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. Your subscription could not be saved. LYN RILLON. [48] Other witnesses say Webb was in the Philippines at the time of the murders. 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. 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. Jubilation by the citizenry greeted the report of his appointment. 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. Philstar.com is one of the most vibrant, opinionated, discerning communities of readers on cyberspace. 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. He and six others spent 15 years in jail. [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. Webbs co-accused, Antonio Lejano, is a son of a known singer and celebrity. But the grieving father couldn't distinguish the truth from the lies. Philstar Global Corp. All Rights Reserved. He also claimed to have heard Hubert shout, Putang ina nyo! The SC rendered its judgment on the Abadilla case on September 7 and on the Vizconde case on December 14 of this year [2010]. The court rejected his testimony because he was a disgruntled witness. Hopefully, if they will surface, public pressure will snowball and I will finally get the justice I am looking for, he said. The case was featured on a Philippine TV show Case Unclosed as its ninth episode, "Vizconde Massacre Case. This contradicted Hubert Webb's claim that he was in the United States from March 9, 1991, to October 27, 1992. It was Alejo who had positively identified Joel and Lorenzo (delos Santos) during a police line-up. The remains of his wife and daughters were also exhumed from their grave at Holy Cross Memorial Park in Quezon City and transferred to his grave. . No. [22], On October 8, 2010, Webb filed an urgent motion for acquittal. From there she allegedly saw Lejano and Ventura take a knife from the kitchen drawer, while the rest of the gang acted as lookouts. Published July 4, 2011 7:24pm. Francisco Kit Hernandez celebrated Mass. 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. The AHRC urges the SC to thoroughly review the pending final appeal of the accused in the Abadilla case. Credibility of a witness: In Vizconde case not credible, but credible in the Abadilla case. 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. Two of the accused have also been acquitted by the RTC on the basis of their defence of alibis. I can't express enough how sad and unjust today's story. InVizconde case: The SC applied two tests in rejecting the positive identification of Alfaro: firstly, the credibility of a witness; secondly, the testimony should be believable, not inherently contrived. Both Webb and del Toro could not describe in court what Hubert's work was, Tolentino said. 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. 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. This is one of the most controversial and widely publicised massacre cases because of the involvement of the son of a former Philippine . 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. It is time to heal the past. Envy aliens who can avoid PH; pity Pinoys who are stuck here. On the night of June 29, 1991, Asuncion was supposed to have a sleepover with Jennifer at the latters home in Paraaque City. So, some sectors are calling for Eleazars extension until after the May 2022 elections. Since I was introduced to The STAR readers in the front page, Ill hit the ground running. Conjectures and suspicions are not facts, hence, they have no evidentiary value. At any rate, Rameses de Jesus admitted that they were using the new car of Lenido Lumanog. Webb's travel documents and other paper trail of his stay in the US are unreliable proof of his absence in the Philippines at the time of the commission of the crime charged. 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. [8] If, on examination, the DNA of the subject specimen does not belong to Webb, then he did not rape Carmela. 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. A police officer, Gerardo Biong, has also been charged for destroying the evidence at the crime scene. Alejo had been under the Abadillas custody and protection instead of that of the WPP of the government. Eleazar, a strict disciplinarian, is probably the only PNP chief who is loved and respected by the citizenry. 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. 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. Thus, it was not surprising for Alfaro to testify with great details in court. 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. A local elected official whos being groomed to run for a national office is being sold to the highest bidder by the politicians spouse. Indeed, if the accused is truly innocent, he can have no other defense but denial and alibi. 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." [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. 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. 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. 127262 Hubert Webb, et al. Copyright 2023. Therefore, the applications of the SC on evaluating the defence of alibi of the accused have not been equally applied in these two cases. He was sentenced to eleven years in prison. De Lima also said seven new witnesses claimed they saw Webb in the country during the months of April, May and June 1991. It took the trial and appeal process in this case fifteen years. No. Vizconde said his quest for justice was continuing despite the end of the prescription period for the prosecution of his familys killers. 176389 / G.R. Includes gruesome real photos from the crime scene. By her account, after a drug session with the group, Webb allegedly had hatched his plan to rape Carmela Vizconde. [29] No. CONCLUSION: The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is deeply concerned by this unequal application of jurisprudence by the SC on the Abadilla murder and the Vizconde massacre. 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. No. 132577 People of the Philippines vs. Hubert Jeffrey P. Webb, 1999, G.R. The public and the media continue to watch as the years go by . Am I dismayed by the decision of the (Supreme Court)? Of the 15 Justices, 7 voted for acquittal while four dissented and four Justices, including Carpio, did not participate.[27][28]. Once again, the SCs applications of jurisprudence on the admissibility of forensic evidence in criminal trial have not been equally applied. Democrito Barcenas, former Integrated Bar of the Philippines Cebu City president and regional coordinator of the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG): I think that most of the justices are right in their decision. Be consoled that the truth will always come out, Hernandez advised Vizconde. February 26, 2021. . (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Vizconde said he was optimistic about finding more witnesses.. [3], The Inter-Agency Task Force assigned to reinvestigate Vizconde massacre case formed 6 teams or 3 parallel teams to look into 3 sets of suspects linked to the murders. [30], In three separate occasions, police authorities mistakenly arrested persons they believed to be suspect Joey Filart: a namesake in August 1995, the same person again in February 2000, and a person from Compostela Valley in March 2000. 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. By continuing, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. When the accused appealed the decision, the Court of Appeals (CA) affirmed the judgement of conviction by the RTC. 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. Night of June 2930, 1991 Estrellita, Carmela and Jennifer Vizconde were killed in their Paraaque home; Carmela was found to have been raped. 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. 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 . 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,. Vizconde Massacre Case Digest - Philippine True Crime Stories | Martin Rules. 121234 Hubert Webb et al. Former Paraaque City cop Gerardo Biong walked free from the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) in Muntinlupa City after serving a 12-year sentence. I told my family that I did my best. The NBI is the agency responsible in providing security and protection of witnesses admitted under WPP. The tapes were restored by IBM while being monitored by the National Computer Center. That's all crap! I stood my ground because I had all the facts in my hand. It would be a serious miscarriage of justice and a demonstration of inequality before the law should jurisprudence not be applied equally. X' key to real perpetrators of Vizconde murders? 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]. Ateneo law professor Alan Paguia: "The order of release is questionable as it appears to be undemocratic. [46], President Benigno Aquino III ordered the law enforcement agencies to re-investigate the case six months before the prescription period lapses. [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. Their original conviction was capital punishment but their sentence was modified to life imprisonment when the death penalty was abolished. The DoJ also placed Alfaro under the Witness Protection Program (WPP) during the trial period. The SC did not apply the two tests it invoked on the Vizconde case before accepting the positive identification of Alejo as credible, and him as a credible witness. Hubert and his co-accused were convicted by the Paraaque Regional Trial Court for the crime on June 6, 2000. The High Court put to question the quality of the testamentary evidence furnished by the witnesses. For almost two decades, Filipinos have been mystified by the brutal 1991 killing of a mother and her two daughters. Let the love of God prevail. 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. Youd be surprised who the people are behind the call for his extension; some of them are top politicians. Carpio testified for the defense during the trial. 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. [60] De Lima believed Dong Villadolid is the same person as Dong Ventura, one of the co-accused who fled to the US following the massacre. 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. Lauro Vizconde: "Is there still anyone among you who doubts that there is rampant corruption in our government? 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. She was the prosecutions worst possible choice for a witness. Connections Followed by The Untold Story: Vizconde Massacre II - May the Lord Be with Us! In the Vizconde case, the SC does not accept conjecture as the basis of its decision. 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". [citation needed] (The Philippine Rules of Evidence require official attestation of the authenticity of any public document presented in evidence; as per Sec. 1 newspaper in terms of circulation and readership. Thus, her testimony could not be admitted. 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. al., 2010, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vizconde_murders&oldid=1138122178, Loss of DNA evidence not a ground for outright acquittal. 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. 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. Acting solely on Alfaros testimony, the Department of Justice (DoJ) filed charges of rape with homicide against the eight accused on August 1995. The most significant topic that Ive ever written about and which I personally got involved in was the Vizconde massacre. [51] On March 18, Hubert Webb filed a lawsuit against Jessica Alfaro for false testimony at the Paraaque Prosecutor's Office. Many of the stories in my columns in previous newspapers were complaints from citizens. It strictly laid down these as the least requirement in evaluating the credibility of the claim of positive identification. The presumption leaned on is disputable and can be overcome by evidence to the contrary. Their claims were corroborated by witnesses who are disinterested parties, their relatives and friends and documentary evidence. [52] On June 14, 2011, Hubert Webb filed a P180,000 compensation claim for "unlawful conviction" for the Vizconde massacre. Jennifer woke up and, seeing Webb violating her sister, jumped on him and bit him. MANILA, Philippines - A former policeman who was jailed for allegedly tampering with evidence in the 1991 Vizconde massacre insists he is innocent of any crime after being released from prison Tuesday. 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 SC acquitted all the accused, reversing and dismissing the guilty verdict of the RTC and the CA. It was based on the rule of the minority and not the majority as they (the SC justices) had enunciated in Fortich v. The Jessica Alfaro Story in 1995 was meanwhile focused on the star witness, portrayed by Alice Dixson. Webb's reliance on the presumption of regularity of official functions, stressing the fact that the US-INS certifications are official documents, is misplaced. Lauro Vizconde the husband of Estrellita and father of Carmela and Jennifer, was in the United State on business when the murders took place. [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". December 14, 2010:http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2010/december2010/176389.htm ", Jessica Alfaro: Alfaro's e-mail from abroad read. He alleged that he could not forget Webb because Biong had allegedly threatened him, Do not cheat him. The unconstitutionality of prior restraint.