Under the law, prosecutors of a murder case are given 20 years from the time it occurred or the time it was discovered to identify suspects and charge them in court. 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. Vizconde Massacre: The hidden Truth. It was also not true that there was no showing that he (Alejo) was actuated by improper motive to testify falsely against the accused because the defence had since been challenging his credibility during the trial. I can't express enough how sad and unjust today's story. :Isumbongwill make a comeback on PTV-4 on June 12, 2021. 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. 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. 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. This contradicted Hubert Webb's claim that he was in the United States from March 9, 1991, to October 27, 1992. 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. 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. And while justice seems elusive, life must go on, Vizcondes grandniece Katherine Asuncion said, reading from a family statement. 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. 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. Thus, it was not surprising for Alfaro to testify with great details in court. His intention was very, very dubious, he said. 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. [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. [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. The DoJ also placed Alfaro under the Witness Protection Program (WPP) during the trial period. No two persons have the same DNA fingerprint, with the exception of identical twins. However, keep in mind not to be vindictive. 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. Firstly, like Alfaro, Alejo also received money and free accommodation from the persons who had interest in his testimony. 176389 / G.R. My program is the originalsumbungan ng bayan sa radyo(roughly, citizens complaint center on radio). All of us who have cases in court, dont we realize that if your opponent has money, brace yourself. The CA in effect crafted and formulated the conjectures giving them the appreciation similar to facts offered as evidence where it had based the judgment. Of the 15 Justices, 7 voted for acquittal while four dissented and four Justices, including Carpio, did not participate.[27][28]. 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. The CA held that these ballistic results are inconclusive and can never prevail over appellants positive identification by eyewitness Freddie Alejo. 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,. But big offenses, such as rape or attempted rape, should be filed with the police or the prosecutors office. 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. In rejecting questions to Alejos credibility, the SC affirmed the CAs ruling that the credible testimony of a lone witness(es) assumes more weight when there is no showing that he was actuated by improper motive to testify falsely against the accused, as in the case of Freddie Alejo. It took the trial and appeal process in this case fifteen years. [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. Jubilation by the citizenry greeted the report of his appointment. The details of how they were killed were grim. When we die, that is when we will be given the whole truth May the Lord console you in all your afflictions, The priest said. Only minor cases, like oral defamation and quarrel between neighbors, are handled by the barangay. 176864), it became one of the most sensational cases in the Philippines, being described as a "trial of the century". 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. Estrellita, Carmela and Jennifer Vizconde. Anyone can be paid! 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. No. [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". Di naman ako puwede magtrabaho don (If that's the case, then I should have had a salary. Envy aliens who can avoid PH; pity Pinoys who are stuck here. After the shooting, he could have easily and quickly transferred to Camp Crame between 9:00 and 9:30 in the morning. [11], The defense produced documents and presented 95 witnesses, including Hubert Webb himself and his father, along with other relatives and friends to support Webb's alibi that he was in the United States from March 9, 1991, to October 26, 1992. By providing an email address. 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. 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. On June 30, 1991, three Vizconde women Estrellita, 49; her 19-year-old daughter, Carmela and the younger Jennifer, 6 were found dead in their home at BF Homes Village in Paraaque. It was based on the rule of the minority and not the majority as they (the SC justices) had enunciated in Fortich v. Jennifer Diaz, chief of the women and childrens desk, told Allan to file the complaint with the barangay where they reside. Remember when I made the disclosure that someone is pressuring the justices to vote for a reversal? 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. Justice Secretary Leila de Lima yesterday said the government task force re-investigating the 1991 Vizconde massacre case has found another witness and was convincing him to come out in public and 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. [139] Against positive evidence, alibi becomes most unsatisfactory. To find out more, please click this link. But Villaramas opinion was not considered by the SC in their majority decision. "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 Yes, but what can I do (?). Secondly, Alfaros quality as a witness and her inconsistent, if not inherently unbelievable, testimony cannot be the positive identification that jurisprudence acknowledges as sufficient. 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. Be consoled that the truth will always come out, Hernandez advised Vizconde. He also ordered the Secretary of Justice Leila de Lima to study the possibility of giving compensation to Webb and others. The prosecutors, the RTC and the CA have been made aware of this fact by the defence. Webb's reliance on the presumption of regularity of official functions, stressing the fact that the US-INS certifications are official documents, is misplaced. Asuncion, 27, was a constant playmate of Jennifer Vizconde, who was 7 years old when she was killed. The SC required this test as necessary before a testimony of positive identification could be accepted as credible and with merit. There was entry of (former senator) Freddie Webb leaving the country in March 1991 but no Hubert Webb, De Lima said. By her account, after a drug session with the group, Webb allegedly had hatched his plan to rape Carmela Vizconde. It is that simple. No. [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. On the night of June 29, 1991, Asuncion was supposed to have a sleepover with Jennifer at the latters home in Paraaque City. The trial of the case having been long concluded, the requirements of the law may have been satisfied, but not the demands of justice. The tapes were restored by IBM while being monitored by the National Computer Center. Remember that death is the ultimate equalizer. The lower courts, the Supreme Court said, held that "Webb was actually in Paraaque when the Vizconde killings took place". Knowing this, I cannot but hesitate to swallow everything that Alejo said at the trial. [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.