun of him. No two persons have the same DNA fingerprint, with the exception of identical twins. This column will tackle various topics on the days it will come out: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Tel: +(852) 2698 6339 The DoJ also placed Alfaro under the Witness Protection Program (WPP) during the trial period. 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. The Vizconde massacre: Justice not served - BusinessMirror Indeed, the testimony of a single witness, when positive and credible, is sufficient to support a conviction even for murder. 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. 127262 Hubert Webb, et al. 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. ), 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. He then hurled the little girl to a wall and started stabbing her. 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. De Lima said it was possible that it was Black Maria who was in the Vizconde home and not Jessica Alfaro, the NBI's star witness during the trial. The Supreme Court acquitted them on Dec. 14, 2010. They are Lenido Lumanog, Augusto Santos, Senior Police Officer 2 (SPO2) Cesar Fortuna, Rameses de Jesus and Joel de Jesus. The prosecution of this case only began in August 10, 1995, four years after the massacre happened, when Jessica Alfaro, an informant working for the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), told lawyer Artemio Sacaguing, an official of the NBI, that she knew someone who had the real story behind the Vizconde massacre. 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In a 38-page strongly-worded decision promulgated on Tuesday, the . Rey and Jerry claimed they saw Webb playing basketball between the months of June and July 1991 during a league in BF Homes. Lauro Vizconde: "Is there still anyone among you who doubts that there is rampant corruption in our government? Vizconde Massacre Case Digest - Philippine True Crime Stories - Anchor 176864. A police officer, Gerardo Biong, has also been charged for destroying the evidence at the crime scene. [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. 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. The RTC, however, acquitted Delos Santos despite being positively identified also by Alejo as one of those who was present at the crime scene. [54] He was laid to rest at Manila Memorial Park Sucat on February 17. Choose Gods endless kind of love., Hernandez also reminded Vizconde that he now had three saints in Heaven.. [6], Alfaro's testimony coincided with the angle that was being explored by Supt. vs. People of the Philippines et al., 1997, G.R. [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. 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. Vizconde Massacre | FreebookSummary Envy aliens who can avoid PH; pity Pinoys who are stuck here. Nephews had posted a banner declaring Truth prevails 20 years after and demanding Final justice for the Vizconde massacre victims, in apparent reference to government probers claims that, contrary to his alibi, released murder convict Hubert Webb never left the country. The massacre and surrounding events were depicted in the 1993 film The Vizconde Massacre Story (God Help Us!) She also said that Bing was accosting Ging Rodriguez on why he had to stab and kill a young girl. 1 newspaper in terms of circulation and readership. al, 1995, G.R. The Untold Story: Vizconde Massacre II - May the Lord Be with Us! 16:53. Please try again. By her account, after a drug session with the group, Webb allegedly had hatched his plan to rape Carmela Vizconde. On the contrary, it reopens it. 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. Equal protection of the law is fundamental in the countrys Constitution. Massacre era. But her parents did not allow her to go. True Crime. [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. For those who havent heard aboutIsumbong, the public service program started at Radyo Veritas on June 1, 1991. [15] The accused alleged that by rejecting 132 of the 142 pieces of evidence, Tolentino had set the tone for their conviction. 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". After she finished the laundry, she went to the servant's quarters. According to Rivera, Sacaguing was never part of the NBI team assigned to investigate the Vizconde massacre and that his former colleague took Alfaro's statement in April 1995 without the presence of a lawyer. May I invite you to watch?). No. 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. 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.
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